Journal of
Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 January 2019 | 11(1): 13151–13154
Feeding trails of Dugong Dugong
dugon (Müller, 1776) (Mammalia: Sirenia: Dugongidae) in the Gulf of Kachchh,
western coast of India
Deepak Apte 1, Dishant Parasharya 2 &
Bhavik Patel 3
1,2,3 Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS),
Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat
Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001, India.
1 director@bnhs.org, 2 d.parasharya@bnhs.org
(corresponding author), 3 b.patel@bnhs.org
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4315.11.1.13151-13154
Editor: E. Vivekanandan,
Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Chennai, India. Date
of publication: 26 January 2019 (online & print)
Manuscript details: #4315
| Received 05 June 2018 | Final received 16 October 2018 | Finally accepted 15
January 2019
Citation: Apte, D., D. Parasharya
& B. Patel (2019). Feeding trails of Dugong Dugong dugon
(Müller, 1776) (Mammalia: Sirenia: Dugongidae) in the Gulf of Kachchh, western coast of
India. Journal
of Threatened Taxa 11(1): 13151–13154; https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4315.11.1.13151-13154
Copyright: Apte et al. 2019.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s)
and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank PCCF
(Wildlife) Gujarat Forest Department, CCF (MNP & S) for providing necessary
permissions and support during the field visits. Sincere thanks to Dr. Amanda Hodgson from
Murdoch University and Professor Helene Marsh and Dr. Michael Rasheed from James Cook University Australia for valuable
guidance in identifying the trails and improving our knowledge. Authors are grateful to Mr. Rajesh Parmar for his help during fieldwork.
Abstract: Dugong Dugong
dugon (Müller, 1776) is the only herbivorous
marine mammal distributed along the tropical and subtropical oceans of the
Indo-Pacific regions. The record of the
species in India is mainly from the east coast including Andaman and Gulf of Mannar. In this note
the authors have recorded feeding trails of Dugong on the Halodule
uninervis meadow in the Gulf of Kachchh, i.e., northwestern part
of India. Most of the records of this species from this area are stranding
records. This is the second record of
the trail from this region.
Keywords: Dugong, ecology, Halodule uninervis,
seagrass, trail.
The Dugong Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776) occurs in the tropical and
subtropical sea areas of the Indo-Pacific region (Nishiwaki
& Marsh 1985), and is classified as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List
(Thornback & Jenkins 1982). In the
Indian subcontinent, this protected species occurs in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Gulf of Kachchh
(GoK), and Andaman & Nicobar islands.
Sivakumar & Nair (2013)
gave comprehensive details on the potential regions for Dugong in all the three
regions of India. Tuticorin-Tharuvaikulam
and Roachamanagar Dhanushkodi
stretches, including the offshore islands, were identified as critical for
Dugong in the Gulf of Mannar (Sivakumar
& Nair 2013). Areas in Palk Bay
include waters off Dhanushkodi, Rameshwaram,
Devipattinam, Thiruppalaikudi,
Morepannai, Mullimunnai, Pudupattinam, Thondi, Mimisal, Kottaippattanam, Manamelkudi and Manora. The critical Dugong habitat identified in the
Andaman Islands includes the waters off Landfall Island, Reef Island,
White-Cliff Island, Smith Island, North Reef Island, Interview Island, Sound
Island, Mayabunder, Karmatang,
Long Island, North Passage, Ritchie’s Archipelago, M.G. Marine National Park,
Sister Islands and Brother Islands, as well as parts of Jarawa
Reserve and the eastern and southern coast of Little Andaman (Sivakumar & Nair 2013).
The population of Dugong and its habitats are
continuously declining in India with about only 200 surviving individuals (Sivakumar & Nair 2013).
Several reasons have been attributed to the decline in the Dugong
population, including sea grass habitat loss, gill netting, disease, water
pollutants, indigenous use and poaching (Sivakumar & Nair 2013).
Reviews of Dugong in Indian waters have consistently treated Gulf of Kachchh as an area of little significance (Frazier & Mundkur 1990). Dugong were noted by different researches at different
locality in Gulf of Kachchh (Moses 1942; Mani 1960;
Silas 1961; Mohan 1963; Frazier & Mundkur 1990;
and Singh 2003). Frazier & Mundkur (1990)
compiled the dugong observation with the help of fishermen interview and
reported 18 animals from the Gulf of Kachchh,
particularly in Bet Dwarka, Poshitra
and their neighbouring areas. Singh
(2003) noted four dead Dugong from this region that includes
one skull on Bhaidar Island, two dead animals in Bharana and one dead animal on Poshitra
coast.
Observation
On 27 May 2017, during the marine invertebrate study,
the authors visited Narara reef area in the central
region of the Gulf of Kachchh. The area is also a part of Marine National
Park and Sanctuary – Jamnagar. The area
significantly harbors 7.5ha of Halodule
uninervis Meadow (22.4790N &
69.7180E to 22.4830N & 69.7180E) (Fig. 1).
Peculiar grazing pattern was observed in the meadow, and was considered
to be a Dugong feeding trail. The grass
was completely uprooted and grazed, and the width of the trail varied from
20–28 cm and length varied from 100–520 cm.
The trail was recorded at the low tide where during the high-tide the water rises to 4.5m. Photographs and measurements of all the
trails were taken (Image 1). International experts were consulted for
confirming the trails, which were confirmed as feeding trails of Dugong.
Discussion
Most of the
records of the species are from the western parts of the gulf and majority of
the records are stranded, washed off dead animals questioning the status of the
population within the GoK (Table 1). Most observations of the species in GoK are stranding records towards Okha,
Poshitra and Bhaider, i.e.,
opening of the gulf, indicating the population as vagrant or non-resident to GoK. Pandey et al. (2010) recorded the first feeding trail for GoK from the seagrass meadows of Pirotan Island. This
is the second record of the feeding trail from the central part of the GoK. Narara is an important Dugong habitat in GoK (Sivakumar & Nair
2013). The observation of Dugong feeding
trail in this area is an important but indirect evidence of the presence of the
species and is of considerable importance as it indicates the presence of live
animals in the central areas of the GoK indicating
the presence of the species in this area further more towards the east in GoK. Kamboj (2014) provided status of the seagrass
in the Marine National Park and Sanctuary, however,
the seagrass beds of Narara
are not included in the same. All the stranding records are in proximity to the
existing seagrass beds (Table 2; Fig 2).
The Dugong
population in the Arabian Gulf is believed to be the second largest in the
world after Australia. Akab Island (Umm al Qaywayn, UAE)
is the oldest site (6000 years) where Dugong remains have been discovered (Jousse 1999). The
Arabian Gulf is considered to contain the most important Dugong habitat in the
western half of the Dugong’s range (Preen 1989). The population estimate of Dugong in the
Arabian Gulf was estimated to be 1861 individuals in summer and 2185 in winter
(Al-Ghais & Das 2001). The phenomenon of winter congregation and
dispersed population in summer was also reported by Preen (1989). The feeding trail reported by Anand et al. (2012) was in the month of May and the present
study also reports the feeding trail in month of May, i.e., in northwestern Asia including Arabian
Gulf and Gulf of Kachchh. The presence of the species in summer gives
rise to two different possibilities: (a) the species is present in the area in
very low number so that it is not recorded live, or (b) the occurrence is
accidental and result of population dispersal from the Arabian Gulf during
summer. The distance between these two
sites, however, is more than 1,500km and this hypothesis needs to be assessed
by satellite tagging few animals in the Arabian Gulf.
Observations
and frequent monitoring of these seagrass meadows may
help in understanding the presence and movements of the Dugong population in
the area. This information will be
valuable for the better management practice of the species in the region.
Table 1. Dugong stranding records from
Gulf of Kachchh
|
|
Year |
Location |
No. of Dugong |
Source |
|
1 |
1877 |
Sachana |
1 |
Frazier & Mundkur
1990 |
|
2 |
1893 |
Mandvi |
1 |
Thurston 1895 |
|
3 |
1959 |
Kalyan Light House |
1 |
Mani, 1960; Silas 1961 |
|
4 |
1962 |
Pirotan Island |
2 |
Mohan 1963 |
|
5 |
1962 |
Salaya |
1 |
Mohan 1963 |
|
6 |
1978 |
Bhaider island |
1 |
Frazier & Mundkur
1990 |
|
7 |
1983 |
Bet Dwarka |
2 |
Ved 1983 |
|
8 |
1984 |
Poshitra |
1 |
Singh 1994 |
|
9 |
1987 |
Bet Dwarka |
3 |
Frazier & Mundkur
1990 |
|
10 |
1987 |
Poshitra |
1 |
Frazier & Mundkur
1990 |
|
11 |
1987 |
Poshitra point |
1 |
Frazier & Mundkur
1990 |
|
12 |
2000 |
Bhaider island |
1 |
Singh et. al.
2004 |
|
13 |
2000 |
Noru-Bhaider |
2 |
Singh et. al.
2004 |
|
14 |
2002 |
Poshitra (Shaan) |
1 |
Singh et. al.
2004 |
|
15 |
2003 |
Poshitra |
1 |
Singh et. al.
2004 |
|
16 |
2004 |
Poshitra |
1 |
Asari (pers. Comm.) |
|
17 |
2007 |
Bet Dwarka |
1 |
Pandey et al. 2010 |
|
18 |
2010 |
Bet Dwarka |
1 |
Forest Department |
|
19 |
2013 |
Mithapur |
1 |
Yogeshkumar et al. 2013 |
Table 2. Seagrass
meadows in the Marine National Park and Sanctuary (Source: Kamboj
2014)
|
|
Location |
Area (ha) |
|
1 |
Bhural reef |
1321.72 |
|
2 |
Ajad Island |
8.94 |
|
3 |
Gandhio Kado Island |
3.01 |
|
4 |
Goose reef |
15.65 |
|
5 |
Sikka reef |
198.81 |
|
6 |
Dedeka Mundeka |
354.62 |
|
7 |
Pirotan |
504.18 |
|
8 |
Jindra and Chhad
islands |
25.38 |
|
9 |
Narara (current study) |
7.5 |
For
images / figures – click here
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