Theses and Dissertations
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Item Assessment of tree diversity, successional changes and forest fragmentation in jhum influenced forest ecosystem of South Garo Hills, Meghalaya.(Wildlife Institute of India, 2005) Kumar, Ashish; Roy, P.S.; Sawarkar, V.B.The findings presented in this thesis are the outcome of a long term research project entitled ‘Management of Forests in India for Biological Diversity and Forest Productivity - A New Perspective (1996 — 2002)’. The intensive study area is a part of the Garo Hills situated in the western Meghalaya of the northeast India. The landscape (2459 km2) is a mosaic of protected areas (PAs), managed forests (MFs) and intervening private/community land. The major goal of present study is to provide knowledge, tools, and indicators for monitoring, and potential management guidelines for conserving native biological diversity of study area. The objectives of present study are (i) to assess diversity patterns and successional changes among tree communities, (ii) to analyse landscape characteristics in particular fragmentation, classify tropical forests and prioritise wildlife areas, (iii) to discuss the native wild fauna and develop information base for modelling wildlife habitat relationships, and (iv) to assess the socioeconomics of native tribes, and evaluate the impact on existing protected areas of the region.Item Ranging and Habitat Utilization by the Himalayan Ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) in Pin Valley National Park.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1997) Bhatnagar, Yashveer; Rawat, G.S.The Himalayan ibex is an important prey species of the endangered apex predator of the alpine region, the snow leopard (Schaller 1977). There is an imminent threat to the trans-Himalayan areas in India due to increasing human activities. In this context the study is conducted to study ibex in a relatively safe population to learn about its habitat requirements and ranging behaviour. The study area is part of the Pin Valley National Park (PVNP; 31o 6' 40'' to 32o 2' 20'' N latitude and 77o 41' 21" to 78o 6' 19" E longitude), located in the South-East of the Lahul and Spiti district of Himachal PradeshItem Status and ecology of the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon in the Western Ghats(SACON, 2006) Soumasunderam, S.; Vijayan, LalithaConservation of the species requires a comprehensive picture on the status and distribution, ecological requirements for feeding, breeding and other activities. Ecological studies on most of the endemics have not yet been conducted and hence, such information is not available for any management programmes. Moreover, human impacts on the habitats of most species are also not understood. Hence, the present study was conducted on an endemic, endangered species of the Western Ghats which is considered as Globally Threatened, the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon Columba elphinstonii, addressing mainly its biological and ecological requirements.Item Ecological studies of insect communities in Anaikatty hills(SACON, 2006) Eswaran, R.; Pramod, P.Community studies are relatively less in ecological entomology. Documentation of the communities of insects itself is a challenging job because of the inherent weakness in taxonomical brevity at the special level. The present study aimed primarily at exploring the patterns of insect diversity of a dry deciduous forest of Anaikatty hills, Western Ghats. As the term insect holds a large spectrum of organisms with a great level of taxonomic ambiguity, new approaches are needed to face the problems related with its diversity and distribution. The new approach attempted in this study was to examine the dynamics of diversity and abundance at different levels. At the broadest level an attempt has been made to study the composition and changes of insect families within and between different microhabitats of the landscape. At the intermediate level, the species composition, diversity and dynamics of one selected group of insects, viz., butterflies and at a finer level the aggregation and dynamics of the individuals of the selected species of butterflies were studied. The abiotic and biotic influences of these family levels, species level and individual level patterns were also studiedItem Habitat utilization by Malabar Grey Hornbill at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats. (TH12)(SACON, 2002) Maheswaran, B.; Balasubramanian, P.Utilization of habitat resources, particularly fruit and nest trees, by an endemic bird species, Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) was studied in a tropical semi-evergreen forest and the adjoining tea/coffee plantations at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats. This bird species is mainly distributed in the moist forests of southern Western Ghats. Though some aspects of Malabar Grey Hornbill in an evergreen forest at Anamalai Hills have been studied during the breeding season, fruit utilization during the non-breeding season is not known. Also, the preference of this endemic hornbill for food and nest tree species is unknown. This study aimed to assess the food preferences of Malabar Grey Hornbill during breeding and non-breeding seasons, nest-tree preferences and to identify the keystone resources for the Malabar Grey Hornbill in the semi-evergreen forest.Item Ecology of Bird Communities in the Anaikatty Hills, Coimbatore”(SACON, 2002) Nirmala, T; Vijayan, LalithaStructural and functional aspects of bird communities are believed to have direct relation with the structure of habitat and thereby act as indicators of environmental changes. Various components such as the type of resource, quantity of resource and spatial and temporal distribution of resources play a major role in determining the community structure. In general, the central theme in the functional aspects of the avian community studies has been, how the available resources for biological activities such as foraging, roosting and nesting are partitioned among the existing group of species. Studies on bird community in different habitats are very few in India, and the pattern and processes of a group of species or an individual species were studied separately. The study of birds in relation to habitats will give valuable data for forest management. Area outside protected area network is also equally important for birds and biodiversity conservation. This study was designed to determine the ecology of the bird communities in the mixed dry deciduous forest and scrub forest (SACON) in Anaikatty Reserve Forest, foothills of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Coimbatore, South India.Item Phyto-Ecology, Lion-Tailed Macaque, Macaca Silenus, Habitats, Southern India(SACON, 2002) Krishnamany, R; Kumar, AjithThe causal factors for the very high species diversity in tropical rainforests have been the focus of ecological research for several decades. It has become obvious that the high tropical species diversity has three major components, local (often called α-diversity), regional (β-diversity), and landscape (γ-diversity). Contribution of each of these components to overall diversity might vary from place to place, and from taxon to taxon. The pattern of variation in plant diversity is of particular interest since this would have a profound impact of the distribution and abundance of secondary consumers. In this study, I examine the nature and extent of spatial variation in the species diversity of woody plants in the rainforest of the Western Ghats Mountain ranges in south India, one among the eight most threatened biodiversity hotspots of the world. I also examine whether the diversity of food trees of the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), an endemic to the tropical rainforest of the Western Ghats and phylogenetically the ancestor of all extant Asian macaques, also show variation at different spatial scales that is similar to that of all wood plants. Since the phenology of plants also affects the secondary consumers, this issue is examined at one siteItem Ecology of the brown palm civet Paradoxurus jerdoni in the tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats, India(SACON, 2001) Mudappa B, Divya Cauvery; Kumar, AjithThe small carnivores of the mammalian Families of Viverridae, Herpestidae, and Mustelidae play very important roles in tropical rainforest ecosystems, as predators, prey, and seed dispersers. These roles have been poorly studied, even as small carnivore communities are undergoing changes due to severe loss and fragmentation of rainforests. This thesis explores the ecology of a small carnivore, the brown palm civet (Paradoxurus jerdoni Blanford 1885), endemic to the rainforests of the Western Ghats hill ranges of India, and also examines changes in the structure of the terrestrial and arboreal small carnivore community as a whole, due to rainforest fragmentation. The ecology of the brown palm civet, an endemic and nocturnal viverrid, was examined with reference to its role as a seed disperser, and the factors governing its diet composition, and ranging and activity behaviour, in the relatively undisturbed, large tract of rainforest in the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), between May 1996 and December 1999. The small carnivore community here was compared with that in the rainforest fragments of the Anamalai Hills that were surveyed between January and May 2000. Habitat correlates of the occurrence of small carnivores were also examined.Item A study on the breeding biology of the Nicobar Megapode Megapodius nicobariensis(SACON, 2000) Sivakumar, K; Sankaran, RaviThe family Megapodiidae consists of 22 species in seven genera, most of which are island forms occurring in Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands, eastern Indonesia, the Philippines, Niuafo’ou island, the Palau and Mariana islands and the Nicobar islands. Thirteen of these 22 species are currently threatened by habitat destruction, introduction of predators and over-exploitation of eggs. The megapodes are an unique group of birds as they utilise external sources of heat to incubate their eggs. Megapodes exploit external heat sources in two ways. Some species lay eggs in burrows in geothermally heated soil, or on exposed beach, and are called burrow nesters (e.g. Macrocephalon maleo). Other species construct mounds of sand, soil and decomposing vegetation within which they lay eggs and are called mound nesters (e.g. Megapodius freycinet). The chicks are supra-precocial; they are able to fly soon after emerging from the mound or burrow, and receive no parental care.Item ECOLOGY AND UTILIZATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SELECT TRIBAL GROUPS IN THE NILGIRI BIOSPHERE RESERVE(SACON, 2000) Rajshekharan, A; S, Narendra PrasadForest dwellers have been using the plants around their settlements to treat their health ailments since time immemorial, the knowledge of which was obtained from their ancestors orally. However, in recent years such traditional knowledge is getting depleted among tribal groups, due to cultural westernisation, industrialisation, urbanisation and rapid loss of their natural resource base. Traditionally, the tribals extracted medicinal plants for sustenance and local sales. But, increasing commercialisation has lead to over-exploitation of medicinal plants resulted in the reduction of the population of these species. Although, there is considerable evidence for over-harvesting of medicinal plants, quantitative data on the effect of extraction on natural populations are very few. Moreover, information on density, population structure and the resource base for future utilization is unknown for most extractive reserves.