PhD Theses (WII)
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Item The effect of Forestry Practices on Bird species diversity in Satpura Hill Ranges(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1998) Mehta, Prachi; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The largest zone of dry deciduous teak forests in the country is located along the Satpura Hill ranges in Central India. Apart from being one of the oldest hill ranges in the country, Satpura Mountain houses 4 important Protected Areas (PA) in contiguity. In Madhya Pradesh, a cluster of three PAs namely Bori Wildlife Sanctuary, Pachmari Wildlife Sanctuary and Satpura National Park forms a compact unit of 1400 km2 . A large tract of 2000 km2 of reserved forests connects these three PAs to another 'one in Maharashtra, known as Melghat Tiger Reserve. The forests of Satpuras were logged under different silvicultural regimes for over a century. Timber logging in the Protected Areas was discontinued in 1991 following the Forest Conservation Act (1980), while ' it is still operational in the reserved forests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of past and present silvicultural practices on bird communities in Satpura Hills. Two study sites were chosen for this purpose. During November 1992 to June 1994, the effect of different silvicultural practices on bird community was studied in Sori Wildlife Sanctuary. From 11 October 1994 to June 1996, the study was conducted in reserved forests adjacent to Melghat Tiger Reserve where selective logging was going on. The assemblage of bird community was governed by vegetation structure and floristic in Bori Wildlife Sanctuary. The decline in specialist species was primarily due to disturbance caused during felling and not 'as much due to the felling process. The availability of unlogged forests within and near the logged sites proved to be vital as they , provided the necessary refuge for ' the bird communities. The management commendation from this study suggests enumeration of all trees, shrubs and climbers in the site prior to logging that could help in obtaining a vegetation profile for the area. A complete inventory of flora and fauna of the site prior to and after logging would help in understanding the response of various species' to logging and these features could be incorporated in the felling rules. Felling of smaller trees should be avoided as it depletes the growing stockItem Habitat use by sympatric small carnivore in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1998) Mukherjee, Shomita; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The present study on three sympatric carnivores, two felids: jungle cat (Felis chaus), and caracal (Caracal caracal) and one canid, the golden jackal (Canis aureus) aimed at studying their spatio - temporal use of food resources. The hypothesis are as follows : 1) Jungle cat is relatively more eclectic in the kind of habitat it inhabits than the jackal. 2) The felids are mostly nocturnal whereas the jackal is both diurnal and nocturnal ( cathemeral). 3) Diet of the three carnivores differs between seasons. 4) Small mammals «1 kg. body weight) form the major diet of the felids and are taken in proportion to their abundance. 5) Jungle cat and caracal are dietary specialists relative to the jackal. The study was conducted in Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) which is located between 74° 17' to 76° 34'N and 25° 5' to 27° 33' E. STR encompassing an area of BOO km2 has three core areas of which core 1, with an area of 273.B km2 forms. the proposed National Park. This area functioned as the study site and the intensive study area was approximately 30 km2.Item Feeding Ecology of Ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) in Pin Valley National Park, Himachal Pradesh.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1997) Manjrekar, Neema; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The foraging ecology of the Asiatic ibex was studied in Pin Valley National Park Lahul and Spiti District, Himachal Pradesh, between October 1991 and October 1994. The National Park encompasses 675 km2, and has a buffer of 1150 km2. The study area constituted part of the Parahio catchment of the pin Valley. Thango was the base camp for this study. It was a summer settlement of five families from Sagnam, the largest village of Pin Valley. The local people are Buddhists, of Tibetan origin. Apart from cultivating the land adjacent to the villages, in the buffer zone, they use the Park area for cultivation of barley, wheat, peas, mustard, and potatoes. They also graze sheep, goats, yaks, horses and donkeys in the area. Fuel wood, and fodder for stall-feeding, is collected from the Park before winter. Two potential conservation threats to ibex were identified. Firstly, migratory livestock from the neighbouring areas use the area between June and August every year. ' There is no control on the numbers of animals entering the area, and the effects of grazing and trampling need to be quantified.Item Ecology of the Asiatic Lion Panthera leo persica.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1993) Chellam, Ravi; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The major objectives of my study were to assess the predation ecology, habitat use and the ranging patterns of the lions in the Gir forest. The ultimate and long term goal of this research effort was to examine the feasibility of a translocation effort in an attempt to establish a free ranging population of lions away from the Gir forest. The ecological data generated a free ranging population of lions away from the Gir forest. The ecological data generated would enable the assessment of prospective translocation sites and insights gained about lion behavoiur. This study was designed to have an extensive scope to generate base line data for planning and management of gir forest and the lions.Item Habitat Ecology of major ungulates in Kedarnath musk deer sanctuary, Western Himalaya.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1994) Sathyakumar, S.; Johnsingh, A.J.T.Present study on the habitat ecology of major ungulates in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary "(WS) was conducted from March 1989 to November 1991. The objectives of this study were to de,!elop suitable techniques for estimating ungulate abundance and density; to study their habitat utilization pattems; and to assess the status of ungulates and their habitats in different parts of the Kedarnath WS.Item Ecology and Management of Lion and ungulate habitats in Gir.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1995) Sharma, Diwakar; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The Gir is the only refuge of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) in its range. This implies that long term conservation of the Asiatic lion will remain an overirding management objective. A study on the impacts of management practices on lion and ungulate habitat was conducted in Gir Protected Area (PA) from June 1991 to July 1994. The Gir . PA includes Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. It is situated between 200 55' to 21 0 20 'N and 700 25' to 71 0 15' E in the Southern part of Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat. Gir PA (hereafter Gir) is located about 60km South of Junagadh. The area which was .3,107 sq km iIi 1877 (Joshi 1976) has been presently reduced to 1,412 sq km, o~ which about 259 sq Ian is national nark. Gir is the last refuge of the wild Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) and long term conservation of the Asiatic lion is an overriding management objective of Gir. In order to improve habitat conditions in Gir, the park authorities, over the last 20-25 years have made some management interventions such as relocation of some maldharis (local graziers), reduction in livestock grazing (specially migrant livestock during the rainy season) and fire control. These measures have led to vegetational recovery and increase in wild ungulate and lion populations. Understanding this vegetational recovery was thought to be crucial to determine the extent of management intervention required. It also needed to be determined if the trend (especially in the western Gir) was toward a higher woody proportion both at shrub and tree levels, and whether this in long term would adversely affect ' the distribution and abundance of ungulates, and therefore, group hunting by the lions, their pride size and territoriality.