Need for national policy to recover endangered species

India is bestowed with world’s four mega-biodiversity hotspots. In fact, India is the only country that is blessed so many of these biodiversity regions. However, this rich biodiversity is under severe threat owing to the increasing population as well as indiscriminate extraction from natural populations. Unplanned land use in the name of economic development have rendered a number of species in the under the threatened category. In the most recent update, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2016) assigned a total of 1052 species as red listed. Of these, 75 animals and 77 plants are in the critically endangered list with many others being in the endangered and vulnerable categories. What is even more worrying is the fact that a large number of species have been reduced to incredibly small numbers due to either habitat degradation or illegal hunting/harvesting. Unless immediate measures are taken up, a number of these species could be in the red-list within a matter of few years. Unfortunately as of now, except for few attempts, there has been no concerted program in the country to address the restoration of the threatened species

Are plants with anti-cancer activity resistant to crown gall? : A test of hypothesis

The Crown gall tumour assay (CGTA) is one of several bench top bioassays recommended for the rapid screening of plants with anti-cancer activity. The rationale for the use of the bioassay is that the tumorogenic mechanism initiated in plant tissues by _Agrobacterium tumefaciens_ is in many ways similar to that of animals. Several plant species with anti-cancer activity have already been discovered using this bioassay. However till date no explicit test of an association between anti-cancer activity of plants and their resistance to crown gall formation has been demonstrated. Demonstration of an association could have exploratory potential when searching for plants with anti-cancer activity. In this paper, we determined whether or not a statistically significant association between crown gall resistance and anti-cancer activity exists in plants found in existing published data sets. Our results indicate that plants with anti-cancer activity have a higher proportion of their species resistant to crown gall formation compared to a random selection of plants. We discuss the implications of our results especially when prospecting for newer sources of anti-cancer activity in plants

Scaling new heights: first record of Boulenger’s Lazy Toad Scutiger boulengeri (Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) from high altitude lake in Sikkim Himalaya, India

Frogs in the genus Scutiger of the family Megophryidae are the highest altitude frogs in the world, and are endemic to eastern Himalaya. Here, we report the occurrence of Scutiger boulengeri (Bedriaga, 1898) in one of the highest altitude lakes in the world, Lake Gurudongmar. This is the first report of Scutiger boulengeri from India and the first record of any amphibian species to be found at an altitude as high as 5270m, thus setting a world record for the highest altitude frog. Scutiger sikimmensis (Blyth, 1855) is another species of the genus Scutiger found in this region. This species is often confused with Scutiger boulengeri due to similar morphology and habitat overlap. We provide a detailed account of both S. boulengeri and S. sikimmensis based on morphology and molecular identification techniques

Land snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of India: status, threats and conservation strategies

Land snails form an important component in the forest ecosystem. In terms of number of species, the phylum Mollusca, to which land snails belong, is the largest phylum after Arthropoda. Mollusca provide unique ecosystem services including recycling of nutrients and they provide a prey base for small mammals, birds, snakes and other reptiles. However, land snails have the largest number of documented extinctions, compared to any other taxa. Till date 1,129 species of land snails are recorded from Indian territory. But only basic information is known about their taxonomy and little is known of their population biology, ecology and their conservation status. In this paper, we briefly review status, threats and conservation strategies of land snails of India

Reply to Global high-altitude limits for amphibians by Tracie A. Seimon and Anton Seimon (2015)

High altitude records of amphibians in the age of Climate Change With the problem of global warming looming large on our planet the existence of many species are under threat. Researchers are racing to bring in new information on the impact of climate change on global biodiversity (Walther et al. 2002; Parmesan & Yohe 2003; Campbell et al. 2009; Xu et al. 2009; Bellard et al. 2012; Gottfried et al. 2012; Shrestha et al. 2012). There have been a large number of studies that have documented range shifts of species due to climate change (Walther et al. 2005; Araujo & Rahbek 2006; Hickling et al. 2006; Chen et al. 2011). The new records on altitude of both flora and fauna as a result of range extension due to climate change have become quite frequent. In this context, we agree with Seimon et al. (2015) who have neatly summarized the three problems on new findings about altitude records in their Response to our paper (Subba et al. 2015). Furthermore, we agree with authors that often vital data may be hidden within other larger issues; as a result missing out on relevant data seems to be a reoccurring problem (Seimon et al. 2007a). In this age of easy access to information and an era where scientists and citizens are coming together to bridge the gap in information, there is a need to make the data easily available and visible. New records should also be followed by the exact location (latitude - longitude) where the species was observed or collected along with the stage of development

Assigning conservation value and identifying hotspots of endemic rattan diversity in the Western Ghats, India

Rattans, or canes, are one of the most important non-timber forest products supporting the livelihood of many forest-dwelling communities in South and North-eastern India. Due to increased demand for rattan products, rattans have been extracted indiscriminately from the Western Ghats, a 1600-km mountain chain running parallel to the west coast of India. Extensive harvesting, loss of habitat and poor regeneration has resulted in dwindling rattan populations, necessitating an urgent attempt to conserve existing rattan resources. In this study, using niche-modelling tools, an attempt has been made to identify areas of high species richness of rattans in the Western Ghats, one of the mega-diversity regions of the world. We have also developed conservation values for 21 economically important and endemic rattans of the Western Ghats. We identified at least two to three sites of extremely high species richness outside the existing protected area network that should be prioritized for in situ conservation. This study emphasizes the need to develop strategies for the long-term conservation of rattans in the Western Ghats, Indi

In pursuit of a universal barcode of plants: peril of followers?

In May 2007, during the early days of the DNA bar coding project in India, we published an article, ‘DNA barcoding: an exercise in futility or utility’1. As the title reflects, we were literally at crossroads, caught between the cross-fire of traditional taxonomists (we think it is disrespectful to call them traditional; they are as much modern as are archaeologists and molecular biologists) and molecular systematists and not knowing which way to go forward. After a reasonable amount of brain-storming that took us through well-trodden criticisms of the DNA barcoding initiative, we concluded that while debates can go on, the tool itself can be effectively used in complementing conventional taxonomic studies and in securing Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for important taxa. We also felt at that time that it would be important for the country to develop skills and infrastructure to undertake barcoding of at least some of the important taxa, both for conservation and commerce

Shrinking harvest: Genetic consequences and challenges for sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products

Non-timber forest products (NTFP) have been an important source of subsistence as well as livelihoods for many forest-dwelling and forest- fringe communities across the developing world. NTFP collection has been promoted as a win-win strategy to not only conserve biodiversity but also provide livelihood options to scores of forest-dwelling communities. There has been evidence both for, and against, the impacts of harvesting and the ecological sustainability of harvested species. Harvesting can act as a selective force and reduce the population genetic diversity, especially for species in which the reproductive parts are harvested. A debate has been raging among scientists, resource managers, as well as policy makers for decades, over which methods, and what levels of harvest, can be considered ecologically sustainabl

Changes in genetic diversity parameters in unimproved and improved populations of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) in Karnataka state, India

Teak (Tectona grandis L. f.; family Verbanaceae) is an important plantation tree species in the tropics and in India one of the first species to be prioritized for improvement. Improvement efforts for the last 50 years have essentially concentrated on augmenting quality seed production by establishing seed production areas (SPA) and clonal seed orchards (CSO). Presently, these two form the main sources of quality planting material for teak throughout the country. However, there is no information on the genetic quality of such sources nor information on the progeny used in plantation programmes. Reports of studies based on coniferous and tropical species provide conflicting results on the impact of domestication on the genetic diversity of populations (Chaisurisri and El Kassaby 1994; Rajora 1999; Moran et al. 2000; Godt et al. 2001; Icgen et al. 2006). Also the impact of domestication on the genetic diversity of progeny populations is poorly understood (Stoehr and El-Kassaby 1997; Schmitdtling and Hiplins 1998). Such studies become pertinent not only for gauging the impact of selection on reforestation stock, but also for effective genetic conservation of existing breeding populations. We therefore address two issues in the present study: (i) the change in genetic diversity with increasing levels of improvement, and (ii) the impact of the above change on genetic diversity of progeny populations

Seedling mortality in two vulnerable tree species in the sacred groves of Western Ghats, South India

Sacred groves form a significant component of the traditional conservation movement in many parts of the tropical world1. The Western Ghats, one of the two mega-diversity centers in India, is dotted with sacred groves, with the highest concentrations located in the central Western Ghats2. Sacred groves are believed to serve as the last refugia for a number of taxa, particularly for rare, endangered and threatened species3,4. Of late due to encroachments and land-use changes, the sacred groves have been increasingly threatened and fragmented 4. During the last century alone,the total area under the groves in Kodagu district in the central Western Ghats decreased by 42%. Besides, more than 46% of the sacred groves in the district are less than 0.4 ha in area. The increased fragmentation of the groves could undermine the utility of these groves in serving as a refugium for the rare, endangered and threatened (RET) species. Here we examine the effects of grove area on the seedling mortality of two economically important and vulnerable tree species