M Sc Dissertation(WII)
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Item Spatial pattern of termite mounds and its association with vegetation with experimental insights on mound repair in response to ant diversity(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Vishvavikash, I.K.Termites are considered pests all around the world in Human settlements and agricultural fields. But in Nature, termites are ecosystem engineers, they play a key role in keeping the ecosystem balanced by processing plant material and returning nutrients to the environment. In the African savanna and the Tropical Rainforest of Malaysia, termites are well studied, and termite mounds are considered nutritional hotspots. In the African continent, the genus Macrotermes is well studied, and their distribution mainly depends on the colony size. The larger colony size utilizes more space for foraging around the mound and also shows great intra- and interspecific competition between the colonies. In India, very few studies have been conducted on Termites. In this study, we investigated the spatial ecology of Termite mounds (genus Odontotermes) in the Sal-dominant Forest of Western Rajaji National Park. To understand the spatial ecology of termite mounds, we assessed their spatial distribution patterns using GPS mapping, mound morphometric characteristics, the influence of surrounding vegetation, and soil chemical properties. We studied the mound repair dynamics of the termites with respect to the predatory pressure exerted by the surrounding mound organisms. We created artificial breaches in termite mounds to monitor repair rates, while pitfall traps around mounds assessed ant diversity and abundance in the surrounding area. The Size classes of the Termite Mound didn’t show any kind of territoriality around them. Vegetation around termite mounds (Odontotermes) didn’t show any type of heterogeneity around the termite mounds. Termite mounds of the small size class show a faster repair rate than the larger termite mounds. The Ant diversity does not dictate the termite mound repair rate.Item Habitat Characterization and Spatial Distribution of Quercus lanata Sm. in the Kumaon Himalaya(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Kaushik, Shikhar; Kumar, Amit; Rawat, G.S.Oaks are climax species which evolved around 56 million years ago. India is home to around 35 species of oaks out of which only 5 species are native to Uttarakhand. In Western Himalaya 3 species make extensive continuous forests which includes Banj oak forest, Moru oak forest and Kharsu oak forest. They show gregarious nature and provide countless ecological and economic benefits to the country. The other two species, Quercus glauca and Quercus lanata are patchy is distribution. For Quercus lanata the Kumaon Himalaya is the western most limit and therefore that species is patchy and shows disjunct population. This study aimed to understand the population, regeneration, habitat characterisation and distribution of Quercus lanata in Kumaon. Descriptive analysis was used to understand the population structure and associate species and maxent modelling was used to develop habitat suitability model. The overall population of Quercus lanata (Rianj) in Kumaon shows a stable and gradually growing trend. Quercus lanata shows a diverse preference to habitat which ranges from northerns moist slopes to drier southern slopes. The significant values from analysed data suggest that its preference at southern slope is comparatively higher. It occurs with Quercus leucotrichophora as well as with Pinus roxburghii. The major co-occurring species with Quercus lanata are Rhododendron arboreum and Myrica esculenta. The developed habitat suitability and generalised linear models helped to understand that elevation and aspect play a significant role in distribution of Quercus lanata. The demand of Quercus lanata for fodder and fuelwood in village area is quite high and therefore requires sustainable practices. As of now Quercus lanata is classified under either Banj oak forest or Moru oak forest which reduces the level of conservation and management this species require.Item Tigers in a multi-use forest: Prey, diet and conflict(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Chauhan, Aayush; Pandav, Bivash; Habib, BilalThis study provides a comprehensive assessment of tiger prey, dietary dynamics, and human-wildlife interactions in the Ramnagar Forest Division, a critical area outside protected areas in the Western Terai Arc. Despite a notable increase in tiger numbers—from 39 adults in 2015 to 67 in 2022—density surface modeling revealed persistently low populations of key wild prey species such as chital and sambar, primarily due to habitat degradation from historical timber-focused management. Diet analysis of genetically confirmed tiger scats demonstrated a strong reliance on large-bodied prey, with sambar and livestock comprising a significant portion of tiger biomass intake, reflecting both prey scarcity and ecological stress. The detection of plastic in both sambar and tiger digestive tracts further highlights the emerging threat of environmental pollution in multi-use forests. Human-tiger conflict remains acute, with 353 livestock depredation events and 28 attacks on people recorded over recent years, concentrated near settlements where prey and livestock overlap are highest. These findings underscore the urgent need for integrated conservation strategies that prioritize habitat restoration—such as grassland recovery—community-based conflict mitigation, improved waste management, and a shift in forest policy from timber production to biodiversity and coexistence. Only through such landscape-level, participatory approaches can the long-term viability of tigers and their prey be secured in shared, human-dominated areas like Ramnagar.Item Subsidized Mammals: Understanding the mammalian interactions with garbage sites around Western- Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Nagarale, Shashank; Habib, Bilal; Shrotriya, Shivam; Pandav, BivashAnthropogenic food subsidies in the form of garbage dumps are widespread across the globe. When such sites are found around protected areas/wildlife habitats, wildlife is observed to exploit these subsidies as food resources. Foraging on such human-derived foods may have a negative or positive impact on individual to community/ecosystem levels. It becomes important to know the species associated with garbage dumps when found around protected areas and understand the interactions happening at the garbage dumps. This study was conducted aiming to know the animals at risk and also increase our understanding of these novel setups. I deployed 13 IR camera traps at total 10 garbage sites resulting in a cumulative effort of 437 trap nights at the garbage site. The camera trap data was processed using Megadetector & SpSeg packages in python. This data was used to get the Relative Abundance Index with respect to 437 trap nights. Sambar (RAI= 8.35) was the species with the highest visitations at the garbage site, followed by Indian crested porcupine (RAI= 2.70) and spotted deer (RAI= 2.15). Synanthropes like rhesus macaque (RAI= 1.78 ) and wild pig (RAI= 1.67) were the most visitors following spotted deer. I hypothesised that synanthropic species will have higher visitations because of distribution outside protected areas, followed by omnivores from the forest area as compared to herbivores and carnivores from the forest areas because of their ability to exploit larger variety of food resources. The data from this study rejected this hypothesis as forest dwelling species like sambar and Indian crested porcupine visited these sites more as compared to other synanthropes. Lesser visitations by omnivores like golden jackal, small indian civet, small indian mongoose; carnivore like common leopard along with scavenger striped hyena was a result of the less percentage of poultry waste (0.33% at only one site) in the garbage sites. I collected data on variables such as distance of the garbage site from the protected area, human infrastructure and waterbody, also quantified the size of the garbage site in terms of perimeter, NDVI difference between the protected area and garbage site as a surrogate of vegetation cover, relative abundance of each species in the adjoining protected area and calculated the composite RAI values of human, dogs/cats and livestock as a disturbance measure . I quantified the garbage in broader categories using a 1 m2 quadrat which was divided into smaller sets of 25x25 cm2. A total of 39 plots were laid for all the garbage site. The categories quantified were food wrappers & food disposables, food materials, religious offerings, agriculture discards, dung plates, sanitary waste, construction waste, carcass & poultry waste, pharmaceutical waste, cloths and plastic and others. The relation between relative abundances within protected area and visitations at the garbage site was assessed using Spearman correlation test along with Wilcoxon test p-values. With the available dataset I used ANOSIM using ‘vegan’ package in R program v4.1.2 to investigate the effect by considering the dissimilarity of the communities between sites based on the RAI values of the species for each garbage site. Relative abundance from protected area was not related to visitation of the species at the garbage site. Out of the selected variables, the ANOSIM values suggested the effect of ‘distance between garbage site and protected area’ on forest species and synanthropes. The effect of the ‘size of garbage site’ on the species could not be tested as there was not much variation in the sizes of the garbage sites. Human, dogs/cats and livestock presence affected the forest species, suggesting their sensitivity towards disturbances, while synanthropes were found to have affinity with the NDVI difference between protected area and garbage sites (vegetation cover at the garbage site) and the ‘percentage of food materials available in the garbage site’. To understand the co-occurrences at the garbage site, I modified the probabilistic models for co-occurrences (Veech, 2013) to get pair-wise associations at the temporal scale of one hour. A total 13 mammals avoided co-occurring with humans (and vehicle) while nine with livestock and dogs. Co-occurrences were found to be there between sambar and Indian crested porcupine at two out of three religious sites and at a household site, suggesting high tolerance levels to each other’s presence at the garbage site to exploit the resources. One of the sites was visited by barking deer with spotted deer group/herd. This association by solitary living barking deer can be for foraging effectively by reducing vigilance efforts in a group.Item The effect of disturbance-induced changes in vegetation structure and arthropod abundance on mixed-species bird flocks in the oak forests of the Western Himalaya(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Satish, Aditya; Page, Navendu; Bangal, Priti; Shahabuddin, GhazalaMixed-species flocks are an interactive group of insectivorous birds that forage together and move in the same direction. Flocks provide foraging and anti-predatory benefits to participants. Habitat disturbance may affect flocks by – a) altering presence or abundance of participating birds in the community or b) altering flocking propensities of species. 2. I investigated the effects of habitat disturbance on flocks in the Western Himalaya of Uttarakhand, India. Disturbance was mediated through two mechanisms – changes in vegetation structure and arthropod abundance (food availability). I examined how these environmental variations impacted flocks at a community level through changes in flock richness, flock size, number of flocks encountered and flock composition. I also explored how flocking propensity (a species-specific tendency to join flocks) is impacted by these variables. 3. Flocks are a subset of the insectivorous bird community. I found that insectivore richness and abundance decreased with reduced structural complexity of vegetation caused by disturbance. Reduced structural complexity also led to a corresponding decline in flock richness, size and number of flocks encountered in disturbed sites. With regards to variation of flock composition with disturbance, I found no clear species-composition-based clustering in transects with similar disturbance levels. 4. There seems to be an interactive link between arthropods, insectivorous birds and disturbance. Disturbance was correlated with strong declines in foliage arthropod abundance, which in turn contributes to lower insectivore richness and abundance. Flying arthropod abundance largely remained constant with disturbance, so I would like to draw 2 attention to the effect of foliage arthropod abundance on flock variables in the following sections. 5. The number of flocks encountered increased with foliage arthropod abundance. Since insectivores in undisturbed sites are supported by a larger prey base, the higher frequency of flocking may be correlated to the larger pool of insectivores that are available to flock at a given time. I did not find significant effects of foliage arthropod abundance on flock richness and flock size. 6. I found that flocking propensity of the three most common species (Gray-hooded Warbler, Black-throated Tit and Green-backed Tit) in flocks showed a declining trend with higher disturbance. I also observed that the propensity of these species showed an increasing trend with higher foliage arthropod abundance. However, none of these relationships were statistically significant. More detailed research is recommended to investigate these preliminary patterns further, to better understand the complex interactions between propensity, disturbance and food availability. 7. To conclude, disturbance was found to have a negative impact on mixed-species flocks, primarily by altering the presence and abundance of insectivorous birds. From a habitat perspective, insectivores suffered declines due to the simplification of vegetation structure. Insectivores also face food scarcity as foliage arthropod abundance decreases. The combined effect of habitat loss and reduced food availability in disturbed sites leads to lower insectivore richness and abundance, which is in turn reflected in fewer, smaller and more species-poor flocks.Item Nest site selection in Pallas’s Fish-eagle and nesting behaviour in the Rajaji-Corbett landscape(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Tangaria, Abhishek; Jha, Ashish; Pandav, Bivash; Kumar, R.S.This study investigates the nest site selection and nesting behavior of Pallas's Fish-eagle (PFE) across the sub-Himalayan tract in India, addressing a significant knowledge gap in the species' natural history. PFE, classified as Endangered globally and of high conservation concern nationally, exhibits unique nesting preferences and ecological requirements. Prior research, including studies from Bhutan and Bangladesh, has highlighted the species' preference for unobstructed nest trees and proximity to water sources and human settlements. However, comprehensive data from India remains limited. The study aims to explore factors influencing PFE's nest site selection, such as habitat quality, microclimate, food availability, and protection from predators and human disturbance. Additionally, it seeks to document the species' reproductive behavior, including hatchling development, parental duties, and nest predation pressures. Surveys covered segments of the Ganga, Kohlu, Kho, Palain, Mandal, Asan Barrage, Dakpatthar Barrage, and Ramganga, recording data on sightings and nest characteristics. A total of twelve nests were found, with only one destroyed by a storm. The majority of nests were built on Bombax ceiba and Shorea robusta trees, with an average height of 29.9m and GBH of 473cm. Behavioral observations were conducted at three accessible nests, monitoring parental presence, predator interactions, and nest guarding behavior. Spatial analysis in ArcGIS Pro considered various land cover types and environmental factors, finding that barren land and rangeland significantly influenced nest site selection. Euclidean distances to different land cover types and elevation were also key factors. Statistical analyses using R revealed correlations between tree height and nest height, and generalized linear models highlighted the impact of land cover and environmental variables on nest presence. Nest trees were typically tall and robust, with Bombax ceiba and Shorea robusta being the most commonly used species. These trees provided unobstructed branches and greater accessibility. The study also highlighted the importance of open land around the nest tree, aiding in vigilance and territory defense. At a macro scale, the presence of barren land and flooded regions positively influenced nest site selection, while slope and distance from rangeland showed negative correlations. Behavioral observations at three nests revealed high predation pressure, particularly from crows, and kites. The presence of human settlements increased predation incidents, affecting parental investment in nest defense.Item Species interactions with in mixed species bird flocks along an Elevational gradient in the Western Himalaya.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Gokhale, Pranav; Kumar, R.S.; Mohan, D.Mixed-species bird flocks (hereafter, “flocks”) are an interactive community of largely insectivorous birds, which move and forage together to gain enhanced access to resources and protection from predation. In this study, I aimed to investigate a question: do interspecific interactions within mixed-species flocks change along an elevational gradient? To test this, I carried out this study in the Garhwal region of the Western Himalaya in Dehradun District, Uttarakhand from January to April 2021 (spanned across two seasons). The study areas comprised of three field sites along an elevation gradient from western part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve (300 m ASL) to Mussoorie (2200 m ASL). I sampled flocks and relative abundances of birds on the two pre-existing trails in each of the three field sites. I walked each trail 10 to 13 times. I recorded species identity, group/cluster size of all birds seen inside as well as outside flocks on the trail and within 10 m on either side of the trail. I assessed arthropod prey availability in winter for the flocking species by using branch bagging technique on the same trails. In total, I clipped 150 branches for the three elevations. I calculated species-specific flocking propensity for each elevation from the information on birds seen within and outside flocks. I used network density (potentially realised associations) and weighted degree (associated strength) to quantify the interspecific interactions (associations) within flocks. To control for the influence of species availability on flock network properties, I generated null flocks using an abundance-based null model. I recorded 80 flocking species in 412 flocks, of which, 179 flocks were observed at the High elevation, 156 at the Mid elevation and 77 at the Low elevation. Majority of species in the Western Himalayan flocks were insectivorous gleaner. I found insect prey availability (resource) to decrease with increasing elevation in winter. As expected, flocking propensity, network density and weighted degree increased with elevation in both seasons indicating greater potentially realised associations and high strength of associations between species. Interestingly, the Low elevation flocks disintegrated completely at the onset of summer possibly due to the greater availability of resources, or an upward migration of species for breeding. I did not analyse the Low elevation flocks in summer due to small sample size (n=5). Flocking propensity and network density decreased from winter to summer at Mid and High elevation while, weighted degrees decreased only for the Mid elevation. This is likely that true summer may not have started at the High elevation during the course of my fieldwork. To conclude, with increasing elevation in both seasons, species not just flocked more, but associated with many species and these associations became stronger, potentially due to the scarcity of resources. It is possible that species may not be able to access resources efficiently when foraging on their own at the High elevation, compelling them to participate in flocks to avail complementary benefits from many other species.Item Spatial and Temporal Responses of Leopard (Panthera pardus) in the Presence of Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) in Rajaji National Park Uttarakhand(2021) Krishna, Anubhuti; Lyngdoh, SalvadorLeopards co-occur with tigers in several parts of Asia as well as over a major portion of their geographical distribution in India. A clear dominance hierarchy establishes between the two felid species in regions of sympatry with tigers, owing to stark body size differences, holding higher ground. The striped felid, thus, invokes numerical as well as functional responses in their less dominant counterparts. The current study aims at understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of leopards in the presence of tigers. Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand offers an excellent natural setup for understanding such intra-guild interactions as the western part of the Park hosts leopards but is devoid of tigers and the eastern region has sympatric populations of the two felid species. These act as control and experimental setups respectively, and hence this site was chosen for conducting the field sampling. It was found that leopards exhibit some degree of spatial segregation from tigers as was evidenced by differences in the activity hotspots of the two felids in Eastern Rajaji. This is attributable, at least in part, to tigers as a negative relationship was obtained between space use by tigers and leopard occupancy under the occupancy framework. Temporal patterns, on the other hand, revealed a rather interesting trend. The diel activity of leopards in Eastern Rajaji, i.e., in the presence of tigers was very different from that of leopards in the western part of the Park. The activity of the latter was distributed throughout the day with nocturnal peaks of low intensity. The former, however, showed an activity pattern restricted to the nocturnal hours with very little activity during the day. The temporal peaks for this population also showed greater intensity than that of the pattern observed in the western leopard population.These peaks of activity, however, contrary to expectations, coincided with those of tigers in the landscape. Since predator-prey interactions also play an important role in shaping the temporal activity patterns of carnivores, the temporal overlaps between the two felids and their potential prey was also analysed. This too failed to offer an explanation to the rather unexpected leopard diel pattern in ER. It was subsequently observed that though leopards might have similar temporal activity to that of tigers, they are rarely at the same place at the same time. A clear lag was observed between leopard captures at camera traps following photo-captures of tigers at the same location. Hence, a combination of spatial and temporal segregation might be at play at a finer scale than at the population level and requires further examination in order to elucidate the interactions and mechanisms of sympatry between leopards and tigers in this landscapeItem Making the Urban Matrix Matter : Characteristics of the Avifaunal Community of the Urban Matrix Relative to the Urban Green Spaces of Dehradun(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Coutinho, Jason Bismarck; Onial, Malvika; Kaushik, MonikaUrban ecology is a field in science which deals with understanding the ecological synergies within urban systems. This is a relatively new field which started out when ecologists recognized the importance of quantifying human impacts on ecosystems globally. This field is ever so pertinent now that no ecosystem remains which doesn’t have human induced changes. 2. Urban ecosystems are dynamic ecosystems with interactions similar to those of natural ecosystems, but they are also directly influenced by the culture, politics, economics and social organization of human society. Urban has different definitions all over the world with no single consensus and such disparities make it impossible to compare ‘what is urban’ across the globe. Simply urban areas are cities and suburban areas with the landscape being called as the ‘built environment’. Urbanization and the urban sprawl have impacted not only the land covers across an urban area, but also the biodiversity in it. This urbanization filters the biological community at various levels and it is pertinent that we understand this filtering. 3. The urban landscape can be divided into two major categories for simplicity. The urban green spaces are terrestrial areas, both public and private covered with vegetation, made available to users. These are very important to the health of the city. They enhance the wellbeing of the people in the city and also are habitats for urban wildlife. The urban grey on the other hand is the ‘built’ or ‘artificial’ environment. This is usually seen increasing as we reach the center of a city or urban area. 4. The urban matrix is a mix of the greens and the grey and has no clear definition. It is all the habitat patches in the urban landscape that lie outside the urban green spaces. This urban matrix is highly dynamic and every urban area has its own unique habitat mosaic. This important matrix however has not been studied extensively. In most areas of urban ecological research, the matrix’s relevance is undervalued. The current study was conducted in the city of Dehradun from March 2021 to April 2021. To understand the importance of the urban matrix’s contribution in maintaining an urban areas biological diversity, this study aims to quantify the avifaunal community in the urban matrix. Further it looks to understand the relevance of the avifaunal assemblage characteristics of the urban matrix relative to that of the urban green spaces. 5. To study this, the patterns of the avifaunal community in Dehradun were explored. Fundamental properties of biological communities like species richness, abundance, density and composition were looked at the habitat scale. At the landscape scale, potential habitat correlates of the species richness and density were studied so as to shed some light on the factors and processes that might be driving the community assembly in the urban matrix. The comparison of the avifaunal assemblage was done by comparing the overall richness, density and composition in the urban matrix and urban green spaces. 6. In the urban matrix, 109 sampling units were laid and then sampled using a variable radius point count method. A total of 3775 individuals belonging to 81 species were recorded. Feral Pigeon was the most dominant species, habitat-wise species richness was maximum in the built – up areas (54 species) and species density was maximum in scrublands (13.12mean ± 4.35SD per hectare). Ordination graphs showed that plots of green cover were dissimilar from the other habitats. The species richness in the urban matrix was positively influenced by the increasing proportions of open areas and scrublands. Built – up had negative influence on the species richness but showed peaking at moderate levels of human development. Density in the matrix was positively influenced by increasing proportion of scrublands and the landscape heterogeneity. It was negatively influenced by increasing proportions of built – up and green cover. Comparisons of the richness and density of the urban matrix and urban green spaces showed that there was a huge difference in both the parameters, with urban green spaces showing higher values for both. The species composition Venn diagram showed that the matrix and urban green spaces share 64 species among them, with the urban green spaces and urban matrix showing 50 and 17 unique species respectively. 7. In general, the current study shows the relative importance of the urban matrix in maintaining the urban biodiversity and the need of conserving the habitats in the matrix to boost the urban biodiversity.Item Resource Use and Distribution of Smooth-Coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) in the Sub-Himalayan Foothill Rivers of Uttarakhand(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) Basak, Sayanti; Hussain, S.A.; Gopi, G.V.Otters are the apex predators of the wetland ecosystems they inhabit. Being sensitive to both pollution and habitat destruction, the presence of otters in a wetland ecosystem, be it rivers, lakes, swamps, mangroves or estuaries, indicates the occurrence of a viable prey base, thus indicating an ecologically healthy condition of such ecosystems. Coupled with habitat, prey is one of the major factors that limit species populations. Many species, including otters, are often seen to cope up with disturbed surroundings only for the easy accessibility or abundance of prey in those areas. The aim of this study was to understand the ecology of Smooth- coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) in terms of their habitat requirements, food habits, and distribution across the landscape. The study was conducted in select rivers of Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve, Lansdowne Forest Division, and Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve. These protected areas fall in sub-Himalayan region, a region of high biodiversity value threatened by immense anthropogenic pressure. Habitat parameters were measured at every 250 m along a river bank and also in locations where there were otter evidences. The importance of different habitat parameters influencing otter occurrence were analysed using Generalised Linear Models (GLMs) and non-mapping technique using Bonferroni confidence interval approach. Smooth-coated Otter significantly preferred deep pools with moderate to sparse bank-side vegetation during the mid-winter and late-winter season. Moderate width water bodies are preferred over narrow water bodies. Muddy and sandy bank substrate types were preferred. Rocky stretches were largely avoided. Water body type i.e. pools and bank substrate type, i.e. rocky substrate, are the significantly influencing factors on otter distribution. Feeding habit of otters were studied by analysing 120 spraints collected throughout the study area. In this study, we also explored how the habitat suitability modelling could predict the percentage of area and a gradient of environmental conditions suitable for the occurrence of Smooth-coated Otter across the study area. MaxEnt modelling was used to predict habitat suitability of Smooth-coated Otter across the landscape. The most important variables affecting otter distribution were compound topographic index, Euclidean distance from the river, and slope position index. With increasing distance from water, and increasing slope, the suitability of an area to sustain otter populations decreased.