Feeding trails of Dugong Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776) (Mammalia: Sirenia: Dugongidae) in the Gulf of Kachchh, western coast of India
Main Article Content
Abstract
Dugong Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776) is the only herbivorous marine mammal distributed along the tropical and subtropical oceans of the Indo-Pacific regions. The record of the species in India is mainly from the east coast including Andaman and Gulf of Mannar. In this note the authors have recorded feeding trails of Dugong on the Halodule uninervis meadow in the Gulf of Kachchh, i.e., northwestern part of India. Most of the records of this species from this area are stranding records. This is the second record of the trail from this region.
Article Details
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Al-Ghais, S.M. & H. Das (2001). Conservation of Dugongs in the UAE. 2nd Annual Report of the study submitted to Total Abu Al-Bukhoosh, 32pp.
Frazier, J.G. & T. Mundkur (1990). Dugong, Dugong dugon (Muller) in the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 87(3): 368–379.
Jousse, H. (1999). The fossil dugongs of Akab Island (Umm al-Qaiwain, United Arab Emirates): paleoenvironmental and archaeozoological implications. Abstract of a doctoral thesis. Sirenews: Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Sirenia Specialist Group 32: 9.
Kamboj, R.D. (2014). Biology and Status of seagrasses in Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park and Sanctuary India. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 19: 9–11.
Mani, S.B. (1960). Occurrence of sea-cow, Halicore dugong (Erxl.), off the Saurashtra coast. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 56(1): 216–217.
Mohan, R.S. (1963). On the occurrence of Dugong dugon (Müller) in the Gulf of Kutch. Journal of Marine Biological Association 5: 152.
Moses, S.T. (1942). The fisheries of the Gujarat coast. Journal Gujarat Research Society 4: 75.
Pandey, C.N., K., Tatu & Y. Anand (2010). Status of Dugong (Dugong dugon) in India. Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation, Gandhinagar, 146pp.
Preen, A. (1989). Technical Report, Dugongs, Volume 1: The status and conservation of dugongs in the Arabian Region. MEPA Coastal and Marine Management Series, Saudi Arabia.
Silas, E.G. (1961). Occurrence of the Sea Cow Halicore dugong (Erxl.) off Saurashtra coast. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 58(1): 263–266.
Singh, H.S. (1994). Management Plan for Marine National Park and Sanctuary, Jamnagar. Forest Department, Gujarat, 195pp.
Singh, H.S. (2003). Sea mammals in marine protected areas in the Gulf of Kutchch, Gujarat Sate, India. Indian Journal of Marine Science 32(3): 258–262.
Singh, H.S., C.N. Pandey, P. Yennawar, R.J. Asari, B.H. Patel, K. Tatu & B.R. Raval (2004). The Marine National Park and Sanctuary in the Gulf of Kachchh - a comprehensive study on biodiversity and management issues. GEER Foundation, Gandhinagar, 370pp.
Sivakumar, K. & A. Nair (2013). Dugong distribution, habitat and risks due to fisheries and other anthropogenic activities in India. Wildlife Institute of India, Technical Report, 74pp.
Thornback, J. & M. Jenkins (eds.) (1982). The IUCN Mammal Red Data Book. Part I: Threatened Mammalian Taxa of the Americas and and the Australasian Zoogeographic Region (excluding Cetacea). IUCN, Gland, 516pp.
Thurston, E. (1895). The occurrence of the Dugong in the Indian Seas. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 9(4): 489–490 (with a note by the Editors).
Ved, M.S. (1983). Dariya kinare se ajayab Mache manar mila. Akila Rajkot 15 August 1983, pp. 1 & 3. (A strange fish-man has been found on the seashore; daily Gujarati newspaper).