Amphibians and Reptiles of Sheikh Baddin National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Diversity, Threats and Conservation Prospects

Dera Ismail Khan District is located in the North- Western Pakistan, and has an elevation ranging from 300 to 1350m above mean sea level (Khan, 2000). Sheikh Buddin National Park (32.38°N and 70.94°E) is located on the boundary of District Dera Ismail Khan and District Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The national park features arid climate and two main vegetation type viz., tropical thorn forest and sub-tropical broadleaved ever green forest. The former is dominated with Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) and Sanatha (Dodonaea viscosa) while latter supports Phulai (Acacia modesta), Peelu (Salvadora oleoides), Olive tree (Olea europaea), Safeda (Eucalyptus spp.) Sihar (Rhazya stricta), Spalani (Peganum harmala) and Khabbal (Cynodon dactylon). The national park is accessible from a small village called Pezu by foot and vehicle through the road which runs up to Sheikh Buddin Top/Abadi Deh covering about 10-12 km on its eastern side, while from Paniala and Aghzar Khel, the national park is accessible only on foot. It features rugged mountains with steep and gentle slopes. The elevation varies from 300-1350m above mean sea level. The area receives annual rainfall from 200- 280mm, most of which occurs during monsoon period (July-August). January is the coldest and July is the hottest month of the year. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures during winter are 20.3°C and 4.2°C, respectively, compared to 30°C and 25°C during summer (Marwat et al. 2012).

We carried out six field surveys and spent 145 field hours (of data collection) from July, 2017 to August, 2018, at 16 sampling sites of the National Park to gather data. The National Park was stratified based on forest types, and the sampling and trapping sites within each forest type were selected randomly. We followed standard survey method-time constrained searches (visual encounter survey), line transect method, pitfall and funnel traps (Graeter et al., 2008). The observers actively searched all potential habitats such as under the stones, logs, tree bark and vegetation to record the species or signs. We did active searching two hours after sunrise, two hours during noon, two hours before sunset and one hour after sunset. The pitfall and funnel traps were set before sunset and were checked in the morning. Upon encountering a specimen, we identified the species and documented the specimen with a photograph taken with a Nikon D3200 (55-200mm), for later confirmation of species identity. A combination of pitfall and funnel traps was installed at five different sites. A total of 50 buckets, each with 10L capacity, along with PVC modified funnel traps were installed. Four 15 m long sheets were used as fence. The fence was installed in “T” shape. Buckets were placed at ends and center of fence while funnel traps were installed parallel to both the sides of fence. A handheld GPS unit (Garmin GPSMAP 64) was used to record coordinates and elevation of sampling sites and observations. We confirmed the occurrence of some species which were not sighted directly but reported in the literature (such as Khan, 2006). The photographs were shown to respondents (n= 30) and were asked whether they had encountered the species. Out of 30 respondents eight were from wildlife department, six farmers, two teachers, four livestock holders, ten from other professions belonging to age groups ranging from 25 to 60 years.

We recorded a total of 23 herpetofauna species (belonging to 19 genera and 12 families). Fourteen species (60% of the reported species) were recorded through direct sightings. The herpetofauna comprised of two amphibians viz., skittering frog and Indus Valley toad, and 21 reptiles (13 lizard and eight snake species) (Table I). On the basis of encounter rate of recorded species, large-scaled rock agama, reticulate plump-bodied gecko, yellow-belly gecko and indian monitor were recorded as common while leopard gecko, Persian leaf-toed gecko, ribbon-sided skink, Indian spiny-tailed lizard and yellow monitor were recorded as uncommon species.

About 25 amphibians are known from Pakistan (Pratihar et al., 2014). Due to unsuitable amphibian habitat such as annual precipitation and lack of permanent freshwater wetlands in the study area, we recorded low amphibian richness from the national park. The recorded amphibian species are common amphibian species of Pakistan. Among amphibians of the country, Indus valley toad and common skittering frog have wide distribution in the country (Khan, 2006) recorded up to 1800m elevation (Khan, 2006). Our results yielded more diverse reptilian fauna particularly high richness and abundance of agamid and gecko species, for the national park features arid terrain and rocky substrate. Large-scaled rock agama and agror agama have been recorded from 700-1300 m elevation in

Table 1. Species of amphibians and reptiles recorded from Sheikh Badin National Park, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan (Khan, 2006). The species are well adapted to rocky areas and mountain peaks (Khan, 2006). The garden lizard is reported as common from areas with shrubs and trees (Khan, 2006). Brilliant ground agama is restricted to the lowland and semi desert regions of the country. Yellow-bellied house gecko is the most common house gecko of Pakistan (Khan, 2006). Indian spiny-tailed lizard is reported from areas with desolate hard soil, areas with sparse vegetation. Indian monitor occupies variety of habitats including dry deserts, cultivated areas, barren lands and human habitations (Kumar, 1992). Our findings are consistent with aforementioned studies. Despite low direct sightings and encounter of snake species during the study period, we believe that the national park supports a fairly good richness and abundance of snake species. Oriental rat snake and common krait are reported from throughout Punjab, KP, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), Sindh and Southern Balochistan (Khan, 1991). We identified common leopard gecko as the flagship reptilian species of the national park. The species has also been reported from AJ&K, KP, northern Punjab, Balochistan and lower Sindh (Khan, 2006).

The major threats to the herpetofauna of the national park include habitat degradation, fuel wood cutting, human encroachment, grazing, cement factory and stone quarries. The main reasons of habitat degradation are human settlements inside the boundary of the national park and visitors from surrounding villages for recreational purpose. Local community depends on natural vegetation for fuel and fodder. The livestock is allowed to graze freely in the national park. The barren mountain, which was recorded as the most suitable habitat for reptiles, is threatened due to stone quarries and extraction for the nearby cement factory.

We owe a deep sense of gratitude to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department for funding the study (ADP No. 410 2015-16 Scheme Code: 150596 titled ‘Development and Management of National Parks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ and PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi for providing equipment and supplies. We appreciate cooperation of Sheikh Buddin National Park Staff, Deputy Ranger Faizan Habib, Saqib Javaid and Wildlife Watchers.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.