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Jithin, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Jithin, V..

6 recordsLinked to original sources
bioRxiv2025

Listening to children's and educators' experiences in long-term place-based conservation education sessions on southern Indian rocky outcrops

Interactions with nature can influence peoples perceptions of nature and its conservation. Connected to this, there is an increasing research interest in improving childhood nature experiences and environmental awareness through direct outdoor educational activities. While this research largely remains geographically biassed to the nature of temperate regions, global and national policies are pushing towards place-based outdoor environmental education in other geographies where research and theory-practice gap persists. The existing environmental outdoor education literature identifies the on-ground challenges, mostly from educators perspectives and focusing on academic achievements of participants. A better understanding of culturally specific, locally appropriate, and diverse pedagogies, drawing on both childrens and educators voices and relational values is required to fill this gap. We studied [~]20 years old, unique place-based conservation education sessions on the rock outcrops in Kannur (Kerala, India), facilitated by schools and non-governmental organizations. These sessions introduce children to the experience, ecology and conservation issues of rocky outcrops, an easily accessible local socio-ecological system. Considering this as a case-study, using mixed-methods, we aimed to assess (i) if and how these outdoor sessions improve socio-scientific understanding, and positive attitudes towards these habitats and their conservation in children, and to (ii) identify the sessions strengths, challenges, and relational values reflected in them through long-term experiences of its participants and educators. Our within-participant pre- and post-outdoor session surveys showed quantitative evidence for short-term increase in overall knowledge, but not any notable changes in measured attitudes or interests. But, the qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with children and educators revealed major strengths of the sessions around the Natureculture elements, and relational values; while the challenges were mostly around educators understanding of children, pedagogical design, and logistics. Drawing on the long-term experiences of educators and children in the backdrop of existing global literature on outdoor education, we provide new insights on how using the power of emotions and experiences, positive and solution-oriented outlooks, unique socio-ecological elements, and relational values can be beneficial in designing conservation education sessions in often overlooked geographic and cultural contexts.

scientific communication and education↗
bioRxiv2025

Effects of tree plantations on population and roosting ecology of an endemic agamid lizard in Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot

Low-elevation wet tropical forests support herpetofaunal diversity but are increasingly replaced by monoculture tree plantations and have poor Protected Area coverage, leaving herpetofauna vulnerable. Research on how monoculture plantations affect reptile populations remains inconclusive, and the ecology of endemic species in these changing landscapes is poorly understood. We compared densities and roosting ecology of Monilesaurus rouxii, an endemic agamid lizard, across low- and high-elevation forests and cashew and rubber plantations in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot using nocturnal transects. We found that low-elevation forests, despite poor Protected Area coverage, had significantly higher densities of Monilesaurus rouxii than high-elevation forests and cashew plantations. Roost site use did not differ significantly across the different land-use, indicating roost fidelity. However, Monilesaurus rouxii exhibited ontogenetic shifts in roosting substrate and height. Our findings highlight the conservation importance of unprotected low-elevation forests, which are rapidly being converted to monoculture tree plantations. We show that plantation types may differ in their impacts on reptile populations. We also show the utility of nocturnal transects for population estimation of diurnal lizards.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2024

Effects of land use change and elevation on endemic shrub frogs in a biodiversity hotspot

Agroforestry, often promoted as a sustainable agriculture practice, is rapidly expanding, often at the cost of primary tropical forests. While agroforestry impacts amphibian diversity negatively, its effects on population demography, microhabitat use and body condition are relatively understudied. This information is crucial for determining and promoting amphibian-friendly land use practices. We compared habitats, population densities, microhabitat use, and body condition of two endemic species of shrub frogs (Pseudophilautus amboli and Raorchestes bombayensis) across 1) elevations (low- and high-elevation forests) and 2) land use categories (cashew, rubber, and low-elevation forests) in the northern part of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. Using distance sampling, we demonstrated that abundances of the two shrub frog species differed across elevation categories, with Pseudophilautus more common in low-elevation forests and Raorchestes more prevalent in high-elevation forests. Both species of frogs exhibited extremely skewed, male-biased sex ratios, with three females for 100 males. Pseudophilautus had lower densities and poor recruitment and exhibited altered microhabitat use in cashew plantations compared to low-elevation forests. Although adult male Pseudophilautus densities in rubber were similar to those in low-elevation forests, they exhibited altered microhabitat use and smaller body sizes than in forests, indicating poor body condition. We demonstrate differential impacts of agroforestry types on shrub frogs. We also demonstrate that distance sampling can be a useful tool for population monitoring of shrub frogs, which comprise almost 25% of the anuran diversity in the Western Ghats. Additionally, there is a need to identify the drivers of extremely skewed sex ratios, which make these species vulnerable to population crashes. Considering the recent downlisting of the two focal species to Least Concern, we advocate for their uplisting to at least Near Threatened status in light of their patchy distribution, negative impacts of rapidly expanding agroforestry plantations and extremely skewed sex ratios.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2023

Orchards and paddy differentially impact rock outcrop amphibians: Insights from community- and species-level responses

With agricultural demands increasing globally, determining the nature of impacts of different forms of agriculture on biodiversity, especially for threatened vertebrates and habitats, is critical to inform land management. We determined the impacts of converting rock outcrops (a habitat more threatened than rainforests) to orchards and paddy on anurans in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. We sampled 50 belt transects four times across four sites during the rainy season and recorded information on amphibians and their microhabitats. We determined community-level responses using Hill numbers, beta-diversity measures, and non-metric multidimensional scaling, and species-level responses using joint species distribution modelling. Converting rock outcrops to paddy and orchards significantly altered microhabitat availability. Conversion to paddy mostly had community-level impacts, i.e., lowered species richness and more nested communities, whereas conversion to orchards mostly had species-level impacts, i.e., lowered species occurrence, highlighting the differential impacts of different forms of agriculture on amphibians and the need to determine impacts of land-use change on communities and species concurrently. We show that large rock pools are critical microhabitats for anurans as they serve as a refuge and protect anurans from desiccation during dry spells, which may be prolonged by climate change. Since rock outcrop habitats in low elevations are rapidly being converted to orchards, efforts are needed to conserve them in partnership with local communities, the custodians of these habitats. Our findings demonstrate that different forms of agriculture can have divergent impacts on biodiversity, and determining their impacts may require assessments at multiple scales, from species to communities.

ecology↗
bioRxiv2023

Between a rock and a hard place: Effects of land-use change on rock-dwelling animals of lateritic plateaus in the northern Western Ghats

Open natural ecosystems like lateritic plateaus, are undergoing rapid transformation with very poor understanding of these impacts on the threatened and endemic biodiversity. The unprotected, low-elevation lateritic plateaus of the northern Western Ghats are case to the point, as they have high endemicity but remain unprotected under Indian law. We aimed to understand the impact of the conversion of the natural lateritic plateaus to agroforestry and paddy cultivation on biodiversity. We compared the prevalence of two species of endemic herpetofauna of the northern Western Ghats (Gegeneophis seschachari and Hemidactylus albofasciatus) and a widespread snake (Echis carinatus) and the composition of other rock-dwelling animals across 12 undisturbed plateau sites and 10 sites each in agroforestry plantations and abandoned paddies on plateaus using time-constrained searches. We had 5738 encounters with 38 different animal species/groups. We found that the abundance of large rocks, which were the most-preferred size class of rocks by animals, was higher in abandoned paddy compared to plateaus and orchards. However, the prevalence of H. albofasciatus and E. carinatus was highest on undisturbed plateaus. Contrastingly, the prevalence of G. seshachari was significantly higher in abandoned paddy than undisturbed plateau or orchards. Non-metric multi-dimensional analysis showed that the assemblage of rock-dwelling fauna differed significantly across the three land-use types. Despite being adapted to persist in extremely variable climates on lateritic plateaus, we find that multiple species/groups are vulnerable to land-use change. However, G. seshachari and a few other taxa appear to benefit from certain kinds of land-use change, highlighting the context-specificity in species responses. While multiple studies have determined the impacts of forest conversion to other land-uses, this is one of the first studies to determine the impacts of the conversion of rocky outcrops, thereby highlighting the conservation value of habitats that are often classified as wastelands.

ecology↗