Temporal changes in freshwater turtle assemblage in Gomti River, North India

We conducted mark-recapture surveys in 1992 and 2003 in the Gomti River, North Pradesh, India, toassess temporal variation in the geomydid turtle assemblage. The Crowned River Turtle (Hardella thurjii) was the mostabundant species in 1992 and the Indian Tent Turtle (Pangshura tentoria) was most abundnat in 2003, with the populationof H. thurjii showing a substantial decline. The Three-striped Roofed Turtle (Batagur dhongoka) had apparentlydisappeared from the river in 2003, presumably due to urbanization and development along the river. Our study suggeststhat long-term monitoring of freshwater turtle populations is required to understand the population trends acrossspace and time and for determining the influence of environmental and anthropogenic drivers in the Gomti River.