M Sc Dissertation(WII)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://192.168.202.180:4000/handle/123456789/3
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Item Has conservation gone to the dogs? : ecological aspects of free ranging dogs of the Thar(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2017) Mohandas, Monisha S.; Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, Qamar; Dutta, SutirthaOne of the few mammals to have a near-global distribution, dogs (Canis familiaris) are an introduced mammalian predator. Dogs have contributed to 11 vertebrate extinctions and are a potential threat to 188 threatened species globally. This study investigates population sizes, ranging patterns, behavioural activity, and resource utilisation of free-ranging dogs in Thar landscape, Rajasthan. 2. Using double sampling framework, I calibrated effort-standardized counts (C) with mark-recapture based abundances (𝑁̂) that was used to estimate dog abundances within human habitation. Landscape-scale dog abundance was estimated using vehicle transect based distance sampling. Home ranges of nine free-ranging dogs was determined using locations from radio-telemetry. Resource use was quantified as feeding durations on various food items based on continuous monitoring. Resource availability was quantified as wild prey and livestock carcass density using line transect based distance sampling. This study provides information on important aspects of free-ranging dog ecology and their impacts in Thar landscape. It provides the basis required for implementing dog control programs in the landscape focusing on the flagship and critically endangered great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps.Item Abundance, Habitat Relationships and Behavior of the Semi-Fossorial Indian Desert Jird, Meriones hurriancae, in Kachchh, Gujarat(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2011) Ramesh, Divya; Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, QamarPopulation sizes, habitat relationships and behaviour are among basic ecological aspects pivotal to demystifying a species and its place in the ecosystem. Numerous in species and number, desert rodents offer immense scope for such investigations. The Indian desert jird, Meriones hurrianae, though common, is remarkably little known. This study, conducted in Kachchh, Gujarat, estimates population sizes, examines factors in the habitat likely to influence their occurrence, and elucidates the activity pattern and time budget across 2 land use types, agricultural and natural areas, during winter (December February) and summer (March-May). Animals were caught in 9 colonies using Sherman traps and population estimated under closed population Capture-Mark-Recapture framework in Program MARK, using individual covariates (age class, gender, body weight, site). Colony parameters (length, width, number of holes) were regressed against known Mark-Recapture (MR) population estimates to develop predictive models for estimating population size from indices. Population sizes varied from 2 to 10 individuals. Number of holes in a colony provided robust estimates of the number of individuals in that colony (N=16, R2=0.96, t=18.19, pItem Aspects of Foraging, Activity, Habitat Use and Demography of Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis Linn.) in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2003) Kandel, Ram Chandra; Jhala, Y.V.The study was conducted between November 2002 to June 2003 in the Royal Chitwan National Park, in Central Terai which arbors the largest population of the Great One-honed Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis Linn) in Nepal. I studied time Activity budget, Habitat use, preference, food habits and ranging pattern of free ranging rhinos by continuously monitoring them from elephant back for 130.5 hrs (10 sessions of 7-24 hr each)