Rajeev Raghavan

Unraveling a 146 Years Old Taxonomic Puzzle: Validation of Malabar Snakehead, Species-Status and Its Relevance for Channid Systematics and Evolution

Background The Malabar snakehead Channa diplogramma is one of the most enigmatic and least understood species within the family Channidae, which comprise one of the most important groups of freshwater food fish in tropical Asia. Since its description from peninsular India in 1865, it has remained a taxonomic puzzle with many researchers questioning its validity, based on its striking similarity with the South East Asian C. micropeltes. In this study, we assessed the identity of the Malabar snakehead, C. diplogramma, using morphological and molecular genetic analyses, and also evaluated its phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary biogeography. Methodology/Principal Findings The morphometric and meristic analysis provided conclusive evidence to separate C. diplogramma and C. micropeltes as two distinct species. Number of caudal fin rays, lateral line scales, scales below lateral line; total vertebrae, pre-anal length and body depth were the most prominent characters that can be used to differentiate both the species. Channa diplogramma also shows several ontogenic color phases during its life history, which is shared with C. micropeltes. Finally, the genetic distance between both species for the partial mitochondrial 16S rRNA and COI sequences is also well above the intra-specific genetic distances of any other channid species compared in this study. Conclusions/Significance The current distribution of C. diplogramma and C. micropeltes is best explained by vicariance. The significant variation in the key taxonomic characters and the results of the molecular marker analysis points towards an allopatric speciation event or vicariant divergence from a common ancestor, which molecular data suggests to have occurred as early as 21.76 million years ago. The resurrection of C. diplogramma from the synonymy of C. micropeltes has hence been confirmed 146 years after its initial description and 134 years after it was synonymised, establishing it is an endemic species of peninsular India and prioritizing its conservation value.

Status of Recreational Fisheries in India: Development, Issues, and Opportunities

Recreational fishing is an established activity in developed countries across the world. Many emerging economies have well-established recreational fisheries; however, in countries such as India there has been little discourse on what is needed to support this activitys sustainable development. Here, we review the history of recreational fishing and the current status of recreational fisheries in India. The lack of scientific knowledge on the basic biology of sport fish species, targeting of threatened species, and the absence of region- or species-specific angling regulations for recreational fisheries are identified as some of the challenges associated with this sector in India. Moreover, governance structures are disorganized, with multiple agencies assuming some responsibility for recreational fishing but none tasked explicitly with its sustainable development and management. With improved legislative support and a clear policy framework, developing a responsible and sustainable recreational fisheries industry in India is possible.

Protected on paper, hunted in wetlands: exploitation and trade of freshwater turtles (Melanochelys trijuga coronata and Lissemys punctata punctata) in Punnamada, Kerala, India

Soft shell turtles are among the most threatened groups of freshwater animals that are in need of urgent conservation attention. In Kerala (South India), two species of freshwater turtles, the Indian black turtle or Indian pond terrapin, Melanochelys trijuga coronata (Schweigger, 1812) and the Indian Flap-shelled turtle Lissemys punctata punctata (Lacépède, 1788) are exploited from Vembanad lake and associated wetlands in Punnamada to meet the demand from local restaurants and toddy shops. Eight hundred and forty three individuals belonging to the two species (499 pond terrapins and 344 flap-shelled turtle) were observed during a field survey conducted in 2007 at Punnamada. Despite being listed at the highest level in the Indian wildlife protection act, very little law enforcement takes place and turtles are exploited and traded regularly. Collection and trade have also become an important component of the local livelihoods in Punnamada, with the involvement of around five full-time and 25 part-time collectors. Details of the collection, marketing, economics and management of the freshwater turtles in Punnamada are discussed.

God's fishes: religion, culture and freshwater fish conservation in India

Indigenous communities worldwide have long relied on their environment for survival. Religious and customary beliefs that foster community conservation have not only bound these communities to ecosystems but also assisted in the conservation of species. We provide an example of how religion fosters the conservation of freshwater fishes in India. Since ancient times rural communities in India have revered fish species as symbols of divine power, and offered them protection in pools associated with temples. Such voluntary, informal institutions and arrangements continue to help conserve several freshwater fish species that are otherwise subjected to anthropogenic pressure in open-access areas. However, religious beliefs in India are waning as a result of increased urbanization, modernization of societies and disintegration of rural communities, and the sustainability of existing temple and community fish sanctuaries is questionable. We discuss the role of temple sanctuaries as an informal conservation strategy for freshwater fishes, and discuss the knowledge and policy gaps that need to be addressed for ensuring their future.

Beyond the “General Public”: Implications of Audience Characteristics for Promoting Species Conservation in the Western Ghats Hotspot, India

Understanding how different audience groups perceive wildlife is crucial for the promotion of biodiversity conservation, especially given the key role of flagship species in conservation campaigns. Although the heterogeneity in preferences reinforces the need for campaigns tailored to specific target audiences, many conservation education and awareness campaigns still claim to target the “general public”. Audiences can be segmented according to social, economic, and cultural criteria across which species perceptions are known to vary. Different studies have investigated the preferences of different groups towards certain wildlife species, but these are largely confined to a single conservation stakeholder group, such as tourists, local communities, or potential donors in western countries. In this study, we seek to determine from a multi-stakeholder perspective, audience characteristics that influence perceptions towards wildlife at Valparai, a fragmented plateau in the Western Ghats region of the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka Hotspot. We found that stakeholder group membership was the most important characteristic followed by gender. While some characteristics had a wide-scale effect others were restricted to a few species. Our results emphasize the need to design conservation campaigns with specific audiences in mind, instead of the very often referred to “general public”.

Morphological and Genetic Evidence for Multiple Evolutionary Distinct Lineages in the Endangered and Commercially Exploited Red Lined Torpedo Barbs Endemic to the Western Ghats of India

Red lined torpedo barbs (RLTBs) (Cyprinidae: Puntius) endemic to the Western Ghats Hotspot of India, are popular and highly priced freshwater aquarium fishes. Two decades of indiscriminate exploitation for the pet trade, restricted range, fragmented populations and continuing decline in quality of habitats has resulted in their ‘Endangered’ listing. Here, we tested whether the isolated RLTB populations demonstrated considerable variation qualifying to be considered as distinct conservation targets. Multivariate morphometric analysis using 24 size-adjusted characters delineated all allopatric populations. Similarly, the species-tree highlighted a phylogeny with 12 distinct RLTB lineages corresponding to each of the different riverine populations. However, coalescence-based methods using mitochondrial DNA markers identified only eight evolutionarily distinct lineages. Divergence time analysis points to recent separation of the populations, owing to the geographical isolation, more than 5 million years ago, after the lineages were split into two ancestral stocks in the Paleocene, on north and south of a major geographical gap in the Western Ghats. Our results revealing the existence of eight evolutionarily distinct RLTB lineages calls for the re-determination of conservation targets for these cryptic and endangered taxa.

Weight - length relation of an Asian catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther, 1864), (Siluriformes: Horabagridae) from rivers of the western Ghats, Kerala, India

The weight–length (W–L) relation was estimated for an endemic catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma (known also as Asian sun catfish, Gunther’s catfish, Manjaletta, or Manjakoori). The fish were collected from the four major river systems of Kerala, part of the Western Ghats mountain range, between January 2005 and February 2006. The estimates for the parameter b of the W–L relation (W = aLb) ranged between 2.7623 and 3.17968. Linear regressions on logtransformed data were highly significant (P < 0.01) for the species in all the riverine habitats studied. Analysis of covariance revealed significant difference between sexes of H. brachysoma in the Chalakudy River for the slopes of the regression line.

Badis britzi , a new percomorph fish (Teleostei: Badidae) from the Western Ghats of India

Badis britzi, the first species of the genus endemic to southern India, is described from the Nagodi tributary of the west-flowing Sharavati River in Karnataka. It is distinguished from congeners by a combination of characters including a slender body, 21-24 pored lateral-line scales and a striking colour pattern consisting of 11 bars and a mosaic of black and red pigmentation on the side of the body including the end of caudal peduncle, and the absence of cleithral, opercular, or caudal-peduncle blotches, or an ocellus on the caudal-fin base. Badis triocellus Khynriam & Sen is considered a junior synonym of B. singenensis Geetakumari & Kadu.

Freshwater biodiversity of India: a response to Sarkar et al. (2013)

Freshwater fish comprise one of the most threatened vertebrate groups with close to one-third of the species in danger of extinction (Dudgeon 2012) and several species already extinct (Baillie and Butcher 2012). This vulnerability has been largely attributed among others, to the poor state of knowledge (Dudgeon 2003, 2012; Cooke et al. 2012), and the uneven distribution of conservation attention and investment (Darwall et al. 2011a) on freshwater ecosystems and their resources. While on one hand, our knowledge on freshwater biodiversity is improving through the availability of several significant publications, and more importantly as a result of the collaborative work of IUCN and their partners through the global freshwater biodiversity assessments (see for e.g. Allen et al. 2010, 2012; Darwall et al. 2011b; Molur et al. 2011), on the other hand non-systematic compilations and reviews presenting largely erroneous information and inaccurate interpretations frequently appear in the peer reviewed literature, pulling back the very effectiveness that freshwater conservation science is embarking on. Sarkar et al.’s (2013) paper on the freshwater fish biodiversity of India is extremely unintelligible, contains inaccurate and misleading information, and most importantly represents a case of serious scientific misconduct by having several clear cut cases of ‘verbatim plagiarism’. Entire paragraphs have been lifted verbatim from a report published by IUCN, written by three authors of this response (Dahanukar et al. 2011). While there are umpteen examples of irrational statements (beginning from the abstract) erroneous information and interpretations, and plagiarism in the paper by Sarkar et al. (2013), we only focus on the most outstanding ones. We follow the same sequence of sub-headings as presented in the original paper.

Taxonomy of the zodiac loaches, Mesonoemacheilus triangularis , M. tambaraparniensis and M. periyarensis , endemic to the Western Ghats of India (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae)

The Nemacheilid loaches, Noemacheilus triangularis tambaraparniensis and Nemacheilus periyarensis have been widely considered to be synonyms of the zodiac loach, Mesonoemacheilus triangularis. An integrative taxonomic investigation based on topotypic material, involving molecular analysis of two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and cytochrome b), multivariate morphometric analysis based on non-metric multidimensional scaling and non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance suggests that the three species are in fact distinct.