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Promoting a fish as a flagship species (i.e. a charismatic animal that promotes awareness) is a management tool to improve the effectiveness of conservation measures. However, to be successful this approach requires strong stakeholder support. To investigate the feasibility of the flagship species approach and degree of stakeholder support in India, semi-structured interviews were conducted with forest managers, anglers and village members in Uttarakhand. Stakeholders were supportive of the flagship approach and the golden mahseer was favoured because of economic benefits associated with recreational angling.

Mahseer are popularly regarded by anglers as the king of freshwater fishes, and are valued across the Himalayan and South-east Asian regions. In India, mahseer are important game fish. Mahseer populations and their habitats face a range of anthropogenic threats, however, including unregulated fishing and habitat fragmentation as a result of hydro-development projects. Catch-and-release angling for mahseer attracts both national and international anglers and could provide information about rivers while generating revenue for regional economies. In this context, we evaluated catch-and-release angling records from rivers that flow within two Indian reserves (the Ramganga and Jia Bharali Rivers in Corbett and Nameri Tiger Reserves, respectively). Golden mahseer Tor putitora in the Ramganga and golden and chocolate mahseer Neolissochilus hexagonolepis in the Jia Bharali were the most frequently caught fish species. Catch data suggested these game fish populations are probably not negatively affected by angling activities. Interviews with stakeholders highlighted support for catch-and-release angling, mainly because of its perceived economic benefits. The data obtained in this research could potentially assist with both fish conservation and the protection of associated aquatic ecosystems.

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Abstract:Behavioral observations on Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus in the Shivalik landscape of North India were carried out during their mating period, between 31 March and 21 May 2006. Behaviors of peafowl were recorded using scan samples. Overall, females, sub-adult males and adult males spent different proportions of time in different activities, and the proportion of time spent on different activities varied during the mating season. Visitation by females influenced the frequency of displays by adult male Indian peafowl during this period. The study reveals that peafowl behavior in its native habitat broadly conforms to that documented from captive and introduced populations. However, there were some differences between the wild and captive populations in vocalizations, maintenance behavior and spatial distribution of adult males. Since the time spent engaging in these behaviors may affect the cost of display, these results emphasize the need to assess the signaling cost in situ where the behavior evolved.