Vembanad Bioblitz Interim Report

Introduction Vembanad Bioblitz

Methodology Selection of Schools Program Execution

Results Discussion Conclusion

Summary Positives Negatives Constraints Action plans

Constraints

I. Introduction The Vembanad lake in Kerala, a designated Ramsar site, fosters high biological

diversity, provides hydrological as well as ecological services and supports livelihoods of a huge rural population. The Lake spreads over backwaters, marshes, lagoons, mangrove forests, reclaimed land and an intricate network of natural and manmade canals. Unique cultural traditions, water centered social institutions and lifestyles have evolved around the wetlands over time. Vembanad has high conservation priority owing to vanishing mangrove patches and declining diversity and population of fishes and migratory waterfowl due to intense human intervention.

Fig 1: A map showing the layout of the Vembanad lake

Vembanad Bioblitz Vembanad bioblitz is a biodiversity register preparation program for the schools of

Vembanad – Kuttanad areas which is jointly organized by the Ashoka trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) and the India Biodiversity Portal (IBP). The program is funded and supported by “Wipro Applying Thoughts in Schools”. Bioblitz primarily aims at providing school children a platform to identify, document and monitor local biodiversity. The collected data during each bioblitz are uploaded and showcased on the India Biodiversity Portal under the Vembanad Wetland Conservation Program group, with the intentioning of generating a biodiversity inventory for the region.

The program targets 40 schools in the Vembanad area. These schools are all part of “Jalapaadom” program (Lessons on water), a unique wetland conservation education programme launched in consultation with the State Education Department. The program is coordinated by Community Environment Education Centre run by ATREE (CERC­ATREE) and is aimed at spreading environmental awareness, particularly among the student community. Most of these schools are government aided where education is free and children are from economically backward groups. The program provides student and schools an opportunity to learn about biodiversity, participate in contributing to the regional and global biodiversity data, and also building capability to use the internet for scientific learning and documentation.

Methodology

Selection of Schools The current bioblitz project sought to run a pilot programme with a selected number of

schools in the region, to ascertain if the program can then be scaled up for a larger region. Among the 40 schools participating in the Jalapaadom program, 8 pilot schools were selected for intensive focus during the initial phase. An initial workshop was held on 24th June 2014, where teachers from all schools were invited to participate. The teachers were

then given an overview of the objectives of the program and a demonstration of the India Biodiversity Portal and its features. Eight schools were then selected in consultation with the teachers for the pilot phase. Fig 1: Map showing the locations of all schools selected for the bioblitz and other participating schools. The 8 pilot schools were selected in such a way as to include different ecosystems from the vembanad region so as to capture maximum biodiversity. Table 2 lists the final selected schools and their ecosystem.

Sl. No Name of school Ecosystem

1. St. Mathew's High School, Kannankara Near Lake/Marshy

2. St. Mary's Boy's High School, Kainakary Near Lake/Marshy

3. Sree Kumara Mangalam, Higher Secondary School, Kumarakom

Near Lake/Marshy

4. Govt. High School, Kuppappuram Near Lake/Marshy

5. Govt. Higher Secondary School, Karapuzha, Kottayam City

6. SDV High School for Boys, Alappuzha City

7. St. Aloysius Boys High School, Edathua Township

8. Naluchira UPS, Thottappally Coastal

Table 1: Final selected schools and their habitat type

Program Execution The program focused on six months of field observation from Sep­2014 to Feb­2015,

followed by a compilation of the observations from all participating schools to a consolidated biodiversity inventory.

A program coordinator was appointed to visit all the schools on a bi­monthly basis. The first bioblitz exercise at each school consisted of two phases viz; A theoretic class followed by field visit. The theory class briefed students on biodiversity, its importance and conservational urgencies, identification of different floral and faunal species and survey techniques. All schools were provided with Canon IXUS 155 digital camera [20 MP, focal length of 4.3(W)/43.0 (T)]. Students were given specific instructions on photographing organisms with special reference to the taxonomic features that would be necessary to identify different species groups.

Field visits consisted of 2­3 hours of VES (Visual Encounter Survey), spot photography and uploading photos of recorded species to the India Biodiversity Portal. All schools were directed to set up an account on the portal so that observation could be uploaded and aggregated under the account. Specific field guides of different species groups were prepared for the exercise and other available local as well as authentic aids were used to identify the recorded species. The help of experts and enthusiasts on the India Biodiversity Portal were enlisted to help identify the records.Field visits were repeated bi­monthly.

The records were downloaded from the portal and analyzed to evaluate details of participation and species diversity in the region.

Results A total of 1281 observations were uploaded to the portal from all 8 schools under the

Bioblitz program. Of these, 82% were identified and 18% unidentified (Fig 2)

Fig. 2 Total number of observations Identified and Unidentified

Fig. 3 shows a breakdown of the the observations recorded by each school. The pie chart depicts the total number of observations made by each school (Blue), total number of identified species (Green) and total number of unidentified species (Red). SDV­Boys HS, Alappuzha (269) and St. Mary’s HS, Kainakary lead with the number of observations uploaded. More than 75% of the observations recorded by each school on the portal has been identified. Observations from Govt. High School­Kuppappuram, GHS­Karapuzha, Kottayam and St. Mathew's HSS, Kannankara have been identified above 90%. Other pilot schools follow with; Naluchira UPS (76%), Thottappally, SKM­HSS (86%), Kumarakom, SDV­Boys HS, Alappuzha (77%), St. Mary’s HSS, Kainakary (76%) and St. Aloysius boy’s HS, Edathua (79%).

SDV, Boys, HSS, Alappuzha St. Aloysius, Edathua

St.Mary's HSS, Kainakary St. Mathew's HSS, Kannankara

SKM, HSS, Kumarakom Govt. High School, Kuppappuram

Naluchira UPS, Thottappally GHS, Karapuzha, Kottayam Fig 3: A breakdown of the contribution of each schools showing the proportion of identified and unidentified species

Fig 4: A breakdown of the total observations from all schools showing the proportion of identified and unidentified species

Most of the observations submitted are under the species group “Plants” or “Arthropods”. A total of 911 observations (68%) were plants, and 306 were arthropods (24%). “Birds”(4%) and “Fishes” (1%) followed, although with much less representation. Mammals, reptiles, amphibians fungi and molluscs saw very little recordings. These trends are consistent among all schools.

SDV, Boys, HSS, Alappuzha St. Aloysius, Edathua

St.Mary's HSS, Kainakary St. Mathew's HSS, Kannankara

SKM, HSS, Kumarakom Govt. High School, Kuppappuram

Naluchira UPS, Thottappally GHS, Karapuzha, Kottayam Fig. 5: A breakdown of all the observations for each school by species groups and the number of identified and unidentified in each group. SDV High School not only leads in the total number of observations uploaded but also in the most number of species recorded (179). It also has the highest number of unique species (116) that were not recorded by other schools. St. Aloysius Edathua and St Mary’s Kainakary follow with 137 and 130 species each and 66 and 56 unique recordings respectively.

Fig. 6: A breakdown of the the number of species observed and the number of unique species seen by each school

Birds, amphibians and reptiles lead the category of the most identifications with 100%

being identified. Only one fish and mammal remains to be identified. About 20% of the plants are still awaiting identification, while 13% of the arthropods are unidentified. Fungi have the least number of identifications with only one being identified, which is also lacks a scientific identification.

Fig. 7: Number of identified and unidentified species in each species group About 63% of all uploaded observations are identified. A total of 657 unique identifications were recorded during the exercise. Among the observations identified with a scientific name, more than 73% (551) have been identified to the species level while, the others have been identified to genus (7%), family (4.5%) or a higher taxa level.

Fig. 8: Pie chart showing the taxa levels to which identifications have been made. Of the most commonly reported species, four of the top five species are Odonates, with the Pied Paddy Skimmer (Neurothemis tullia) being most commonly reported. Seven of the eight schools have reported this species. Only odonates and plants figure in the top 10 most common species with Colocasia esculenta and Ficus religiosa being the most common plant and tree respectively. The Black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus), Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii) and the Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) figure as the most common birds. The gray pansy (Junonia atlites) was the most common butterfly while the Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) was the most common reptile reported.

Species

Species Group Reported in

Neurothemis tullia Dragonfly 7 Schools

Orthetrum sabina Dragonfly 5 Schools

Colocasia esculenta Plant 5 Schools

Rhyothemis variegata Dragonfly 4 Schools

Ceriagrion coromandelianum Dragonfly 5 Schools

Ficus religiosa Tree 5 Schools

Brachythemis contaminata Dragonfly 3 Schools

Peperomia pellucida Plant 4 Schools

Cocos nucifera Tree 6 Schools

Mangifera indica Tree 6 Schools

Eichornia crassipes Plant 4 Schools

Cyanthillium cinereum Plant 5 Schools

Table 2: Most commonly reported species Spatial coverage of observations

Fig. 9. Heat Map showing the distribution density of observations across Vembanad

Fig.9, illustrates a heat map of the spatial distribution of the recorded observations by the schools participating in the Vembanad Bioblitz exercise. The color range from red to green indicates decreasing species density. The distribution of the uploaded observations is seen to be patchy and concentrated in specific areas with urban Alappuzha showing the highest density of observations uploaded, followed by South Kainakary and Edathua. The below figure indicates that these are regions where the most active schools are located. Very little observations have been submitted from outside the vicinity of the school areas.

Fig. 10. Map shows a graduated categories based on number of observation density overlaid with the locations of the selected schools. Larger circles indicate greater density of observations.

Discussion Vembanad is a biodiversity rich region, yet, there has been no complete

inventorization or assessment of biodiversity of the region.Most research studies focus on economically important species and relatively little is known on smaller fauna or flora species

Table 3 represents the some of the known estimates of species around Vembanad along with that recorded by students during the bioblitz. Of the total 1281 observations, 868 were plants and 306 arthropods, accounting for almost 92% of the observations. All other species groups were covered by just the remaining 8% observations. This points to a big bias that can possibly be accounted by factors such as the lack of experience in making proper scientific observations, limited focal length of the cameras used as well as accessibility to species.

The exercise was scheduled at each school between 10:30 am to 1:30 pm owing to academic constraints. Plants being immobile were easily recordable. Most arthropods have a heightened activity during this period which made them easily visible. Birds, amphibians and reptiles generally are not active or easily visible during this time. A lot of them are also nocturnal or crepuscular, which restricts the possibility of being sighted during the stipulated exercise period. The short focal range of the cameras provided may have also been a restricting factor in capturing bird observations.

Since there was no dedicated efforts in aquatic sampling the fish and other aquatic fauna recorded were low. Better representation may be achieved by using nets and by recording the catches from local fish landing centres.

Species group Observed and Identified Estimated

Amphibians 2 Data deficient

Arthropods 95 213

Birds 28 225a

Fish 32 158a

Mammals 3 Data deficient

Molluscs 2 12

Plants 379 338a

Reptiles 4 25

Table 3 showing the count of observations identified to species level and their comparison to known estimates Introduction of new methods to capture biodiversity, such as camera traps, setting up

light traps, pitfalls, pan traps etc. could generate more diverse representation of species recorded. The use of insect nets, both aerial and sweep nets, by children during the bioblitz could facilitate better collection of the other insects. As photographing birds is difficult without long focal length lenses, students could be trained to also identify bird calls and generate lists or record them and upload to the portal for identification. Pitfall traps, call surveying, funnel traps and pipe­sampling could be used for amphibian surveys and adjustments in timings could also be considered for better outcome. Pitfalls could be used for reptiles too. As Fishes, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles and Mammals are poorly observed future sessions need to give more focus to observing and recording these species groups. Inviting experts in these groups to visit the regions and accompany interested students on special surveys may also help in recording such species.

As noted from the observation density maps, several regions around the Vembanad lakes are unrepresented with regards to observations. Such spatial gaps in the project area could be bridged done by introducing more schools into the exercise. Additionally, existing schools could be encouraged to venture beyond their school boundaries to observe and record biodiversity from such regions. As the program coordinator will only be able to visit each school bi­monthly, it would be ideal if the school program leaders initiate and runs independent bioblitz sessions more frequently. Students can also be encouraged to take up observation and recording of biodiversity of their own initiative.

There are still about 20% unidentified observations from the program. Species experts need to be encouraged to participate on the portal and help identify observations on the Vembanad Wetland Conservation Group. Also workshops can be conducted by experts to help train students to themselves identify the common species sighted. Preparation and distribution of simple field guides will also help accomplish this.

Conclusion

The Vembanad Bioblitz project is a unique initiative that harnesses the power of crowdsourcing to aggregate and build a biodiversity inventory of the local region. The initiative provides the school children with important learning opportunities. Both students and teachers get opportunities to better their skills in scientific observational and taxonomic identification. It fosters research aptitude and the importance of knowing and understand their local environment, ultimately leading to a better outlook towards ecology and conservation.

The program also provides an opportunity for students to develop their capacity in using and the internet to accomplish basic tasks such as uploading observations, searching for information and interacting with the community on the portal. The students also get an opportunity to contribute towards the task of building a biodiversity inventory for Vembanad. As mentioned earlier, there have been no complete attempts yet at inventorying the biodiversity of the Vembanad region yet. The bioblitz programme will contribute towards generating a more complete biodiversity register of the area. It is hoped that this pilot program can be scaled up to replicate its success in larger areas across the country.

Summary The Vembanad Bioblitz project is a unique initiative that seeks to harness the power of crowdsourcing to aggregate and build a biodiversity inventory of the local region. The Schools are expected to play an important role in aggregating biodiversity information. As a mid term assessment this analysis of the the data uploaded had a few key takeaway points:

Positives Plant diversity : With over 379 species identified, the plant diversity of the region has

been well documented. Active schools spark enthusiasm:The top five schools have all uploaded over 200

observations each. Students have been enthusiastic in participation and teachers continue to encourage them.

Good identification rate: Over 80% of the uploaded observations have been identified to some level. Over 60% of these to species level. This is a good rate of identification and there seems to been active response from the portal community in helping with identification.

Good coverage in vicinity of schools: The areas immediately surrounding the school boundaries are well represented in terms of density of uploaded observations.

Negatives Uploads not up to expected levels: 1281 uploads over 5 months are below expected

average. This translates to about 30 observations per school per month, or 7 uploads per session. This is well below the expected participation mark and needs improvement.

Spatial gaps in data: There are large spatial gaps around the vembanad lake where little or no biodiversity documentation has occurred. Efforts need to be made to source records from these areas too.

Species data gaps: Plants and arthropods outnumber other species groups such as reptiles, amphibians and fishes which are poorly represented. More effort needs to be input to collect records of these species groups.

Underperforming schools: Some schools have performed well below the average with very few uploads. Steps need to be initiated to discover the limiting factors and fix them to bring these schools on par with the other schools.

Single user accounts for schools not satisfactory: Common user account for upload of observations does not provide feedback to individuals. Notifications when a species is identified or a comment is made is limited in visibility to the operator of the school account. It would be desirable for individual students to operate under their own identity while still being placed under the umbrella of the school, which in itself is placed under the Vembanad group.

Constraints Activity time: Currently the bioblitz are carried out only in mid­morning. This is not a

conducive time for most species. Varying the time of observation to cover dawn and dusk can help collect more varied biodiversity.

Access to internet: Students do not have unrestricted access to the internet to surf and upload observations at their will. They are limited to the activity time slot during which they have to upload observations. Thereby they are not able to follow up on identifications or browse other uploads and interact upon them. This is a serious constraint that limits participation and learning.

Camera and capture limitations: There is a limit of one camera per school. This camera is often in the possession of the teacher or principal. This constraint limits the ability of students to carry out the recording of observations as and when they are free or have the inclination to do so. The provided camera also has limited focal length which hinders the capture of observations such as birds which are beyond the immediate reach of the camera.

Limited geographical reach: The defined time slot of two hours during which the observation and upload has to be done is not enough for students to move beyond the school boundaries and capture observations. Logistical issues such as access to transport also impede mobility.

Action plans Tools to be used for sampling biodiversity: The usage of sampling tools such as

insect traps and nets will be used to sample around the school campus. Visits to local fish landing centres will be done to ascertain the local fish diversity.

Schools to spread out: Schools and students will be encouraged to sample in locations outside the immediate vicinity of the schools so as to extend the spatial coverage of observations.

Involve experts: Efforts will be made to involve experts to visit schools and accompany students for surveys, especially to determine the diversity of poorly recorded species such reptiles and amphibians

Create and upload checklists: Students will be encouraged to compile checklists where it is not possible to source images eg: birds. Students should be accompanied by an expert so that the lists are verified. The lists can then be uploaded to the portal.

Feedback to schools: The results and action plans of this mid­term assessment will be conveyed to all schools, by the coordinator to encourage them to improve participation and fill in data gaps.