Do frogs really eat cardamom? Understanding the myth of crop damage by amphibians in the Western Ghats, India

In the Western Ghats of India, amphibians are culled at cardamom plantations since they are perceived to consume cardamom. To better understand the relationship between amphibians and cardamom, a study was undertaken at these plantations, which harbor numerous threatened and range-restricted amphibi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2017-10, Vol.46 (6), p.695-705
Main Authors: Kanagavel, Arun, Parvathy, Sethu, Nirmal, Nithula, Divakar, Nithin, Raghavan, Rajeev
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibians
Atmospheric Sciences
Conservation
Crop damage
Crops
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Environmental Management
Frogs
Intolerance
Physical Geography
Plantations
Polls & surveys
Predation
Reptiles & amphibians
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Summary:In the Western Ghats of India, amphibians are culled at cardamom plantations since they are perceived to consume cardamom. To better understand the relationship between amphibians and cardamom, a study was undertaken at these plantations, which harbor numerous threatened and range-restricted amphibians. We undertook questionnaire surveys with 298 respondents at 148 plantations across southern India. Time-activity budget and diet analysis surveys were undertaken to determine whether amphibians really consumed cardamom. The conception that amphibians eat cardamom was found to be widespread especially among small-sized plantations, leading to negative perceptions and a lack of interest in amphibian conservation. The plantation community perceives a substantial economic loss due to amphibians, even though this is non-existent as revealed by our field surveys. These perceptions would lead to a continued intolerance of amphibian presence in plantations. A suitable outreach initiative re-affirming facts and spreading awareness on the positive role of amphibians would need to be conducted to negate this age-old myth.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-017-0908-8