Anhinga melanogaster

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PELECANIFORMES	ANHINGIDAE

Scientific Name:

Anhinga melanogaster

Species Authority:

Pennant, 1769

Common Name/s:

English

–

African Darter, Darter, Oriental Darter

Taxonomic Notes:

Anhinga melanogaster, A. novaehollandiae (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) and A. rufa (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993, Dowsett and Forbes-Watson 1993), species occurring in Asia, Australasia and Africa, are retained as separate species contra Christidis and Boles (1994), Turbott (1990), Cramp and Simmons (1977-1994), Vol. I and AERC TAC (2003), who all include rufa and novaehollandiae as subspecies of A. melanogaster.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Mahood, S.

Justification:
This species is classified as Near Threatened because its population is suspected to be in moderately rapid decline owing to pollution, drainage, hunting and the collection of eggs and nestlings.

History:

2008	–	Near Threatened
2006	–	Near Threatened
2004	–	Near Threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Anhinga melanogaster occurs in Pakistan (fairly widespread but local year-round resident and irregular visitor to Sind and Punjab), India (widespread resident, locally common in Assam, current status poorly known but apparently declining), Nepal (uncommon resident and non-breeding visitor), Sri Lanka (common resident in dry lowlands, scarce visitor elsewhere), Bangladesh (local resident in northern and coastal regions), Myanmar (previously a widespread resident, now scarce to locally fairly common in south, status uncertain elsewhere), Thailand (formerly widespread, now very rare and possibly no longer breeds, although sightings are increasing in frequency due perhaps to increased protection of breeding colonies in Cambodia), Laos (previously widespread and numerous but numbers have plummeted with only a few sporadic recent records), Vietnam (previously widespread breeder, once locally common but now almost extinct, however, increasing numbers are now recorded in the non-breeding season), Cambodia (abundant in early 1960s with flocks reported to be totalling several thousand observed on the Mekong; currently a local resident in small numbers and still breeds on Tonle Sap Lake, where the largest colony at Prek Toal has grown from 241 nests in 2002 to 6-7,000 nests in 2011), Peninsular Malaysia (vagrant in west, possibly a former resident), Singapore, Brunei (widespread), Indonesia (locally common breeder on Borneo, Java and Sulawesi, vagrant to other islands in the Lesser Sundas and Moluccas) and Timor-Leste (uncommon resident) (BirdLife International 2001). The species is generally uncommon and declining throughout Asia (Perrenou et al. 1994).
Countries:	Native: Bangladesh; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; India; Indonesia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Philippines; Sri Lanka; Timor-Leste; Viet Nam Regionally extinct: Thailand Vagrant: Malaysia Present - origin uncertain: Palau
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The population is estimated to number at least 22,000 mature individuals, roughly equvialent to over 33,000 individuals in total.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It inhabits shallow inland wetlands including lakes, rivers, swamps and reservoirs.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	In common with many other Asian waterbirds, it is primarily threatened by habitat loss (both degradation of foraging areas and felling of trees used for breeding), pollution, disturbance (at feeding grounds and colonies), hunting, egg collecting and pollution.

Major Threat(s):

In common with many other Asian waterbirds, it is primarily threatened by habitat loss (both degradation of foraging areas and felling of trees used for breeding), pollution, disturbance (at feeding grounds and colonies), hunting, egg collecting and pollution.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway It occurs in a number of protected areas. At Prek Toal on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, WCS initiated a scheme in 2002 that employed former egg collectors as colony guards. Together with MoE staff, they protect and monitor the colony throughout the nesting period from tree top platforms. This has caused the population to increase from 241 nests in 2002 to over 6,000 nests in 2011, doubling the world population during this time period (S. Mahood in litt. 2012). Conservation Actions Proposed Survey to discover new colonies. Regularly monitor known colonies throughout the species's range. Ensure complete and permanent protection of all breeding congregations. Conduct awareness campaigns involving local residents to engender pride in the species and other large waterbirds and prevent hunting.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
It occurs in a number of protected areas. At Prek Toal on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, WCS initiated a scheme in 2002 that employed former egg collectors as colony guards. Together with MoE staff, they protect and monitor the colony throughout the nesting period from tree top platforms. This has caused the population to increase from 241 nests in 2002 to over 6,000 nests in 2011, doubling the world population during this time period (S. Mahood in litt. 2012).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey to discover new colonies. Regularly monitor known colonies throughout the species's range. Ensure complete and permanent protection of all breeding congregations. Conduct awareness campaigns involving local residents to engender pride in the species and other large waterbirds and prevent hunting.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Anhinga melanogaster. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2013.
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