Population assessment, threats and conservation measures of marsh crocodile at Dasht River, Gwadar

Dasht River is the largest seasonal river in District Gwadar and Turbat which is fed by Nehang and Kech Rivers. The river and its tributariesare good habitat of Marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris). Population census of the species revealed that there is a sharp decline in their numbers and are some serious threat to crocodile at Dasht like predation of their eggs by feral dogs, shooting by local people, habitat destruction like construction of dams and agricultural activities, illegal smugglings of crocodile juveniles and frequent tropical cyclones/high floods in the area. There was an alarming decline in the populations during a period of 10 years. There were 99 crocs of the species in 2007-8 having 63 adults, 18 sub adults and 18 juveniles which reduced to only 25 crocs having 23 adults and only 2 juveniles in 2017-18. The decline of adult population and absence of offsprings indicates that the reproduction is not taking place, which is a highly unhealthy and dangerous situation. The habitat degradation needs to be controlled. The current conservation program like might the species which is classified as endangered must be considered for a status of critically endangered species

Status and diversity of coastal avian fauna in Gwadar peninsula, Balochistan

The 1050 km long coastline of Pakistan, extends from Sir Creek in the southeast of Indus delta to Gwadar Bay in the west. This article is based on diversity, habitat, status and distribution of different species of coastal birds present in the Gwadar coast. Observation of birds was done during winter season at four different sites. The habitat is important for different coastal birds like terns, gulls, pelicans and waders including resident and migratory species. A total of 55 species were recorded from the entire area. The species richness was higher at two sites. The birds were seen in higher numbers at uninhabited points compared to those near the populated area or the port. Shannon diversity index for bird community was calculated for four sites namely Shabi Estuary, Gwadar East Bay, Gwadar West Bay and Gurab, where the diversity was found to be 2.82, 2.27, 2.33 and 2.40 respectively. Birds of Common Sandpiper (Actitishy poleucos), Common Teal (Anas crecca), Wigeon (Anas Penelope), Shoveller (Anas clypeata), Pochard (Aythya ferina), Common Coot (Fulica atra), Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandriunus), Dusk Red Shank (Tringa erythropus) and Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) have been recorded in large numbers during the study period. Some vulnerable species for e.g. Pochard (Aythya ferina) and endangered species for e.g. Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), and two near threatened species Oyster catcher (Haematus ostralegus) and Dalmation Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) were also recorded. The major threats to the ecosystem are habitat degradation due to port construction, urbanization, hunting, poaching and other anthropogenic activities

Microplastics in the Surface Water and Gastrointestinal Tract of <i>Salmo trutta</i> from the Mahodand Lake, Kalam Swat in Pakistan

Microplastic pollution is becoming an increasingly severe environmental problem. As compared to the marine ecosystem, freshwater ecosystems at high-altitude, remote regions are less studied and lag far behind. Thus, the present study aims to highlight this issue and fill the gap in this regard. The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the surface water and the gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of brown trout (Salmo trutta) from Lake Mahodand, Kalam Swat, Pakistan, at a high altitude of 2865 m above sea level was investigated. For microplastic extraction, samples were digested with H2O2, NaCl solution was added for density separation, and then samples were filtered with a cellulose nitrate filter (pore size 0.45 µ). After this, visual observation and polymer detection with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, microplastics were characterized by their shapes, sizes, colors, and polymer types. In the surface water sample, MP particles were found in the range of 0–5 MPs/L, where the mean concentration of MPs was 2.3 ± 1.52 MPs/L and 1.7 ± 1.05 MPs/gastrointestinal tract (GIT) isolated from the GIT of brown trout. Particles of relatively larger size (500–300 µm) were more abundant than other ranges of particles (300–150 and 150–50 µm) in the surface water and fish samples. The fiber was the most abundant shape of MP particles, followed by sheets and fragments in surface water and fish samples (fibers > sheets > fragments). Four types of polymer viz. low-density polyethylene (LDPE) (44.4%), polypropylene homopolymer (PPH) (19.4%), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (30.5%), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) (5.5%) were detected by FTIR spectroscopy. The findings of the present study showed that MPs reached into higher altitudes in remote areas due to tourism activities