Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of Bengal
Freshwater turtles are among the least studied faunas in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Here, we report the presence of freshwater turtles (<i>Cuora amboinensis</i>) from Car Nicobar, a small remote island in the Nicobar archipelago comprising the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Se...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Fishes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/8/10/517 |
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| author | Rajendran Kiruba-Sankar Sirisha Adamala Jessica Barman Kandasamy Saravanan Jayasimhan Praveenraj Eswaran Yuvaraj Gokhlesh Kumar Sheikh Zamir Ahmed |
| author_facet | Rajendran Kiruba-Sankar Sirisha Adamala Jessica Barman Kandasamy Saravanan Jayasimhan Praveenraj Eswaran Yuvaraj Gokhlesh Kumar Sheikh Zamir Ahmed |
| author_sort | Rajendran Kiruba-Sankar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Freshwater turtles are among the least studied faunas in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Here, we report the presence of freshwater turtles (<i>Cuora amboinensis</i>) from Car Nicobar, a small remote island in the Nicobar archipelago comprising the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the people belonging to Nicobarese tribes (<i>n</i> = 233) to gather their local ecological knowledge as supportive information to obtain a better understanding of the status of turtles in Car Nicobar. Most interviewees (90%) opined that freshwater turtles are found to be rare or very rare on the Island. All the respondents (100%) expressed willingness to contribute to future conservation projects. Community-level awareness emerged as a prominent issue for future conservation using the Garrett ranking method. A stream network map was prepared using the digital elevation model to visualize streams and potential habitats of turtles. This report on the freshwater turtles is essential from an ecological perspective since information is scarce on the freshwater turtles in Car Nicobar. This study emphasizes the importance of the engagement of stakeholders in conservation projects and recommends providing adequate attention to the conservation and protection of freshwater turtle diversity in Car Nicobar. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:15:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5bbfac054f34c77b7e821e82fbcc00f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2410-3888 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:15:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fishes |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5bbfac054f34c77b7e821e82fbcc00f2023-11-19T16:28:06ZengMDPI AGFishes2410-38882023-10-0181051710.3390/fishes8100517Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of BengalRajendran Kiruba-Sankar0Sirisha Adamala1Jessica Barman2Kandasamy Saravanan3Jayasimhan Praveenraj4Eswaran Yuvaraj5Gokhlesh Kumar6Sheikh Zamir Ahmed7Division of Fisheries Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744105, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, IndiaDivision of Fisheries Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744105, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, IndiaDivision of Fisheries Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744105, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, IndiaDivision of Fisheries Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744105, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, IndiaDivision of Fisheries Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744105, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, IndiaDepartment of Coastal Disaster Management, Pondicherry University, Port Blair 744103, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, IndiaDivision of Fish Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaDivision of Fisheries Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744105, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, IndiaFreshwater turtles are among the least studied faunas in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Here, we report the presence of freshwater turtles (<i>Cuora amboinensis</i>) from Car Nicobar, a small remote island in the Nicobar archipelago comprising the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the people belonging to Nicobarese tribes (<i>n</i> = 233) to gather their local ecological knowledge as supportive information to obtain a better understanding of the status of turtles in Car Nicobar. Most interviewees (90%) opined that freshwater turtles are found to be rare or very rare on the Island. All the respondents (100%) expressed willingness to contribute to future conservation projects. Community-level awareness emerged as a prominent issue for future conservation using the Garrett ranking method. A stream network map was prepared using the digital elevation model to visualize streams and potential habitats of turtles. This report on the freshwater turtles is essential from an ecological perspective since information is scarce on the freshwater turtles in Car Nicobar. This study emphasizes the importance of the engagement of stakeholders in conservation projects and recommends providing adequate attention to the conservation and protection of freshwater turtle diversity in Car Nicobar.https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/8/10/517local ecological knowledgefishersdistributionhabitat awarenessconservation |
| spellingShingle | Rajendran Kiruba-Sankar Sirisha Adamala Jessica Barman Kandasamy Saravanan Jayasimhan Praveenraj Eswaran Yuvaraj Gokhlesh Kumar Sheikh Zamir Ahmed Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of Bengal Fishes local ecological knowledge fishers distribution habitat awareness conservation |
| title | Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of Bengal |
| title_full | Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of Bengal |
| title_fullStr | Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of Bengal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of Bengal |
| title_short | Aboriginal Tribe’s Knowledge of the Endangered Freshwater Turtle <i>Cuora amboinensis</i> in Car Nicobar, a Remote Oceanic Island in the Bay of Bengal |
| title_sort | aboriginal tribe s knowledge of the endangered freshwater turtle i cuora amboinensis i in car nicobar a remote oceanic island in the bay of bengal |
| topic | local ecological knowledge fishers distribution habitat awareness conservation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/8/10/517 |
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