Researchers study the elusive dugongs of the Andamans with help from community stakeholders

Researchers study the elusive dugongs of the Andamans with help from community stakeholders

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context:

• A recent study used reports from fishers, divers, Indian defence agencies and forest departments, over a five-year period, to monitor dugongs in the Andaman Islands.

Details:

• Dugong monitoring is challenging in areas such as the Andaman Islands. Citizen scientist and stakeholder networks are an effective and low-cost method for spotting dugong populations in such areas.
  • Due to the vastness of the islands, it is challenging to engage a population and one needs a strong rapport and network with communities.
• The recent findings seem to indicate that dugong populations in the Andaman Islands are recovering.
• Tamil Nadu has declared India’s first dugong conservation reserve in the Gulf of Mannar and the adjacent Palk Bay on the southeast coast of India.

About Dugongs:

• Dugongs (also known as Sea cows) are one of the only four surviving species of the order Sirenia– a once diverse group of marine mammals that include manatees.
• Found in the coastal waters of at least 39 countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Dugongs are herbivores and eat seagrasses.
• They give birth to a single calf. Their heavy bones and haemoglobin-rich blood enables them to stay underwater for long periods.
• The dugongs have to come up to the surface of the sea for breathing once in every 5-7 minutes. This is when they are the most vulnerable to attacks.
• ‘World Dugong Day’ is celebrated on May 28.
• Vulnerability:
  • Dugongs are categorised as vulnerable according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
  • Compared to other regions where the dugong is found, its population is low, with an estimated 250 in Indian waters.
• Habitat:
  • Dugongs live in seagrass meadows found in warm shallow coastal waters, which are their sole food source.
  • In India, they are sighted at the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.
• Threats:
  • Dugong populations have declined globally in recent decades due to habitat loss, bycatch, hunting and boat collisions and were believed to be locally extinct in Little Andamans Island.
  • Seagrass meadows are highly sensitive to severe weather events and human activities. Dredging, trawling, and runoff can significantly disrupt these ecosystems.
  • The tsunami in 2004 disrupted seagrass meadows around Little Andaman, part of the Andaman Islands, so significantly, that dugongs were thought to be locally extinct.