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e-_6ffigvcTnust J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov.2011, 5(2) :59-69Scientific T[ansactionsin EnvironmentandTechnovation

Status and distribution of population and potential breeding and foragingsites of Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis 1n Tamil Nadu, India.V. GokulaDepartment of Zoology, National College, Tiruchirappalli - 620 001, Tamil Nadu, India.AbstractA survey was conducted to identify the population and potential breeding and foraging sites of Spot-billed PelicanPelecanus phitippensis from September 2007 to September 2010 in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Based on publishedand unpublished records, various potentiat wetlands were identified and surveyed during the peak breeding season ofpelican (November-April). All the pelicans sighted at various wetlands were counted and their breeding details if anywere noted besides recording other details on the wetland types. In total, pelicans were found breeding at fiveplaces and exploiting as many as 54 wetlands of various types exclusively for foraging PurPose during the studyperiod in Tamil Nadu. Spot-billed Pelican prefers largely inland wetlands than other types such as marine/coastalwetlands and Human-made wetlands. Among the fivebreedingplaces,large nurnbers of pelicans were foundbreeding atVedanthangal and Koonthangulam. Breeding populations of 501 pairs in2007,695 pairs in 2008, and71,2pairs in 2009were estimated for Tamil Nadu which is higher than previous estirnates. Lack of awareness, poaching, and fishing activitiesare the major threats to these birds wherever they occur. A slmchronized census is recommended at every wetland during theearly and latebreeding seasons of the Spot-billed Pelican.Keywords: breeding sites, foraging sites, Pelecanus philippensis, population, spot-billed pelican

INTRODUCTIONSpot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis / a nearthreatened of the eight species of pelicans in the world,listed under Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife(Protection) Act,1972, can be found only in South andSoutheast Asia over a range of territory between 729,000and 181,000 km2 with a stronghold in India, Sri Lanka,southern Cambodia, and coastal areas of Sumatra. InIndia, it is presently distributed in southern and north-eastern India with a stronghold in the states of AndhraPradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Assam (BirdlifeInternational 2007, 2010). No specific attempt hashowever, been made to assess the population of pelicanin India and thus, Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) hasbeen the major source for assessing the population ofSpot-billed Pelican (SBP). The total population isestimated to be 2,500-5,000 individuals in South Asia,3,000-5,000 individuals in South-East Asia and


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60 V. Gokulaavailability is about 77,563 MCM and ground wateravailability is around 75,346 MCM. The surface waterresources have been fully harnessed by impoundingthe available water in 61 major reservoirs and also in39,202 water bodies: panchayat union tanks 20,413,public workers department 8,903 and ex-zamin lanks9,886 (Anonymous report). An annotated checklist ofthebirds of Tamil Nadu is not available; but more than450 species are likely to occur (Islam and Rahmani2004). Islam and Rahmani (2004) have identified 34Important Bird Areas for Tamil Nadu and of which 15were reported harbouring Spot-billed Pelican (SPB).However, no comprehensive attempt has been madeearlier to document the population, and breeding andforaging sites of SPB in Tamil Nadu.METHODSBased on the available published literature (Pittie 2005,Birdlife International 2001., Kannan and Manakadan2005, and Subramanya 2005), e-discussion withmembers through [email protected],interaction with forest officials, amateur andprofessional ornithologists, and local people, a list ofwetlands was initially prepared for the survey of Spot-billed Pelican in Tamil Nadu. All the listed wetlandswere surveyed during pelican's peak breeding season(November-April) from September 2007 to September2010. Each wetland was visited six times (once in amonth during the peak breeding season) to confirm thepresence of pelican utilizing the wetlands. Surveys werecarried out during early morning (0500-0900hrs),midday (1200-1400hrs) and evening (1630-1800hrs)hours. Once a pelican was sighted in a place,information aiz., name and coordinates of the placewhere the pelican was sighted, number of pelicanssighted, usage of the wetland based on the activityperformed during the time of sighting (breeding/foraging/or both) and type of the wetland (marine/coastal wetlands, inland wetlands and human-madewetlands). Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2006) wasused for the classification of wetlands. In addition,threats to pelican at each wetland were also identified.Pelican counts were made using Vanguard (DCF 10X42)binocular and Audubon Spotting Scope (15-60X zoom)at elevated sites,/watch towers near the wetlands. Insome places counts were carried out on foot to coverlarge area. As duplication is very likely in the count offoraging pelicans, breeding pairs alone are discussedin the present paper for estimating the breedingpopulation. Hence, maximum carewas takento includeall the nests found in the breeding sites but due to densevegetation and lack of accessibility, missing of very fewnests was inevitable. Global positioning system(Magellan) was used to get the coordinates of thewetlands. ERDAS IMAGINE and Arcview softwarewere used to prepare potential site-maps of pelican.

J. Scr. Irans. Environ. Technov. 5(2),2011RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONKannan and Manakadan (2005) recorded SBP in 18 sitesfor the entire Tamilnadu. Subramanya (2005) reportedas many as 15 active sites (breeding). In the presentstudy, in total, SBP was found utilizing as many as 54sites in Tamil Nadu (Table 1, Figure 1). Among the 54wetlands, 10 wetlands have been protected underWildlife Sanctuary category, one under the MarineNational Park category, and one under the ReservedForest category by the Forest Department of Tamil Naduand thus fauna and flora of those sites receive somelevel of protection. The other 45 wetlands, being freefrom any sorts of legal protection, are very vulnerable toall human related activities despite 21 of which areidentified as Important Bird Areas by Islam andRahmani (2004). In general, lack of awareness, poachingof eggs, chicks and adults, pollution, and fishingactivities are the major threats to SBP regardless of sites.On 20th April2010, three dead pelicans were recoveredby the forest department in Keelkattalai Lake nearThoraipakkam-Pallavaram radial road, Chennai andwere found killed (strangulation) by the poachers. Asmost of the individuals of SBP stay up to ]une in Tamil-Nadu, dipping of waterlevel inmajorityof thewetlandshas become a major threat to SBP during that period. Itoften drives the SBP venture into new wetlands wheresuch poaching incidents are more likely than in the oldwetlands.Although I could not sight anySPB inplaces alz., Vellodeof Erode District, Vagaikulam of Tirunelveli District,Muthannankulam, Selvampathy, Krishnampathy,Narasampathy, Pudukulam, Kolarampathy,Ganganarayanasamudram, Sottaiandikuttai,Puttuvikikulam, Kuniyamuthurkulam, Kurucikulam,Periyakulam, Selvachinthamanikulam, Valankularn,Singanallur kulam, and Chinnakulam of CoimbatoreTaluk, and near SPIC guest house at Tuticorin, localpeople and ornithologists confirmed these wetlands arealso used by SBP for the past three years.Mapping the distribution of SBP shows that not all thedislricts of Tamil Nadu are represented (Figure 1 and2). SBP was sighted from 18 districts and was not sightedfrom Tiruppur, Vellore, Krishnagiri, Tiruvanamalai,Dharmapuri, Slaem, The Nilgiris, Namakal,Perambalur, Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Dindigul,Pudukkottai and Theni districts during the studyperiod. The maximum number of wetlands with SBPwas from the districts of Kanchipuram (9),Ramanathapuram (8) and Coimbatore (8). Other districtsaiz.Yirudunagar (4), Tiruvarur (3), Kanyakumari (3),Villupuram (2), Tirunelveli (2), Tanjore (2),Nagappattinam (2), Madurai (2), Cuddalore (2),Ariyalur (2), Tuticorin (1), Tiruvallur (1), Sivaganga(7),Erode (1), and Chennai (1) hold less than five wetlandswith SBP each. The above mentioned information is by

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62 V. Gokula J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov. 5(2).2011

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Status and distribution of population and potential breeding 63

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Figure 1. Distribution of wetlands with Spot-billedPelican sightings in various districts of Tamil Naduduring 2007 -2010 (N=54).no means an indication of an absence of SBP in otherdistricts as six visits may not be sufficient enough toindicate the absence. Moreover, there are stillunexplored/unknown wetlands in each district.Majority of the SBP foraging sites are clustered near thedistribution of rivers in Tamil Nadu as majorwetlandsoccur in this region (Figure 3). Subramanya (2005)reported that maior heronries in Tamil Nadu aredistributed along rivers that coincide with thedistribution of major tanks, indicating the importanceof foraging grounds for the species nesting in theheronries of the state. Hence, the distribution of SBPlargely depends on the distribution of tanks andheronries.The SBP, to forage, prefers largely inland wetlands thanthe other wetland typesaiz., marine/coastal wetlandsand Human-made wetlands (Figure 4). In general, SBPwas largely sighted foraging in freshwater lakes.

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Number of wetlands with sighiings of Spot-billed Pelican indifferent districts ofTamil Nadu during 2007.2010(N = 54)

64 V. Gokula

CuddaloreAriyalur

TuticorinThiruvallurSivaganga

Erode

The NilgirisNamakkal

perambalur

Figure 2. Distribution of wetlands with Spot-billedPelican in different districts of Tamil Nadu during2007-2070 (N=54).

J. Sci. Trans. Environ. Technov. S(2),2011

Figure 3. Distribution of wetlands with Spot-billed Pelicansightings with respect to the distribution of rivers in TamilNadu during 2007- 2010 (N=54).

However, SBP was also sighted foraging in marine/saline water during the study period. Among thehuman-made wetlands, reservoirs and salt exploitationsites were highly preferred.Pallikaranai marsh has been one of the largest foragingsites for SBP during the breeding season. However, thearea was reduced to about 600ha from an earlier extentof 4000-5000 ha (Care Earth, 2002; loint CommitteeReport, 2003; The Hindu, 2006) and recently to 420ha(Care Earth, 2005). A fall of about30% in the wetlandarea within a span of three years is indeed detrimentalto SBP. The Pallikkkaranai marsh was very effectivelyutilized by SPB during the present study period forforaging. However, over 250 acres of prime marsh landshave already been choked by the wastes dumped byChennai metropolis. Besides, real estate ventures, fire,pollution, and various other developmental activitiesare further aggravating the wetland depletion.Although the government of Tamil Nadu (Gazettenotification GO. Ms. No. 52, dated 9 April 2007),declared a part of the Pallikaranai marsh (317.00ha) asa reserve forest (under section 4 of the Tamil NaduForestAct, 1882), rejuvenation of this wetland ecosystemin a sustained manner is an urgent need to preserveSBP population. Although, the pylons present amidstthe marsh has largely been used as resting sites by SBP,mortality of SPB due to electrocution was also noticedduring the study period.There are currently four relatively stable large breedingcolonies in Tamil Nadu: Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary,Koonthangulam Bird Sanctuary, Karaivetti BirdSanctuary, and Karikilli Bird Sanctuary. TheMelaselvanur and Kelaselvanur Bird Sanctuary,

www.bvgt-journal.comScientific Transactions in Environment and Technovation

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E Marine/coastal wetlands 68%E lnland wetlandsEHuman-made wetlands

B. lnland Wetlands

Figure 5. Distribution of breeding sites of Spot-billedPelican in Tamil Nadu during2007-2070.another breeding site in Tamil Nadu is also expected tobe stabilizing in near future (Figure 5). However, Kannanand Manakadan (2005) reported only two breedingcolonies (Koonthangulam and Karaivetti), fouroccasional breeding colonies (Edayur, Sakarakottai,Watrup Big tank and Vedanthangal) and twoabandoned breeding colonies at Kanjirankulam-chitrangudi and Moondradaippu. Similarly,Subramanya (2005) reported as many as 13 activebreeding sites of SBP in Tamil Nadu based on the earlierliterature. However, I could not record any breedingwww. bvgt-jou rnal.comOctober to December 2011


A. Marine/coastal Wetlands

Ecoastal brack sh/saline lagoon EPermanent Shallow marine watersEEstuarine waters

C.Human-made Wetlands

Eseasonal/intermittent freshwater lakes E Ponds. seasonat/intermittenvbrackish/atkati ne marshes/poots ff ;rXl""r-3,5J:i:'H:""'Figure 4. Foraging habitat preference shown by Spot-billed Pelican in Tamil Nadu during2007-2010 (N=54)

activities in the above mentioned sites (Arignar AnnaZoological Park, Vettangudi Patti Tank, Watrup BigTank, Edyaur. Parai Kanmoi, Kanjirankulam,Chitrangudi, and Ariyakulam) during the entire studyperiod. The local people also confirmed the lack ofnesting actives by SPB in recent years in the abovementioned places.Among the breeding sites, regardless of years, morenumber of breeding pairs were found in VedanthangalBird Sanctuary (258 pairs in 2007-08,358 in 2008-2009,and 359 in 2009-10) than the other sites. Koonthangulamwas the second largest holder of pelican breedingcolony in Tamil Nadu followed by Karaivetti (except2007-08), Karikilli, Melaselvanur and Kelaselvanur.Kannan and Manakadan (2005) estimated a populationsize of 1,600-2,000 SBP for the entire Tamil Nadu. Thecurrent population of breeding SBP alone was 3487 in2010 in Tamil Nadu (Table 3). It shows that thepopulation estimates in the 1980s by Neelakantan(1980), Nagulu (1983), and Kannan and Manakadan(2005) are either underestimates or the population hasseen a rise over the years due to conservation measuresor other unknown factors. Liet ol., (2009) also reportedan increasing trend of population of SPB in the globallevel for the last two decades (1987-2007). A vital factorin the existence and survival of many of the pelicanriesin southern India has been the traditional support oflocal communities. And, of concern, is the change inattitude of locals in support to pelicanries in some areasdue to increasing human related pressures and other

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68 V. Gokula J. Scl. Irans. Environ. Technov. 5(2),2011Table 3. Number of individuals sighted at five breeding wetlands in Tamil Nadu durin gSep. 2007 to Sep. 2010

Table 4. Number of nests of Spot-billed Pelicans found in various wetlands in Tamil Nadu during9ep.2007 to Sep. 2010

Name of the Wetlands S e asonsNov - 2007 to April 2008 Nov - 2008 to April 2009 Nov - 2009 to Aoril 2010

Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary 116(86 Adults,30 Chicks)

265(185 Adults, 80 Chicks)

295(203Adults, 92 Chicks)Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary 1384

(968 Adults, 416 Chicks)1 550

(1102 Adults, 448 Chicks)14 84

(1020 Adults, 454 Chicks)Karikilli Bird Sanctuary 131(79 Adults, 52 Chicks) 1,39(89 Adults,50 Chicks) 158(102 Adults, 56 Chicks)M elaselvanur-KeelaselvanurBird Sanctuarv

16 Adults 28(23 Adults, 5 Chicks)

41(26 Adults,15 Chicks )

Koonthangulum Bild Sanctuary 1008(628 Adults, 380 Chicks)

1438(826 Adults, 612 Chicks)

1 509(901 Adults, 608 Chicks)

Total 2 655(1770 Adults, 885 Chicks) 3420(2225 Adults, 1195 Chicks) 3487(2552 Adults, 1235 Chicks)

Number of nests found in different yearsName of the wetlands Nov. 2007 to April2008

Nov.2008 to April2009

Nov.2009 to April20L0Karaivetti Bird Sanctuarv 18 50 56Vedanthaneal Bird Sanctuarv 258 3s8 359Karikilli Bird Sanctuarv 24 27 31Melaselvanur-KeelaselvanurBird Sanctuarv 0 2 6Koonthaneulum Bird Sanctuarv 201 258 260Total s01 695 712

reasons. This has resulted in disinterest in protectionof the species, loss of nesting trees and over exploitationof foraging grounds which have affected pelicans.Hence, a people participatory approach has to bedeveloped in all the five breeding sites to conserve SPB.February to April being the crucial months of growingyoung ones of SPB, proper steps have to be taken tosustain thewaterlevelforthe conservation of SPB duringthe mentioned months in all the breeding sites. Asnesting trees are not sufficient enough to support allthe members of the birds during the breeding season,erection of artificial nest poles or stages would invitemore number of SPB in immediate future. In addition,planting of trees would ensure the long termsustainability.The status of the Spot-billed Pelican in southern India(and indeed in the rest of its range) is poorly known. Itwas previously believed to be sedentary or subject toIocal seasonal movements, and it was presumed not toundertake long-distance movements regularly (Ali andRipley 1987, del Hoyo et al., 1992). Kannan andManakadan (2005) suggested that the species may

travel long distances to foraging grounds and there mayalso be movements between colonies. The present sfudysubstantiates their opinion as there were movements ofSBP in large numbers from unknown location toKaraivetti between the month of May and July duringthe study period. A total of 357,243 and2L6 individualsof SBP moved from unknown sites to Karaivetti Lake inthe years 2008,2009 and 2010, respectively. As thecolony comprised largely adults and months old chicks,it is assumed that they would have come from nearbybreeding sites. As the breeding population in other foursites was stable during the same period, it may beassumed that thepopulationwould have migraied fromother states or from Sri Lanka, an adjacent country,which falls within the movement limits. Movements upto 75 km (Findholt and Anderson 1995) and 100 km(Hatzilacou 1996) from colonies to foraging areas havealreadybeen reportedinthe American White PelicanP. erythrorhynchos and Great White Pelican P,onocrotalus, respectively. Hence, it is probable thatPelicans sighted all over the Tamil Nadu wouldpresumably be derived from the existing five breedingsites in Tamil Nadu and to a certain extent from thePulicate Lake of Andra Pradesh and Sri Lanka.

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status of population Spot-billed Pelican appearsto be increasing and surviving well in recentin Tamil Nadu. It prefers largely inland wetlandsbreed and forage. There are currently four relativelylarge breeding colonies in Tamil Nadu:Bird Sanctuary, Koonthangulam BirdKaraivetti Bird Sanctuary, and Karikilli Bird

Lack of awareness, poaching of eggs/chicks,fire, and extensive fishing activities, cuttingnesting trees and drought are the existing majorto SPB and its habitats. Although, casualtiescollision with above-ground high density poweralso observed in some breeding and foragingit needs further detailed investigation. A

census is recommended at everywetlandthe early and late breeding seasons of the Spot-Pelican.

thank the Department of Science And Technology forthe study under the SERC-Young ScientistI am highly indebted to Tamil Nadu Forestfor granting me the required permission,of Higher Education, National College andfor their academic support and

I am grateful to Mr.V.Kannan, ResearchAVC College, N.Sheeba, Research Scholar,Dr.Muthukrishnan, Anesthesiologist, AVMTuticorin, Gayathree Krishnaa, Chennai, andS.Bharahthidasan, Director, Arulagam, Coimbatore,responded and also to others who responded torequest posted in [email protected], an

I thank Mr. P.Senthilkumar for helping memaps.S. and Ripley, S. D. L987. Compact handbook of thebirds of India and Pakistan. Delhi: OxfordUniversity Press.

report: http: / / envfor.nic.in/soer / state /S oE % 20r ep or tVo 20 of % 20T amilnadu. p df

Ranjini., R. Dhanya & Raj, P.P.N.2007. Management Plan for the Eco-restoration ofPallikaranai Reserae Forest. Report. Salim Ali Centrefor Ornithology and Natural History,Coimbatore, 62pp.International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: theBirdlife International Red Data Book.Cambridge, U.K.: Birdlife International.

International. 2071. Species fact sheet:Pelecanus philippensis. Downloaded from http: / /www.birdlife.org on 06 / 05 / 20i t.

Earth. 2002. Conservation of Urban Wetlands -Pallikaranai Marsh. Tamil Nadu Pollution ControlBoard,31pp.bvgt-journal.com

Status and distribution of population and potential breeding 69Care Earth. 2005. Current status of the Marsh andrecommendations for restoration. Unpublisheddocument. Dartmouth College: Dartmouth FloodObservatory. Hanover/USA. Online access:http:,//www.dartmouth.edu/ -floods / archives /indexhtml.del Hoyo, j. Elliot, A. and Sargatal, J. 1992 Handbook ofthe birds of the world. Vol. 1. Barcelona: LynxEditions.Feedhole, S. L., and Anderson, S. H. 1995 Foraging areasand feeding habitat selection of American WhitePelicans Pelecnnus erythrorhyncfuos nesting atPathfinder Reservoir, Wyoming. ColonialWaterbirds 1.8(1.): 47-57.Hatzilacou, D.1996 Feeding ecology of the Great White

P elican P elecanus ono cr otalus nesting at Lake MikriPrespa (northern Greece) Colonial Waterbirds1.9:790-206.Islam, M. Z & Rahmani, A.R. 2004. Important Bird Areas inIndia: Priority Sites for Conservation. Indian BirdConservation Network: Bombay Natural History

Society, Bombay, India and Birdl-ife International,Cambridge, UKJoint Committee Report. 2003. Threats to Pallikaranaiwetland and need for its immediate remedialmeasures. Joint Committee, Ministry ofEnvironment and Forest, Government of India,New Delhi.Kannan, V. and Manakadan, R. 2005. Status and distributionof Spot-billed Pelican in southern India. Forktail(21):9-14Li,Z.W.D., Bloem, A., Delany S., Martakis G. and QuinteroI.O. 2009. Status of waterbirds in Asia - Results ofthe Asian Waterbird Census: '1987-2007. Wetlands

International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Pittie, A. 2005. A bibliographic index to the ornithology of theIndian Subcontinent. CDROM published by theauthor.Raj.P.P.N., Ranjini, J., Dhanya, R., Subramanian, l., Azeez,P.A., & Bhupathy, S 2010. Consolidated checklistof birds in the Pallikaranai Wetlands, Chennai,India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(8):1114-1118.Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 2006 The Ramsar ConaentionManual: a Guide to the Conaention on Wetlands(Ramsar, Iran, 197 1), 4th ed. Gland, Switzerland:.Subramanya. S. 2005. Heronries of Tamil Nadu. Indian Birds

Vol. 1. No.6. pp: 726-740The Hindu. 2006. The marshland gone waste (report by JVencatesan). http:/ / www.thehindu.com/thehindu / pp / 2006 / 07 / 01, / stories /006070100040100.htm.Wetlands International. 2002. Waterbird populationestimates. Thirdedition. WetlandslnternationalGlobal Series No.12. Wageningen, Netherlands:Wetlands International.

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