Nature Conservation Foundation

The study reports photographic evidence of range extension for three avian species: Western Tragopan Tragopan melanocephalus (Gray, 1829), Tibetan Snowcock Tetraogallus tibetanus (Gould, 1854), and Tibetan Sandgrouse Syrrhaptes tibetanus (Gould, 1850) based on camera trap surveys conducted in the Bhagirathi Basin, Uttarakhand. These detections represent a noteworthy eastward range extension for all three species and refine the current understanding of their biogeographic distributions in the western Himalaya. The Western Tragopan, previously known to extend eastward only up to the Govind National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in the Garhwal Himalaya, lacked photographic confirmation until now. Similarly, the Tibetan Snowcock and Tibetan Sandgrouse were historically regarded as trans-Himalayan specialists, confined primarily to the high-altitude regions of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim. These records, obtained through systematic camera-trap sampling conducted over a five-year period, suggest the existence of populations of these species within Uttarakhand. Their distribution appears to be limited to remote and ecologically distinct high-altitude habitats.

The biodiverse northern Western Ghats, historically characterized by tropical evergreen forests, have undergone a pronounced shift toward deciduous vegetation following long-term anthropogenic disturbance, such as logging, plantations, and fire. This vegetation transition has led to declining biodiversity, altered ecosystem processes, and reduced hydrological stability. In the context of rising temperatures, prolonged dry periods, and increasingly variable moisture regimes, climate-smart restoration approaches are urgently needed to reestablish the native evergreen forest structure through strategic, trait-informed species selection.To inform species choice for restoration programs, we established a replicated juvenile pot experiment comprising 16 species spanning a slow–fast growth spectrum. We measured functional traits associated with drought and heat resilience, including diurnal water-use patterns (stomatal conductance), embolism resistance, dehydration tolerance, and thermal tolerance.Our preliminary analysis reveals trait covariation describing distinct hydraulic strategies among coexisting species. Clear differences emerge in diurnal water use patterns and dehydration tolerance among the studied species. Such differences in hydraulic strategies might improve ecosystem performance compared to monocultures under climate change. We are further investigating whether species with comparatively higher dehydration tolerance, and putative embolism and heat resistance can better withstand climatic stressors and exhibit improved growth performance, or trade-offs exist. Field monitoring of planted saplings will be essential to validate these preliminary insights and guide climate-resilient restoration in the northern Western Ghats.

The Indian flying fox (Pteropus medius), the largest of four fruit bat species found in Nepal, is endemic to South Asia and has recently been classified as ‘Near Threatened’ on the global conservation status due to growing threats to its survival. This species plays a vital ecological role in pollinating and dispersing seeds of 26 families of flowering plants in Nepal. The majority of the known roosts are located outside protected areas in human dominated landscapes, which are vulnerable to land use changes and climate change, but these impacts have yet to be evaluated. The roosts of P. medius are distributed within elevations of 75 to 1,322 meters above sea level (a.s.l.), spanning the Tarai, Chure, Inner Tarai, and Middle Mountain regions, with records primarily from the central Middle Mountain and no documentation from the eastern and western parts. Based on the occurrence data of 44 roosts, 12 low correlated bioclimatic variables and land-use data (r < 0.75), we ran an ensemble of machine learning algorithms in R using the ‘sdm’ package. Altogether, four variables — including urban land, mean diurnal range, annual mean temperature, and precipitation of the wettest month — emerged as significant predictors. The current potential distribution of the species spans 7,836 km2, approximately 5% of Nepal’s total land area. Based on future climate scenarios SSP 4.5 and SSP 8.5, our projections indicate that the species’ range will significantly expand within elevations of 500–1,500 m a.s.l. in the Inner Tarai and Middle Mountain regions, while contracting in lower elevations below 500 m a.s.l. in the Tarai and Chure regions. Since roosting colonies are mainly located in settlements and farmlands, the study’s findings can help guide regular monitoring and health surveillance of these colonies. Conservation efforts should prioritize the protection of native, broad leaved tall trees and implement systematic roost monitoring to safeguard existing populations.

Grassland-breeding waders are highly vulnerable to population declines, primarily due to the combination of agricultural intensification and predation. In Europe, agri-environment schemes (AESs) and site protection have been the main strategies implemented in order to improve breeding success. Additional various actions have also been taken in an effort to improve breeding success. However, despite these efforts, many wader populations continue to decline. Headstarting, which includes the collection of eggs from the wild and the captive raising of chicks prior to release, has been employed to help restore endangered wader species. This study examined the early post-release survival of GPS-tracked headstarted Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata (n = 62) at several sites in Poland. Overall survival from release to migration was 0.42, with the highest mortality occurring within the first seven days after release. All known mortalities were attributed to predation. Most predation occurred during the day. Mammalian predators were recorded more frequently than avian predators. No effect of year, release site, cohort size, or release date on survival was found. Predation probability was higher in areas with greater total lengths of roads and ditches, and at shorter distances to ditches. The probability of daytime predation was higher near trees, whereas the probability of nocturnal predation was greater near buildings. Predation risk during the early post-release period may be minimised by avoiding release sites with a dense network of roads and ditches, with many scattered trees, or close to farms and rural settlements.

ABSTRACT Aims Climatic factors, such as water stress, and chronic anthropogenic disturbances, such as biomass extraction, influence tropical forest community structure, richness and composition. However, while the individual effects of these two drivers on plant communities are well‐studied, their interactive effects are not. Location We conducted a study in the northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. Moist tropical forests in India's Western Ghats face a dual threat from increasingly erratic precipitation (and consequent water stress) and an intensifying anthropogenic footprint. Methods We sampled 120 tree plots (0.05 ha each) across forests with varying histories of biomass extraction and a gradient of climate water deficit (a proxy for water stress) within a 15,000‐km 2 landscape. Using generalised linear and mixed‐effects models, we tested the influence of chronic disturbance and climate water deficit on overall tree species richness, evergreen and deciduous tree species richness and the proportion of evergreen trees. Results We recorded 7001 individual trees belonging to 192 species. Tree composition varied across disturbance and elevation categories. Overall and evergreen tree species richness were significantly lower, while deciduous tree species richness was higher in repeatedly disturbed forests compared to less disturbed sites. Deciduous tree species richness increased more steeply with increasing water stress in repeatedly disturbed sites. Meanwhile, evergreen species richness increased with decreasing water stress. Conclusions Overall, we show that chronic disturbance reduces evergreen tree species and favours more widely distributed deciduous species. In the northern Western Ghats, where much of the remaining forest cover is disturbed and dominated by deciduous tree species, the persistence of the evergreen tree flora hinges on protecting existing evergreen forest patches from disturbances and restoring secondary forests with appropriate evergreen tree species.

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in seed dispersal remains understudied despite its critical role in maintaining plant diversity in the tropics. Field studies on this relationship are often confounded by environmental and phylogenetic variations across species richness gradients. We examined how overall avian frugivore species richness at a site influenced the frugivore richness, visitation rates and functional composition of two key effect traits (beak width and hand-wing index) on fruiting trees. Across six sites in tropical Asia, spanning a sevenfold gradient in frugivore species richness but with similar forest types and phylogenetically nested frugivore communities, we recorded 34 014 interactions between 138 avian frugivores and 131 woody plant species. Our results provide some support for the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship, as higher overall frugivore species richness increased the number of frugivore species visiting individual fruiting trees but not the functional composition of frugivores. Seed size had a stronger influence on the frugivore species richness, visitation rates and the beak size of visiting frugivores, highlighting the dominant role of morphological trait matching in influencing plant-frugivore interactions. Our findings suggest functional redundancy in certain aspects of seed dispersal effectiveness due to density compensation and the presence of key seed disperser lineages in species-poor sites.

Abstract India has a rich history of ornithology, and bird research in this field has expanded considerably in recent decades, spurred by a growing number of birdwatchers and ornithologists. Despite this progress, critical gaps remain. This paper highlights key areas where further research is needed and identifies pressing questions that will shape Indian ornithology in the coming years. Drawing from diverse inputs, we present a curated list of 101 research questions spanning across the various disciplines in ornithology – Natural History, Physiology and Disease Ecology, Behaviour, Population and Community Ecology, Habitat Ecology, Macroecology and Biogeography, Population Genetics and Evolution, Applied/Economic Ornithology and Conservation. The list was compiled through a multi-stage process, starting with a public open call for questions, followed by review and curation by a smaller panel of subject specialists. Each question was independently scored by a panel of experts based on three criteria: generality, novelty, and relevance. To account for variation in scoring styles, scores were normalised using Z-scores. The top 101 research questions were then selected based on these standardised scores. Each question is accompanied by an annotation that describes the significance of the question, and highlights opportunities to address it. While our list of research questions highlights significant research priorities, it is not intended to be exhaustive. Rather, it reflects the perspectives of those involved in its curation, who deemed these questions particularly relevant and impactful towards advancing Indian ornithology. We expect these questions to spark new project ideas among students, researchers, and citizen scientists, while guiding funders, managers, and policymakers toward priority research areas.

Abstract Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) – protection, restoration, and improved management of lands and waters that reduce greenhouse gasses – have large climate change mitigation potential. However, a lack of comprehensive information on NCS implementation challenges hinders NCS adoption and delivery of near-term mitigation. Using a global survey of NCS projects and a systematic review of recent NCS studies, we map 46 constraints in eight categories, yielding 15,572 geo-referenced NCS pathway-constraint observations from 501 studies and projects in 137 countries covering 20 of 22 UN subregions. Social-behavioral, Knowledge, and Government-organizational are the most-reported constraint categories, and lack of policy coordination or implementation capacity the most-observed constraint and most frequently top-ranking constraint for pathways and subregions. Despite broad congruence, top constraint and category rankings vary among subregions and pathways, respectively. NCS projects generally encounter multiple constraints in multiple categories, indicating complex challenges. Without enabling efforts, near-term NCS mitigation may remain well below its biophysical potential.

Sea turtles are one of the key biota in coastal and marine ecosystems whose existence is not only ecologically important, but also holds social, cultural, and economic value. Indonesia, as the largest archipelagic country in the world, is home to six of the world’s seven sea turtle species, making it a globally significant habitat for the sea turtle life cycle. The Gili Matra Marine Protected Area, encompassing the three islands of Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air, is one of the strategic regions with high potential for sea turtle conservation. This study aims to document and analyze the spatial distribution and habitat use of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area. Data collection was carried out during the period of September to October 2024, adjusted to weather conditions and water visibility. The method used was the Underwater Turtle Visual Census Methodology. The composition of sea turtle species and habitat characteristics were analyzed using descriptive analysis to summarize the patterns of species presence, habitat types, and environmental conditions observed during the survey. The findings indicate that the area supports both species, with sea turtles observed at various depths (9–16 meters) across multiple dive sites. The predominance of female individuals and the variation in species presence across sites suggest species specific habitat preferences and potential influences of environmental conditions. Both sea turtle was mostly observed in locations associated with coral reef structures.