Acoustic telemetry reveals strong spatial preferences and mixing during successive spawning periods in a partially migratory common bream population

Partial migration, whereby a population comprises multiple behavioural phenotypes that each have varying tendencies to migrate, is common among many animals. Determining the mechanisms by which these phenotypes are maintained is important for understanding their roles in population structure and stability. The aim here was to test for the temporal and spatial consistency of migratory phenotypes in a common bream Abramis brama (‘bream’) population, and then determine their social preferences and extent of mixing across three successive annual spawning periods. The study applied passive acoustic telemetry to track the movements of bream in the River Bure system of the Norfolk Broads, a lowland wetland comprising highly connected riverine and lacustrine habitats. Analyses revealed that individual migratory phenotype was highly consistent across the 3 years, but this was not predicted by fish sex or length at tagging. During the annual spawning periods, network analyses identified off-channel areas visited by both resident and migrant fish that, in non-spawning periods, were relatively independent in their space use. Within these sites, the co-occurrence of bream was non-random, with individuals forming more preferred associations than expected by chance. These associations were not strongly predicted by similarity in fish length, sex or behavioural phenotype, indicating that the resident and migrant phenotypes mixed during their annual spawning periods. The results suggested these different phenotypes, with spatially distinct resource use in non-spawning periods, comprised a single population, with this having important implications for the management of this wetland resource.

Political Ecology in Merbeel: A Power Play Around Past and Present Wetland Resource Management

The interrelationship between human society and nature is multifarious. Indeed, interrelationship involves different power plays either in explicit or implicit forms. In different indigenous societies of the world, different actors have been influencing the natural resource management process. With time, the power plays commenced by such actors have been altering their forms with different actors at the zenith of hierarchical man-environment relationship. This research is an attempt to explore a succession of such power plays around a historically famous wetland Merbeel and its island of Upper Assam. The research methods followed here is qualitative. A participatory research approach is used to explore different local dynamics. The research shows that the wetland and its island have perceivably been under a through hegemonic control of different groups, from time to time. Due to natural resource availability, Merbeel and its island have always been in the epicentre of these hegemonic power plays. This study provides a brief explanation of this succession process of these power plays dividing it into three periods.

Valuing Fishing Activity of the Deepor Beel

The Deepor Beel is one of the large and important riverine wetlands in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, India. The only Ramsar site of Assam, the Beel is one of the richest biodiversity grounds in the wetland eco-system of the state. The Deepor Beel is the hub of a wide range of organisms. It provides various goods and services directly or indirectly to the villages near to the beel for their livelihood. Despite its contribution to society and ecology as a whole, these goods and services of the Beel are undervalued in the policy provisions. The prime reason for this undervaluation is that most of the goods and services of the Beel are non-marketable and those goods which have direct use-values are never valued in an economic term. To fill the gap partially, this study tries to estimate the direct use values of the Deepor Beel. Among the goods the Deepor Beel provides, fishing can be considered one of the economically significant goods. Fishing provides livelihood directly to 825 households living near the Beel. Therefore, this research tries to estimate the direct use value of fishing in the Deepor Beel. A market price approach is applied to estimate the value of this wetland resource. Net Present Value (NPV) of fishing is also estimated. The total estimated value of fishing is INR 11,64,69,375 per annum. The estimated value of fishing per hectare is INR 29,015.78 per annum. The estimated Net Present Value (NPV) of fishing is INR 97,05,78,125. This valuation is important to draw the attention of the policymakers for resource investment in conserving the Beel for continued benefits.

Wetland Resource Utilization By Spot-Billed Pelicans In Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

The Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis), a near threatened bird and one of eight pelican species in the world, can be found only in South and Southeast Asia over an area between 129000 and 181000 km2 with strongholds in India, Sri Lanka, southern Cambodia and coastal areas of Sumatra. In India,it is presently distributed in southern and northeastern India with concentrations in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Assam states. The present study deals how the spot- billed pelicans utilize the wetlands as well as their behaviour is noted in order to plan conservation and management strategies for the species.

Peranan Restorasi Hutan dalam Konservasi Jenis Mangrove di Pesisir Timur Sumatera Utara

Hutan mangrove merupakan sumber daya lahan basah yang berfungsi sebagai penyangga kehidupan. Namun demikian, dalam beberapa dekade terakhir, hutan mangrove banyak yang rusak atau hilang, terutama akibat konversi mangrove menjadi lahan tambak. Kegiatan restorasi mangrove pada lahan bekas tambak telah mulai dilakukan dalam beberapa tahun terakhir. Peneltian ini bertujuan untuk mengukur pemulihan jenis-jenis mangrove melalui kegiatan restorasi mangrove pada lahan bekas tambak serta mengetahui komposisi jenis hutan mangrove hasil restorasi dimaksud di pesisir timur Sumatera Utara. Sebanyak 30 plot contoh yang masing masing berukuran 10 m x 10 m telah dibangun di setiap umur tegakan (5-9 tahun) dan hutan sekunder. Seluruh pohon yang berdiameter (DBH) ≥ 2 cm di dalam plot contoh diidentifikasi dan diukur diamaternya. Secara keseluruhan, terdapat 14 jenis mangrove pada seluruh plot contoh atau setara dengan 42,42% dari seluruh jenis tumbuhan mangrove sejati yang terdapat di Indonesia. Dengan demikian, restorasi mangrove mampu memulihkan keanekaragaman jenis mangrove, sehingga restorasi mangrove pada lahan bekas tambak perlu dipromosikan dalam upaya mengembalikan berbagai fungsi mangrove bagi ketahanan masyarakat dan sumberdaya pesisir. Mangrove forest is a wetland resource that serves as a buffer zone. However, in the past few decades, many mangrove forests have been damaged or converted, mainly into ponds. To address such a problem, mangrove restoration activities have begun in recent years. This research aims to measure the recovery of mangrove species on ex-pond land and indicate the type of mangrove forest composition through the mangrove restoration activities in North Sumatra. A total of 30 sample plots, with 10 m x 10 m size each, have been built at each stand age (5-9 years) and secondary forests. All trees with a diameter (DBH) ≥ 2 cm in the sample plot are identified and measured. The results show that overall, there are 14 types of mangroves in all sample plots, equivalent to 42.42% of all pure mangrove species in Indonesia. Therefore, it can be concluded that the activities can restore the diversity of mangrove species, so that needs to be promoted as an effort to restore the various functions of mangroves to resilience the community and coastal resources.

Impacts of co-management on fish biodiversity and livelihoods of fishers of Baikka beel, Moulvibazar, Bangladesh

Co-management plays a significant role in fisheries and natural resources management. In the case of fisheries, it has most often been taken to mean a sharing of responsibility for sustainable resource management between government and fishing communities. Baikka Beel, situated in Moulvibazar, Bangladesh has been identified and established as a wetland sanctuary by local community members in conjunction with the Management of Aquatic Ecosystem through Community Husbandry (MACH) project. In this study, the role of co-management institutions, including federations of resource user groups (FRUGs) and resource management organizations (RMOs) were investigated on sustainable wetland resource management and fish production and biodiversity in Baikka Beel. Study results shown that the knowledge and attitudes of MACH fishers towards sustainable resource management were positive and optimistic than non-MACH fishers; MACH fishers were involved with AIGAs. The results from independent samples t-test showed that the income of MACH group from fishing was significantly lower than the income of non-MACH group while income from AIGAs of MACH group was significantly higher than the income of non-MACH group. Fishing rights of both MACH and non-MACH fishers are not well established due to current leasing system. Both production and biodiversity of fish has been improved due to community-based sustainable management of Baikka Beel.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 16(2): 328-336, August 2018

Providing of Spatial Wetland Information for Supporting National Development

The wetland has a strategic role in national development. The potential uses of the wetland are varied such as for agriculture, fisheries, industries, and forestry. The intensive use of the wetland for agricultural development in Sumatera, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua through transmigration projects has been run since in 1973. Unfortunately, not all the projects were well developed, causing the social, economic, and physical environmental problems. These problems resulted in the negative impact for the life of the transmigration people. For that reason, the community empowerment for the unlucky transmigration people by handling the physical and non physical aspects is very important. This paper will describe the importance of providing spatial data and information biophysical wetland as an initial step in empowering people who live in the wetland resource.