Scholarlink

<p>This study documents the critical role of Indigenous tribes’ Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) in identifying sea turtle nesting habitats and the discovery of a new olive ridley (<i>Lepidochelys olivacea</i>) turtle nesting beach in Teetop village, Car Nicobar, Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago. Personal interviews with 168 Nicobarese fishers, representing 13 villages, about their awareness of sea turtles revealed that 74% of respondents had encountered turtle eggs and nests, 13% had observed hatchlings, and 5% had actively assisted neonates in reaching the sea. Chi-squared test revealed respondents from villages such as Mus, Big Lapathy, Tapoiming (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) and Teetop (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) displayed significantly higher positive responses, indicating strong awareness and involvement in nesting interactions. These observations, grounded in long-standing community knowledge and experience, revealed previously undocumented nesting sites in Car Nicobar beaches. Although only two nests were directly spotted, the broader value lies in their LEK, which was subsequently used to inform local authorities and contribute to marine spatial planning. Our findings demonstrate that LEK offers a valuable and underutilized data source for guiding conservation strategies on remote islands like Car Nicobar. We also advocate for the formal integration of local ecological knowledge of Nicobarese tribes into sea turtle conservation frameworks, particularly in geographically isolated islands like Car Nicobar, where logistical constraints often limit scientific monitoring. Our findings also directly contribute to Car Nicobar’s coastal planning frameworks and strengthen the scientific basis for coastal management interventions.&#xa0;</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Guided by local ecological knowledge: Indigenous fishers’ identify new nesting site of Olive ridley turtles in Car Nicobar Island, Bay of Bengal

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月6日

查看全文
  • R. Kiruba-Sankar,
  • Sirisha Adamala,
  • Dilip Kumar Jha,
  • Jessica Barman,
  • K. Saravanan,
  • J. Praveenraj,
  • E. Yuvaraj,
  • S. K. Zamir Ahmed

摘要

This study documents the critical role of Indigenous tribes’ Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) in identifying sea turtle nesting habitats and the discovery of a new olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtle nesting beach in Teetop village, Car Nicobar, Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago. Personal interviews with 168 Nicobarese fishers, representing 13 villages, about their awareness of sea turtles revealed that 74% of respondents had encountered turtle eggs and nests, 13% had observed hatchlings, and 5% had actively assisted neonates in reaching the sea. Chi-squared test revealed respondents from villages such as Mus, Big Lapathy, Tapoiming (p < 0.05) and Teetop (p < 0.001) displayed significantly higher positive responses, indicating strong awareness and involvement in nesting interactions. These observations, grounded in long-standing community knowledge and experience, revealed previously undocumented nesting sites in Car Nicobar beaches. Although only two nests were directly spotted, the broader value lies in their LEK, which was subsequently used to inform local authorities and contribute to marine spatial planning. Our findings demonstrate that LEK offers a valuable and underutilized data source for guiding conservation strategies on remote islands like Car Nicobar. We also advocate for the formal integration of local ecological knowledge of Nicobarese tribes into sea turtle conservation frameworks, particularly in geographically isolated islands like Car Nicobar, where logistical constraints often limit scientific monitoring. Our findings also directly contribute to Car Nicobar’s coastal planning frameworks and strengthen the scientific basis for coastal management interventions.