PhD Theses (WII)

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End date: 2009Subject: search.filters.subject.Birds

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    A study on water bird population and human use of Hokersar and Hygam wetlands of Kashmir valley for conservation planning
    (2009) Hamid, Fozia; Hussain, S.A.
    The primary focus of this study was to evaluate the landscape composition and describe the floristic communities; assess the waterbird abundance and its spatio-temporal variation. The study also examined the resource dependence of local communities and their conservation attitudes towards these wetlands. The objectives were set forth: Map the habitat types with respect to water depth and vegetation characteristics of Hokersar and Hygam wetlands of Jammu & Kashmir. Derive spatio-temporal variation in the density and diversity pattern of waterbirds in these wetlands. iv Examine the seasonal pattern of use of these two wetlands by migratory and resident waterbirds. Examine the extent of use of these wetlands by the local people and their perception and attitude towards these wetlands. The field work was done during July to October 2004; mid-winter (December - January, 2004-2005); post-winter/ spring (February - April, 2005); summer (July - August, 2005), from June to October, 2006 and from June to October 2007. A structured questionnaire was designed and employed to obtain information on socio-economic parameters and vi dependence on wetland resources. The findings of this study indicate a difference in landscape structure between two wetlands. The pattern of land use - land cover between two landscapes shows that the extent of marshy areas was more in Hokersar wetland landscape (35.65%) than Hygam landscape (22.26%).
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    Habitat selection of birds in New Forest, Dehra Dun, India.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2007) Mohan, Dhananjai; Johnsingh, A.J.T.
    The New Forest campus is primarily a man-made ecosystem created in the 1920s mainly to house the Forest Research Institute. Much of the area of what is New Forest today was under agricultural fields till they were acquired in 1920s by the British and there after considerably large areas of this sprawling campus were developed into demonstration forests, gardens, experimental plantations areas, and arboretum by planting them up. In addition, there is a block of natural forest on the northern part of the campus which belongs to 3C2b(i) type (Moist Bhabhar Sal forests). The present study was restricted to ca. 150 ha of wooded part of the 463 ha of the campus. Two hundred and seventy six birds have been reported from the campus till date. The campus is managed through management plans prepared at a ten year cycle. Four distinct vegetation types were identified in the wooded parts of the New Forest campus based on the vegetation composition and structure. These, namely, Chir Pine plantations, Gardens, Mixed plantations and Natural forests were recognized as the four distinct habitats for the birds, the first three being man-made. The bird abundance was estimated by conducting point transects which were done over a two year period from October 2004 to June 2006 and collected habitat structure and composition data by laying out vegetation plots around the point locations for the bird transects (bird centered vegetation sampling). The guild structure of the birds of New Forest was investigated and factors determining it were identified. The seasonal change in guild structures both within and across various habitat types was also looked into. Birds were divided into fifteen fine feeding guilds. A distinct habitat selection by birds was observed amongst the four identified habitats of New Forest as seen from multiple response permutation procedure (MRPP) and hierarchical clustering of sample points in different habitats on the basis of bird composition. The present study shows that despite some degree of biotic pressures, natural forest habitat still possesses the highest bird richness as compared to the well-preserved mature plantations even with mixed crop. It also supports the highest density of birds of all the habitats of New Forest. The highest number of indicator birds has also been reported from this habitat. A large number of biome restricted bird are reported from this habitat which has led to the declaration of New Forest as an Important Bird Area. This habitat which is typical of northern part of Dehradun valley is under great threat in most parts owing to a rapid spread of urbanization and the patch in New Forest may be the only one to provide long term preservation to its typical flora and birds.
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    Spatial patterns of species richness and distribution in breeding land birds of the Central Indian Highlands.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2006) Jaypal, R.; Qureshi, Qamar; Chellam, Ravi
    Variations in number and distribution of species in space constitute one of the fundamental themes in ecological research. It is being increasingly recognized that studies on species diversity at regional scale are essential to understand the mechanisms of maintenance of biological diversity. Emergence of macroecology, where large-scale ecological phenomena are examined to test biogeographical hypotheses, has considerably widened the scope of these approaches to include application of empirical patterns in finding solutions to conservation issues. This study, adopting this acroecological framework, investigates the spatial patterns in species richness and distribution of breeding land birds in central India. 2. The study was conducted across the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges, collectively known as Central Indian Highlands, in Madhya Pradesh, India between March, 2002 and September, 2005. Bird species composition is found to be primarily determined by vegetation structure at regional level and by floristic composition at local scale. This finding is consistent with earlier observations that birds respond, in their species composition, to vegetation structure across habitats and to vegetation composition within habitats. The species-area relationship in central Indian birds is best described by power function curve with a slope of 0.12. The acutely low slope points to the extremely sparse nature of spatial gradient in bird species diversity of Central Indian Highlands. The findings of the study clearly illustrate the bias in PA network that a single-species approach can potentially bring about. The recent rediscovery of the critically endangered Forest Owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti), after a gap of 113 years, from these low-rainfall dry deciduous forests highlights the importance of extending adequate protection to all major biomes and the need for multi-species approach in design and maintenance of an efficient PA network.
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    Impact of land use changes on the habitat, bahaviour and breeding biology of Indian Sarus Crane (Grus antigone antigone) in the semi-arid tract of Rajasthan, India.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2007) Kaur, Jatinder; Choudhury, B.C.
    The Sarus Crane has been recorded all over the northern India and central region of the Indian sub-continent historically. However, this once abundant tallest flying bird species has now become threatened. The present study was undertaken during the year 2000-2002 to i) to determine the habitat use, breeding biology and behavioural ecology of the Sarus Crane in the semi-arid tract of Kota, and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and ii) to determine the changes in land-use and its impact on Sarus Crane in the semi-arid landscape and to suggest the conservation strategies for the long-term survival of Sarus Crane. The study was conducted in the semi arid tract of Kota, and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan. District Kota, the first intensive site falls under arid Zone V (the humid south-eastern humid plain zone,) where the development of canal irrigation has made this area rich in agricultural production. The population of Sarus Crane in Kota are dependent mainly on the canal system induced and other natural wetlands. Data on distribution and habitat utilization of Sarus Crane in Kota and in Keoladeo Ghana National Park were carried out
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    An ecological study on the pheasants of Great Himalayan National Park, Western Himalaya.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2003) Ramesh, K.; Rawat, G.S.
    The primary focus of the study was to describe the ecological and spatial distribution of three sympatric pheasant species, namely, Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus), koklass (Pucrasia macrolopha) and western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) in the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP; 31 0 33' - 31 0 57' N and 770 17' - 770 52' E) in Himachal Pradesh, India. The specific were to: (i) review and test the currently available count techniques and provide estimates of relative abundance; (ii) document group size characteristics; (iii) describe habitat preference and investigate species coexistence; and (iv) develop a spatial model to predict availability of the potential habitats and the probability of occurrence of the study species. The study design included three broad approaches, namely, 1) field sampling, to estimate relative abundance and other behavioral and ecological parameters, 2) associative approach, to establish a relationship between the ecological distribution of the study species and habitat characteristics, and 3) Geographical Information System (GIS) based predictive spatial modelling. An area of 16 km2 was selected within GHNP, based on reconnaissance survey and literature, to serve as an intensive study area
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    An ecological study of sympatric hornbills and fruiting patterns in a tropical forest of Arunachal Pradesh.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2001) Datta, Aparajita; Rawat, G.S.
    The tropical forests in north-east India have a diverse assemblage of hornbills (Bucerotidae), ranging from the cooperatively breeding Brown hornbills (Anorrhinus spp.) to the monogamous and territorial Great hornbill (Buceros b{cornis). Focussing on three sympatric species, the Great hom bill (Buceros bicornis), the Wreathed hornbill (Aceros undulatus), and the Oriental Pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), in a lowland semievergreen forest of Arunachal Pradesh this study attempted. the dispersal syndromes of tree species were evaluated, and their patterns of flowering and fruiting examined. The study was conducted in the lowland semievergreen forests of Pakhui National Park, western Arunachal Pradesh.
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    Diversity and rarity in avifaunal assemblages in the western Himalaya: A study of patterns and mechanisms.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, 2006) Raza, Rashid H.; Mathur, V.B.; Gaston, Kevin J.
    This study focuses on patterns of diversity and rarity in the avifaunalassemblages of the Western Himalaya. It attempts to find patterns at a regional scale using a secondary database and through field studies at landscape scales at two intensive study sites, Kedarnath area and Goriganga valley in Uttaranchal. The study adopts a macroecological approach in arriving at statistical generalizations emerging from the analyses of distribution and abundance patterns of birds along the altitudinal gradient. The study identifies key patterns of composition, species abundances and species diversity seen in the Western Himalayas and attempts to understand some of the mechanisms associated with these patterns.
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    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 stock