The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is under threat due to hunting for local consumption and illegal trafficking of scales and meat. The dearth of scientific studies on the ecology of the M. ...crassicaudata has impaired accurate assessments of its conservation needs. This study investigated the habitat preference and burrow characteristics of M. crassicaudata in a tropical lowland rainforest in southwest Sri Lanka. A total of 75 burrows (54 feeding burrows and 21 resting burrows) of M. crassicaudata in four different habitat types i.e. secondary forest, Pine-dominated forest, rubber cultivations and tea-dominated home gardens bordering forest were observed using fixed-width transects in order to characterize resting and feeding burrows of this species. The highest density of resting burrows was recorded from the secondary forest (4ha-1), followed by rubber cultivations (2.5ha-1) while no resting burrows were recorded in the Pine-dominated forest and the tea-dominated home gardens bordering forest. Feeding burrows were more abundant in the Pine-dominated forest (5.7ha-1). The burrow depth, burrow opening height, and width were significantly larger in resting burrows compared to feeding burrows. Resting burrows were located at higher elevations (75-100m) with moderately high slopes (450-600), dense canopy cover (>75%) and away from human habitation. Feeding burrows showed a greater variability in terms of associated environmental features. The study further revealed that Indian pangolins exclusively prefer habitats with rocks and boulders under which they dig resting burrows while the location of feeding burrows largely overlaps with the distribution of prey species. The resting burrow design consisted of a bending tunnel that initially slopes downward and then gradually inclines at an angle between 20 and 300, leading to the resting chamber. Our study highlights the importance of conserving fragmented secondary natural forests in changing landscapes of the southwest lowlands of Sri Lanka as these habitats appear to be critical to sustaining populations of M. crassicaudata.
The absence of robust species-specific methods to estimate the number of animals in seizures of pangolin scales is a major barrier to effective law enforcement. Therefore, studies focused on ...developing methods to establish accurate conversion parameters are a priority. This study proposes improved methods to estimate the number of pangolins in the illegal trade to inform law-enforcing authorities. Based on the observations of 25 specimens, Indian pangolins were on average found to possess 511 scales. Three morph-types of scales were identified: broad rhombic (n=411), elongated kite shape (n=69), and folded scales (n=31). The mean dry weight of the three-scale morph-types was 7.5 g, 4.9 g, and 6.2 g. Based on the average frequency and mean dry weight of each scale morph type, the species-specific dry weight of scales for Indian pangolins was 3.6 kg. Accordingly, we propose new and improved methods based on scale morph-type frequencies and species-specific dry weight of scales to estimate the number of Indian pangolins from quantities of scales. Their accuracy was compared with current methods, and the improved methods were found to be more accurate.
The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is the only pangolin species present in Sri Lanka. Growing concerns over international trading and trafficking of pangolins and the recent listing of all ...eight extant pangolin species in Appendix I of CITES have generated considerable interest in M. crassicaudata among conservationists in Sri Lanka. However, only limited research has investigated the distribution, abundance, and threats to Indian pangolins and robust estimates of distribution, population size, and threats require intense research based on long-term data. This study presents an update on the distribution, knowledge of habitats and conservation status of the Indian pangolin in Sri Lanka based on an extensive data set collected from primary and secondary data sources. Our findings confirmed the occurrence of Indian pangolin in habitats up to 1850m above mean sea level with a higher concentration of Indian pangolin populations occurring in the North-west, North-central, South-west lowlands and South-eastern parts of the island. The species was mostly recorded from tropical shrubland, tropical dry forest, tropical moist lowland forest, tropical dry grassland and tropical heavily degraded former forest habitats. The findings of the study revealed that wildlife crimes related to the Indian pangolins are rising. Hunting for subsistence, live capture to sell as meat, hunting for scales, and traps intended for other agricultural pests are the main threats to M. crassicaudata in Sri Lanka. Recent confiscations of pangolin scales by law enforcement authorities and growing incidents of poaching pangolins for illegal trade hint at the existence of local niche markets for pangolin meat and scales with a possible international trading pathway of M. crassicaudata scales from Sri Lanka to South India. The data presented here provide important information for global and national conservation status assessment of M. crassicaudata, and an impetus for conservation planning for the species in Sri Lanka.
There is a widespread global shift toward renewable energy sources, where the emphasis is on enhancing the utilization of renewable energy due to the rising costs associated with fossil fuels. In ...this light, biomass pellets made from woody and non-woody biomass and blends have gained increased attention. Extensive research has been conducted globally to enhance the quality of biomass pellets and to explore the potential to combine woody biomass with other non-woody forms of biomass in biomass pellet production. The heterogeneity of the raw materials used and resulting properties of the biomass pellets have led to the establishment of internationally recognized benchmarks such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17225 standard to regulate pellet quality. In this article, the key mechanical, physical, chemical, and energy properties of pellets made of different non-woody herbaceous biomass are investigated, and the available test values for such properties of the pellets were meta-analyzed. A comparison of the properties of these pellets with the relevant standards was also performed. A meta-analysis of studies on biomass pellet production was conducted via a comprehensive Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The SLR focuses on determining and analyzing the average values for the key physical properties of biomass pellets using woody biomass as a component in concert with other biomass materials. In addition, the optimal range of mixtures of woody and non-woody biomass was reviewed to produce biomass pellets with potential acceptance in the marketplace. The majority of studies included in the SLR concentrate on pellets made from a mixture of biomass materials. The results show that the average values for wood/non-wood mixtures such as pellet diameter, pellet length, moisture content, ash content, fine particle content, gross calorific value, and bulk density were found to adhere to the ISO standards. However, the average mechanical durability fell short of meeting the requirements of the standards. Additional comparisons were nitrogen, sulfur, volatile matter, and fixed carbon content. The findings in this meta-analysis could be useful in directing future research focused on producing high-quality and efficient biomass pellets derived from biomass blends and mixtures.
Promotion of recreational access is an important strategy that helps to impart conservation values to wetlands and aids in fostering sustainable employment for local communities who live in close ...proximity to wildlife habitats. Unregulated recreational vehicles in coastal wetlands can cause detrimental impacts on coastal avifauna. There is a dearth of information especially in the South Asian context on the impact of recreational disturbance to waterbirds that can inform the management of wetland destinations. This study examined the response of selected water birds to motor vehicles using multispecies experimental disturbance trials conducted at Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka; a Ramsar-listed wetland of global importance. The selected species had significantly different sensitivities to disturbance caused by motor vehicles (log-rank test, χ
2
= 51.7,
P
< 0.05). The probability of a bird responding to a moving vehicle parallel to the bird at a distance of 75 m was greater than 0.6 for all selected species (
Calidris minuta
,
Charadrius alexandrinus
,
Himantopus himantopus
,
Limosa limosa
,
Platalea leucorodia
and
Mycteria leucocephala
) except
Hydroprogne caspia
. Resting birds appeared to be more affected by recreational disturbance when compared to foraging birds. Larger birds (height of adult bird: 80-105 cm) were more sensitive to recreational stimuli, compared to smaller birds (10-20 cm). In general, responses of birds for recreational stimuli, were prominent up to 100 m from the source. Selected waterbirds showed longer response distances in habitats exposed to high vehicle traffic activity suggesting possible habituation of birds to recurring disturbance. Our findings suggest a minimal setback buffer of 100 m needs to be employed to manage recreational disturbance from motor vehicles at Bundala National Park.
•Activity budget and home range of individuals and troops of Toque Macaques differ in areas of different levels of anthropogenic pressure.•Toque Macaques in human-dominated landscapes allocate more ...of their activity budget for resting, locomotion, vigilance, and communication.•Toque Macaques inhabiting human-dominated landscapes use a smaller home range than those inhabiting forested landscapes.•A growing negative public opinion toward the Toque Macaques suggests the intensifying human-macaque conflict.
While classified as endemic and endangered, the Toque Macaque (Macaca sinica) is also considered a nuisance species in certain habitats in Sri Lanka due to its increased interactions with humans and crop raiding. This study analyzed the activity budget and home range utilization of two M. sinica troops inhabiting two contrasting landscapes to shed light on the species' rather poorly understood behavioral responses under environments of differing levels of anthropogenic pressure. We observed two macaque troops; first in a landscape with lower anthropogenic pressure (LAP) in Yagirala, and second in an area of moderate anthropogenic pressure (MAP) in Korathota, Sri Lanka. We followed the troops for ten months and observed their behaviors using focal animal sampling. Both troops spent most of their time on foraging and locomotion. However, the Korathota (MAP) troop spent more time on vigilance behaviors than the Yagirala (LAP) troop, which spent more time on amicable behaviors. This suggests that time allocation to amicable behaviors by Toque Macaques is higher in areas with lower anthropogenic pressure. The home range size was significantly larger in Yagirala (LAP) troop. We further found a significant difference in average home range size across seasons in both troops (p=0.001) with larger home ranges in the dry season: 2.81ha in the wet season vs 3.98 ha in the dry season for MAP troop and 5.1ha in the wet season vs 8.66ha in the dry season for LAP troop. Findings suggest that the resource availability and the level of anthropogenic pressure influence the activity budget and home range size of Toque Macaques. The outcomes of this study may be instrumental in developing future management strategies for Toques Macaques in anthropogenic settings and reducing human-macaque conflict. Practical management and conservation efforts should reduce the availability of anthropogenic food sources to macaques while increasing the size of natural forest patches.
The Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata is one of the eight extant pangolin species in the world, occurring in the Indian subcontinent and is the solitary pangolin species recorded in Sri Lanka. ...Little is known about the intra-specific morphometric variations of the Indian Pangolin, largely due to the limited observations. In this note, we report the morphometrics of the largest Indian Pangolin recorded so far in its range, and consequently the largest pangolin ever to be recorded according to published information. These records along with observations from other range countries provide novel insights into the maximum growth of male Indian Pangolins.
The habitat occupancy, abundance, and population density of Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) are poorly understood owing to their nocturnal and cryptic behaviors. This study presents the results ...of the first comprehensive study on the habitat occupancy, abundance, and population estimation of Indian pangolins using camera trap data in a tropical lowland rainforest habitat in the southwest of Sri Lanka. We conducted a camera trap survey using eight camera traps to sample the study site by partitioning it into 72 grid cells of 500 m x 500 m size. Traps were moved to new locations every 7 days. Data from 4480 camera trap nights at 640 locations in the 2000ha-Yagirala Forest Reserve were analyzed. The two main habitat types in the forest; Pine dominated forest (200 ha) and natural forest (1800ha) yielded 20 and 35 successful captures. A mean capture rate of 35.71 and 6.94 was recorded from the Pine forest and the natural forest. We further demonstrated the applicability of using camera trap data to estimate the population density of pangolins by fitting a Binomial-Poisson mixture model for a single visit capture data. All photographs of Indian pangolin were recorded between 7.00.00 pm and 6.00 am, with the highest frequency of photographs captured between 4.00 am, and 5.00 am (n = 10), followed by 8.00 pm and 9.00 pm (n = 08). The survey further provided exciting insights into burrow usage, possible nomadic behavior, and indirect interactions with sympatric mammals in the habitat. The implications for long-term monitoring and conservation are further discussed.
Prior to COVID-19 heavy tourist pressure was causing environmental degradation and wildlife disturbance in Sri Lankan protected areas. The pandemic abruptly stopped visitation causing devastating ...impacts on the entire nature-based tourism sector. At the same time, the pandemic opened a window of opportunity to rethink the way the nature-based tourism is practiced in Sri Lanka's protected areas and bring it to the “sustainable track”. In this paper, we present a “position statement” to aid planning for sustainable and resilient nature-based tourism in post-pandemic Sri Lanka by validating and employing previous work on sustainable nature-based tourism planning, and information gathered through field observations and semi-structured interviews of nature-based tourism stakeholders in Sri Lanka. Future planning will require reflection and research with the aim of developing a more responsible and ethical approach to tourism activity and the viewing of wildlife. As the present economic and energy crisis is likely to prolong social and environmental difficulties, planning for a resilient nature-based tourism industry and appropriate community engagement is a priority.
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