PhD Theses (WII)
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Item Factors affecting habitat occupancy of tiger in the Terai Arc landscape, India(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2009) Rajapandian, K.; Goyal, S.P.; Qureshi, QamarThe goal of this study, therefore, was to identify the factors affecting the distribution of tiger and assess the distribution of suitable habitat patches and the connectivity between these patches for successful dispersal in the Indian part of TAL. In the present study developed GIS probability models for tiger and its prey species and a spatially explicit individual-based dispersal model (SEIBM) for tiger in order to identify and assess the factors which are affecting the occupancy of tiger and subsequently predict potential suitable habitats and estimate the connectivity between the fragmented subpopulations in the Indian as well as between Indian and Nepal part of TAL. Data were collected on presence/absence of four wild ungulates (sambar Cervus unicolor, chital Axis axis, nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus, and wild pig Sus scrofa), which are important prey species of tiger in two phases during the period between 2002 and 2006. The results of this study, in addition to contributing to the knowledge on factors affecting suitable habitat distribution and dispersal of tiger, have many implications for conservation of tiger in the Indian part of TAL. This study has also identified critical areas needed for management initiatives for functional unit of tiger conservation in the TAL.Item Land use, forest fragmentation and river dynamics in Dudhwa landscape and their conservation implications(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2008) Midha, Neha; Mathur, P.K.The present study aimed to assess land use, forest fragmentation and river dynamics in Dudhwa landscape and their effect on diversity, vegetation, and species of concern i.e. swamp deer ( ). Specific objectives addressed description of viii landscape spatial patterns, and evaluation of efficacy of high resolution satellite data in the development of spatial database; quantification of forest fragmentation, and assessment of structure and composition of forest vegetation; and understanding channel planform, changes in Sharda River, construction of Locational Probability Model of a stretch of Sharda River, and implications for conservation of endangered swamp deer and its prime habitat i.e. Jhadi in Kisanpur Wildlife Sanctuary. The study focused on the Dudhwa landscape which represents the part of The Sal ( ecosystem in the foothills of the Himalaya. In view of the multi-facet study objectives and vast area, it was imperative to adopt a holistic approach so as to have an insight on land use, forest fragmentation, and vegetation in the constituent areas of the landscape, and also on the river dynamics, a major disturbance factor influencing the floodplain and swamp deer. The field studies were carried out during 2005 and 2006. A combination of well tested field assessment methods and modern techniques Remote Sensing and GIS were employed in the present study.Item 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.Item A study on vegetation ecology in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh with reference to gaur (Bos gaurus) using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2007) Areendran, G.; Sankar, K.A study on vegetation ecology with reference to Gaur (Bos gaurus) using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) in Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) Madhya Pradesh was conducted from February 1996 to September 2000. The Tiger Reserve is located between 77° 55' W to 79° 35' E & 21° 08' S to 22° 00' N and lies in the southwestern region of the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Tiger Reserve comprises of the Sanctuary and the National Park of the same name, and buffer zone covering an area of 757.85 sq. km. The PTR offers a unique opportunity for research into the aspects of both the ecology and the management of gaur populations and their habitats. This is due to, both, the diverse pattern of habitat, as a result of rich floral composition and varied topology, and gaur populations that can readily be seen almost throughout the year. In Madhya Pradesh alone, the gaur population is found in 10 districts and they are geographically isolated from one another. The main objectives of the study were: 1)To study vegetation communities, composition, species distribution, abundance and richness in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. 2)To map vegetation types and quantify landscape characteristics in PTR, 3)To evaluate the available habitat and predict distribution areas of Gaur in PTR, Madhya Pradesh. model the habitat suitability and predict distribution of Gaur in Pench National Park based on Ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA) using Biomapper software Different variables (Aspect, Cover change, Drainage, Elevation, Food dentity, Ground cover, Slope, Vegetation type, Vegetation index ) were used in the model to predict the suitable habitat and distribution of GaurItem Ecology of otters in Corbett Tiger Reserve.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2008) Nawab, Asghar; Hussain, S.A.Otters are obligately tied to aquatic environments and are recognized as one of the top predators in the freshwater systems. Major threats to otter survival are the loss of wetland habitats, reduction in prey biomass and pollution. Developmental projects such as dams and barrages, and aquaculture activities have taken their toll on wetlands and consequently on the otters. Poaching, however, remains a major threat to their survival. The study was envisaged to appraise the impacts of making of dams on the ecology of otters in Corbett Tiger Reserve, since it is believed that the habitat of otters got fragmented due to the creation of a dam on the Ramganga River under the Kalagarh Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project. It is generally believed that dams affect otter. In the Corbett Tiger reserve both smooth-coated and Eurasian otter have been reported. Our preliminary survey revealed that at the low lying areas such as the Ramganga, Mandal and Palain rivers, smooth-coated otter occurs. This study complies with smooth coated otter limited to the above mentioned areas only and data were collected for winter and summer seasons respectively between 2001 and 2004. The study was conducted with the following objectives: (a) To study the status and distribution pattern of otters in the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the adjacent aquatic ecosystems. (b) To examine the Resource use pattern of otters in relation to habitat and food availability. (c) To study the potential threats to otter populations in the study area.Item Behavioural ecology of sloth bear in Panna National Park, Central India.(Wildlife Institute of India, 2005) Yoganand, K.; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The patterns in daily and seasonal activity of sloth bears in Panna NP were studied and the factors that influenced the patterns were assessed. • Activity states were recorded by manually monitoring radio-tagged, motion-sensor fitted bears, and by deploying automated receiver-recording units that logged the strengths and pulse rates of signals from the bears. Daily and seasonal changes in temperature, relative humidity and other heat indices of the microhabitats used by bears were recorded using temperature and RH loggers. Tiger and human activities were also monitored to assess the influence of these on bear activity patterns. • Bears were found to be essentially nocturnal and crepuscular in activity and they rested during midday. This pattern of activity was similar among all radio collared bears, but with some variability. The differences in diel activity patterns among climatic and fruiting seasons were rather small. In the wet and cold seasons, bears extended their activity into the day hours and reduced their activity in post-midnight, pre-morning hours, as compared to the dry season. • Bears (except the cubbing females) were active almost every day of the year, and for several hours (> 10 hours) each day. Overall, bears were active for 48% to 54% of the whole day (out of 24 h) in all seasons. There were no large differences seen among months in percent of whole day, day time, night time, and morning time the bears were active, but evening time showed large differences. • The differences in activity start and end times among individual bears within seasons were large in certain seasons, and the differences among seasons of a bear were large for certain bears. Bears such as F63, F78 and M69 did not show much difference among seasons, while others such as F76, F80 and M50 showed large differences. Also many bears showed higher variability in cold and wet seasons than in dry season, particularly in activity start times. • Bears started their activity later and ended it earlier in the dry season than the other two climatic seasons. The earliest activity start and latest activity end was in the cold season. The differences among climatic seasons in both timings were statistically significant (ANOVA, α = 0.05). However, when activity start and end times were adjusted for seasonal sunset and sunrise times, the patterns in seasonal differences changed remarkably. 109 Wet season activity start times with reference to sunset were much earlier than the other two seasons, whereas the difference between cold and dry seasons became small. Differences in activity end times after sunrise between cold and the other two seasons too became small. • Escarpment habitat was most frequently used (50% to 85%) for day resting by bears in all months, followed by Lantana shrub thickets (15% to 50%). The use of escarpment was predominant in dry season months and decreased in monsoon and post-monsoon months, with a converse increase in the use of Lantana habitat as day-bed. • The core bears, which had substantial escarpment habitat available within their home ranges, used escarpments for day-resting predominantly in all seasons, and the peripheral bears, which had low escarpment and high Lantana cover available, used these habitats for day-resting variably. Tigers were generally nocturnal and crepuscular in activity during the dry and cold seasons. The activity of tigers peaked during crepuscular times; they predominantly rested during mid-day, and had a reduced level of activity during post-midnight, pre-morning hours. • Diel activity patterns of bears and tigers were similar to a large extent, in the two seasons tigers were monitored. The activity peaks of both species more or less coincided in the mornings and evenings, and high levels of activity of both occurred in night and crepuscular times. • Tiger activity does not seem to influence bear activity timings. The hourly activities of both were strongly positively correlated, even after controlling for temperature, with which bear activity was strongly correlated. • Humans using the forest habitats showed a high level of activity in the morning and evening times, moderate level of activity in the mid-day, early morning and late-evenings, and a low level of activity in the immediate premorning and early night hours. • Human activity overlapped highly with that of bear activity during early morning and evening hours. Overlap period was longer and the activity peaks of both coincided in the evenings of wet and cold seasons. No relationship could be seen between their hourly activitiesItem 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 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.