PTR to document wetland species to monitor water quality

Pilibhit: Marking World Wetland Day on Feb 2, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), Manish Singh, directed officials to identify and document key indicator species across the reserve's wetlands to assess water quality. Orders were issued to range officers of all five forest ranges to conduct special surveys with the help of field biologists. Singh said PTR has 132 wetlands, ranging in size from about 1 hectare to over 20 hectares.Singh said, "Wetlands play a critical role in sustaining wildlife and are primarily used as drinking water sources, making water quality monitoring essential. The presence of certain species of insects, reptiles and mammals helps assess whether water is fresh and well oxygenated."Species such as mayflies and stoneflies are highly sensitive to pollution, while dragonflies and caddisflies indicate healthy aquatic vegetation, officials said. Singh added that smooth-coated otters signal clean water with good fish populations.The exercise aims to create baseline data to track changes in wetland health over time, Singh said.