The overarching purpose of this project is to assess,
for the first time, the impact of global climate change on the nesting and reproduction
of the critically endangered gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) populations
in Chitwan National Park (CNP) of Nepal and provide science based climate-adaptive
conservation recommendations. We will characterize nesting and reproductive
ecology of gharials in the rivers of the CNP as well as create temperature and
humidity profile of their incubation environment. It is obvious that gharials will
face consequences of climate change and given the fact that gharial populations
in the CNP represent the largest and the only breeding population in Nepal,
their conservation is urgently critical to guarantee survival of regional as
well as global populations of gharial. Our project will generate previously
non-existent information on gharials in the CNP which fill in knowledge-gap
that has long existed for gharials and contribute to their long-term
conservation.
Funding Agency: Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong
