First DiversityIndia Meet (2022) held at Sundarbans, West Bengal, India

Rishin Basu Roy; Angshuman Raha; Anisha Mazumdar; Anubhav Agarwal; Devsena Roychaudhury; Namrata Das; Nandita Barman; Nivedita Sengupta; Prosenjit Dawn; Purab Chowdhury; Sarika Baidya; Saswati Sinha; Soumya Sarkar; Swapna Biswas; Thomas Vattakaven; Arjan Basu Roy; Vijay Barve

doi:10.15468/ydut5r

First DiversityIndia Meet (2022) held at Sundarbans, West Bengal, India

Citation

Basu Roy R, Raha A, Mazumdar A, Agarwal A, Roychaudhury D, Das N, Barman N, Sengupta N, Dawn P, Chowdhury P, Baidya S, Sinha S, Sarkar S, Biswas S, Vattakaven T, Basu Roy A, Barve V (2022). First DiversityIndia Meet (2022) held at Sundarbans, West Bengal, India. Version 1.2. Nature Mates-Nature Club. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/ydut5r accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-08-12.

Description

Since 2001, DiversityIndia has been a bustling online community for citizen scientists in India. Since 2008, they have coordinated diverse taxa-based diversity documentation in India in partnership with Nature Mates. The Sundarbans, one of the world's most elusive habitats, hosted a multi-taxon meet for the first time. The Indian Sundarban is a tidal influence zone where the tide has a significant impact on the local wildlife. In addition to the estuarine crocodile and a wide variety of other fauna, this is the only area where it is possible to see Bengal Tigers in the wild. The ecosystem is unique because it supports mangroves, plants with an alternate root system. This forest's floral inhabitants not only give it a distinctive appearance, but also one of the most exquisite habitats on earth. The Indian Sundarbans are connected to their counterpart in Bangladesh, making them together the world's largest mangrove environment. On the morning of April 16, 2022, the 33-person crew (including local camp staffs) convened on Bali Island, one of the inhabited islands of the Indian Sundarbans. Following a formal introduction, the group broke out into smaller groups of like-minded taxonomic enthusiasts and began recording each one using location, time, and date data. Those that were not immediately recognised in the field were later recognised from photographs taken there with the assistance of numerous experts in diverse taxa. The third day was devoted to collecting information about the agricultural fields that were dispersed around the hamlet on Bali Island and documenting the many forms of biodiversity that were seen. Like the team did on the first day, data were gathered as they were needed. The majority of the plant data were gathered on this day, encompassing the mangrove plants in the intertidal zones scattered around the village's periphery. The following day (2022-04-18), the entire team used a patrol boat to go out into the forest and spend the entire day visiting a few Forest Camps. Additionally, data were collected while the camp was in transit, between locations, and until our camp returned to Bali Island. The current data set, which is a first-of-its-kind data set from the Indian Sundarbans covering so many diverse taxon, is the outcome of the work done during the aforementioned field trip.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

Study were done in an around Bali Island, Dobanki Watchtower, Sajnekhali Watchtower and in transit between these places, during the pre-monsoon season.

Sampling

Random sampling

Method steps

Observation, photography, field notes

Taxonomic Coverages

Total 137 plantae and 436 animals from various taxa were observed during this study.

Plantae
rank: kingdom
Animalia
rank: kingdom

Geographic Coverages

Bali Island, Dobanki Watchtower, Sajnekhali Watchtower, 24 Parganas South, West Bengal, India

Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

Rishin Basu Roy
originator
position: Researcher
Nature Mates-Nature club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: wildrishin@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9638-818X

Angshuman Raha
originator
position: Post-doctoral fellow
Zoological Survey of India
Kolkata
West Bengal
IN
email: adroitangshuman@gmail.com
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6992-7056

Anisha Mazumdar
originator
position: Field Assistant: Biodiversity Surveys
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: anisha.naturemates@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4860-8125

Anubhav Agarwal
originator
position: Entomologist, Biodiversity Consultant
Individual Researcher
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
IN
email: anubhavpost@gmail.com
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2711-8888

Devsena Roychaudhury
originator
position: Treasurer
Nature Mates Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
Telephone: 9477275731
email: devsena.nm@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1722-8795

Namrata Das
originator
position: Research Fellow
Nature Mates Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: namratadas49@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9694-9517

Nandita Barman
originator
position: Research Fellow
Nature Mates Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: barmannandita283@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6109-7633

Nivedita Sengupta
originator
position: Intern
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: niveditasngpta.ns@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1085-7385

Prosenjit Dawn
originator
position: Assistant Professor
Shyampur Siddheswari Mahavidyalaya, Howrah, West Bengal; Nature Mates Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: prosenjit.dawn@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9473-6702

Purab Chowdhury
originator
position: Student
Burdwan Medical College
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: purab2k@gmail.com

Sarika Baidya
originator
position: Senior Research Fellow
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: bukun.nm@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4345-8049

Saswati Sinha
originator
position: Junior Research Fellow
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: ssinhasaswatis@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9422-538X

Soumya Sarkar
originator
position: Assistant Professor
Derozio Memorial College, Rajarhat, Kolkata; Nature Mates Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: soumyasarkar82@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org

Swapna Biswas
originator
position: Section Incharge, Flora
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: biswas.swaapna@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org

Thomas Vattakaven
originator
position: Senior Application Scientist IV
Strand Life Sciences
Bangalore
Karnataka
IN
email: thomas.vee@gmail.com
homepage: https://indiabiodiversity.org/
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2337-3825

Arjan Basu Roy
originator
position: Secretary
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
Telephone: 9874357414
email: basuroyarjan@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9872-3562

Vijay Barve
originator
position: Research Advisor
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: vijay.barve@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4852-2567

Nandita Barman
metadata author
position: Secretary
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
Telephone: 8240781459
email: barmannandita283@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6109-7633

Vijay Barve
metadata author
position: Research Advisor
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
email: vijay.barve@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4852-2567

Arjan Basu Roy
metadata author
position: Secretary
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
Telephone: 9874357414
email: basuroyarjan@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9872-3562

Nandita Barman
user
email: barmannandita283@gmail.com

Arjan Basu Roy
administrative point of contact
position: Secretary
Nature Mates-Nature Club
6/7 Bijoygarh
Kolkata
700032
West Bengal
IN
Telephone: 9874357414
email: basuroyarjan@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.naturematesindia.org
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9872-3562