Citizen science initiative seeks to create biodiversity database of coastal bioregion

Citizen science project in PVAC bioregion aims to document rich biodiversity through photo uploads on inaturalist app.

A database on the biodiversity of Puducherry-Villupuram-Auroville-Cuddalore (PVAC) bioregion is on the anvil with ‘citizen science’ playing a major role in the process.

The Know Your Bioregion project was launched by Svarnim Puducherry, a unit of Sri Aurobindo Society, which has been collating pictures contributed by students and citizen and sightings of various species, including reptiles, mammals and more.

Citizens, especially students, are encouraged to click pictures of animal life in the PVAC bioregion and upload them on the inaturalist app. Besides taking a picture and uploading it, they have to also punch in the geo-coordinates of the location where that species was spotted.

According to T.P. Raghunath, part of Svarnim Puducherry, said that though Puducherry was a small Union Territory, it has a rich biodiversity. The survey has started in Thengaithittu lagoon and we would be covering Mullodai, Panithittu and the PVAC.

“Basically, this is a citizen science initiative and is aimed at creating a biodiversity register of the PVAC bioregion so that it becomes a knowledge base in the future. The PVAC have so much of biodiversity and it should not be destroyed. We will also be bringing out booklets and pamphlets on the findings and this initiative is expected to boost up the documentation of biodiversity,” he said.

According to Arunkumar Patchaiyappan, an ecologist of Svarnim Puducherry, “The biodiversity survey of Nallavadu lagoon, which has been completed, has revealed the presence of over 300 species thriving in this coastal ecosystem. The survey documented a diverse range of fishes, birds, reptiles, butterflies, moths, and spiders, highlighting the ecological significance of the lagoon.”

He adds, “Among the notable findings was the smooth-coated otter, a vulnerable species, which plays a crucial role as an apex predator in the marine food chain. The survey also recorded fascinating intertidal species like mudskippers, commercially important fish such as mangrove red snapper, mud crabs, Indian glassy fish, and grey mullets, all of which indicate the lagoon’s rich aquatic biodiversity.”