Theses and Dissertations
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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 A study on habitat use and food habits of swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli duvauceli) in Jhilmil Tal, Haridwar Forest Division, Uttaranchal(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2009) Tiwari, Rachna; Rawat, G.S.Habitat use and food habits of the swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli duvauceli) were studied in and around Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve (JJCR), Uttarakhand, during June 2006 and June 2008. This population of swamp deer was recently rediscovered in the state and warranted an ecological study and conservation initiative because the habitat around this study area is heavily fragmented due to expansion of agriculture, habitation and various other land use practices. Therefore, this study was initiated. The major objectives were: i. ii. iii. To study seasonal variation in habitat use pattern and food habits, Activity pattern, Population structure and habitat condition, and iv. Identify threats and suggest conservation measures. Habitat evaluation of various potential (but fragmented) habitat blocks in Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve area and surrounding Banganga wetland revealed that they bear a close resemblance with the prime swamp deer habitat both in terms of structure and composition of key habitat variables.Item The ecology and conservation of ungulates in Great Himalayan National Park, Western Himalaya.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1999) Vinod, T.R.; Rawat, G.S.Ungulates form a major component of the mammalian fauna in the Himalaya. In total, 19 ungulate species belonging to four families viz., Moschidae, Cervidae, Bovidae and Equidae, inhabit the Himalaya, out of which eight species are reported from the state of Himachal Pradesh (HP). Apart from some surveys and short term ecological studies on a few ungulate species of Western Himalaya, there has been no detailed study on ungulates of HP except for Himalayan ibex (Capra ibex sibirica). The available literature highlights the difficulties of studying rare and/ or elusive ungulates in Himalayan condition. Long term study on the ecology of theses' species are needed for the conservation and monitoring. Present study on the ecology and conservation of ungulates namely goral (Nemorhaedus qoral), Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrvsogaster), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), in Great Himalayan National Park, Kullu district, HP, was conducted from January 1996 to November 1998. An intensive study area of ca. 90 km2 was selected in the South-western region of. the Park, which represents various ecological zones of the Park. The objectives of the study were (i) to estimate the abundance and density of goral, Himalayan musk deer & Himalayan tahr in relation to human use, (ii) to determine the group size. composition & sex ratio of these animals. (iii) to study the habitat use pattern and (iv) to identify and discuss conservation issues. mitigation measures and to develop a long term' monitoring programme. In this study an attemp has been made to estimate the abundance and density of major ungulates viz, goral, Himalayan musk deer and Himalayan tahrItem Aspects of ecology of Hangul (Cervus elephas hanglu) in Dachigam National Park, Kashmir, India.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2006) Ahmad, Khursheed; Sathyakumar, S.; Qureshi, QamarThe Hangul or Kashmir Stag (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is a highly threatened species that has a restricted distribution confined to the Kashmir region. The Hangul is a one of the four eastern most subspecies of Red Deer of Europe (Cervus elaphus) and belongs to order Artiodactyla (even-toed animals) and family Cervidae or deer family. Compared to a very wide global distribution of Red deer, the Hangul has had a limited global distribution. Hangul were once distributed widely in the mountains of Kashmir in an arc of 40 Km extending from Karen in Kishenganga catchments in Bandipora over to Dorus in Lolab valley and Erin catchments in Bandipora to Chinab valley in Kishtwar. Some population of Hangul also occurred in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. However, during the recent past Hangul appears to have drastically declined from its past distribution range, possibly due to large scale biotic pressures owing to poaching, habitat fragmentation and degradation. At present the last surviving population of Hangul occurs only in 171 Km2 Dachigam National Park, although some relic populations also occur in the adjoining areas. The population of Hangul in Kashmir in 1900 was 3,000 and in 1947, there were 2,000 Hangul still surviving. But ten years later, the population got drastically reduced to about 400 individuals, and in 1970 Hangul population estimated was 140 - 170. The recent censuses carried out by the State Wildlife Protection Department in 2004 puts the Hangul population between 209-243 individuals. The most alarming threat to Hangul in Dachigam has been reported to be the excessive over grazing in the alpine meadows of Upper Dachigam by livestock including sheep and goat of the Government Sheep Breeding Farm located in Dachigam National Park. The past studies carried out in Dachigam National Park have shown that the range of Hangul In Dachigam National Park is restricted to Lower Dachigam with eastern boundaries at Gratnar, Waskhar and west of Dagwan. Keeping in view the given background and based on my preliminary surveys in in the first year of this study, the intensive study was carried out upto the above given boundaries of Lower Dachigam. There have been very little studies on Hangul compared to extensive studies carried out on its conspecifics Red Deer and Elk, and Himalayan Ungulates. There is still a lack of baseline information on the aspects of Hangul ecology prerequisite of its effective management and conservation planning. This stl1dy was as such initiated after a wildlife research gap of about 15 years in Kashmir valley in general and Dachigam in particular. This study was aimed at enhancing our scientific knowledge on the aspects of Hangul ecology such as population, habitat use and feeding ecology which are prerequisite of its effective long term management and conservation planning. During the study period (February 2001 to December 2004) a total of 693 surveys were carried out in these transects and survey blocks putting a total of 5668 km and 1839 hours effort, and a total of 326 Hangul sightings were recorded. All these Hangul sightings were recorded in lower Dachigam in an area of 41.20 km2 out of the total area of 171 Km2 of Dachigam National Park.Item Interactions between forage, recruitment and activity patterns of Blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra)(Wildlife Institute of India, 2005) Priyadarshini, K.V.R.; Jhala, Y.V.In this study based on the seasonality of blackbuck calving in VNP and examined whether birth synchrony exists in this population. I assessed the seasonal patterns in forage vailability, quality, and body condition of blackbuck females, and examined if changes in forage availability, quality and body condition of females influenced calving seasonality. · Forage variables that were measured are, aboveground grass biomass, moisture, crude protein, ADF, lignins, and silica content in grasses. Some of the forage variables showed considerable seasonal changes, while some did not. Biomass was the highest in the cold and late wet seasons and lowest in the dry season. Crude protein content was the highest in wet season and the lowest in dry season. Blackbuck in VNP appear to have a cyclical calving pattern. The dry season calving peak was probably timed to the impending peak in forage quality, which would have benefited the calves when they weaned. The wet season calving peak occurred after a gap that corresponded to inter-calving interval in blackbuck. The females that calved in the wet season perhaps provided greater maternal nutritional investment into the young, which might have compensated for the lower quality forage that was available to the calves when they weaned. In this study based on the seasonality of blackbuck calving in VNP and examined whether birth synchrony exists in this population. I assessed the seasonal patterns in forage availability, quality, and body condition of blackbuck females, and examined if changes in forage availability, quality and body condition of females influenced calving seasonality.· Forage variables that were measured are, aboveground grass biomass, moisture, crude protein, ADF, lignins, and silica content in grasses. Some of the forage variables showed considerable seasonal changes, while some did not. Biomass was the highest in the cold and late wet seasons and lowest in the dry season. Crude protein content was the highest in wet season and the lowest in dry season. Blackbuck in VNP appear to have a cyclical calving pattern. The dry season calving peak was probably timed to the impending peak in forage quality, which would have benefited the calves when they weaned. The wet season calving peak occurred after a gap that corresponded to inter-calving interval in blackbuck. The females that calved in the wet season perhaps provided greater maternal nutritional investment into the young, which might have compensated for the lower quality forage that was available to the calves when they weaned.Item Habitat Ecology of major ungulates in Kedarnath musk deer sanctuary, Western Himalaya.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1994) Sathyakumar, S.; Johnsingh, A.J.T.Present study on the habitat ecology of major ungulates in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary "(WS) was conducted from March 1989 to November 1991. The objectives of this study were to de,!elop suitable techniques for estimating ungulate abundance and density; to study their habitat utilization pattems; and to assess the status of ungulates and their habitats in different parts of the Kedarnath WS.Item Interaction of Kiang (Equus kiang) with Livestok in Hanley Valley of Chanthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2009) Hussain, Asif; Qureshi, Qamar; Rawat, G.S.Hanley Valley «320 41' 27" N 790 04' 3.5") in Eastern Ladakh forms the western most extension of Tibetan plateau and has been recognized as an important biogeographic province in India (Indian Trans-Himalaya). This region harbors a rich array of wild and domestic ungulates. The area is also home to nomadic Changpa and Tibetan refugee herders. The political, social and ecological transformations have altered previous, well-established links between the pastoral population and their rangeland environment. Over the years, with growing integration of the local economy of Ladakh and with better development of cash markets, the pastoral community is fast losing its tolerance towards the kiang and it is increasingly seen as a competitor to livestock. The purpose of this study was to document this intensifying conflict between pastoralism and Kiang conservation, using resource selection functions. Data on habitat variables were collected on 4 fixed trails of varying length (3- 7 km) for kiang (with and without livestock presence) and livestock for use availability analysis. For food habits, micro-histological method in case of kiang and bite count method in case of livestock was used. Data on activity pattern of kiang was collected to examine change in response to livestock presence. Density and encounter rates were estimated using vehicle transects (n=5) of varying lengths (5-56 km). Livestock were followed (focal animal sampling) from dawn to dusk to estimate amount of forage removed. Availability of different habitat variables was estimated using ArcGIS 9.2. Total of 104 kiang groups before arrival of livestock and 187 kiang groups after livestock arrival to the area were recorded. Habitat use by kiang and livestock was significantly different (8 = 0.00016, P < 0.05). Habitat use by kiang before and after livestock arrival was found to be significantly different (8 = 0.013, P <0.05). Groups of kiang were observed (n=14) for time budget evaluation, 7 prior (640 min) and 7 (820 min) after livestock had come to the area. Activity pattern of kiang before and after livestock arrival was found to be significantly different (8 = 0.04, P <0.05). Food preference for kiang before and after livestock arrival was not found to be significantly different. Food preference for kiang and livestock was significantly different (6= 0.0000007, P < 0.05). Use-availability analysis suggested differential selection for food plants. Schoener's niche overlap for food items found moderate overlap between kiang, sheep and goat «60%) and high overlap between kiang and horse (>80%). Forage removed (kg) by sheep, goat and horse were 2.33 kg, 2.25 and 8.19 kg respectively. Total density and encounter rate for Hanley valley was 0.07 kiang/km2 and 0.45 kiang per km respectively. The difference in habitat use translated into Kiang using higher elevations while livestock used middle elevations more than available. Kiang used steep slopes whereas livestock used steep as well as gentle slopes more than available. Kiang used North-West aspect more than available. Kiang used vegetation communities dominated by graminoides while sheep-goat used communities dominated by shrub and forbs. Density and encounter estimates did not show considerable increase in kiang population compared to previous studies. Hence, the perception of people of kiang overstocking in the study area appears to be misplaced. Detailed perception studies should be carried out in the whole of Changthang and herder-centered participatory programmes need to be carried out on a large scale to ensure long term conservation of kiang in eastern Ladakh.Item A Study of Vigilance Behaviour of Chital (Axis axis) in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2009) Ghuman, Sartaj S.; Sankar, K.Predation is an important agent of natural selection in animal communities and so vigilance behaviour has very high selection pressure acting upon it. During feeding bouts, unless plant density and biomass are high and food intake is limited only by the processing rates, herbivores tend to experience a trade-off between vigilance and feeding. Thus, vigilance as a behaviour pattern ought to be tightly regulated by the cost-benefit ratios. A study on vigilance behaviour of chital (Axis axis) was conducted at Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh from December 2008 to April 2009. The objectives of the study were to examine the determinants of individual and group vigilance in chital; and also to examine the t effect of conspecific behaviour on individual vigilance. I used scan sampling with fixed interval recording to estimate group vigilance and focal animal sampling with continuous recording to estimate individual vigilance levels. Three main factors that are known to affect :, vigilance from studies on other herbivores were examined: group size, density of animals in the group and visibility. Scanning behaviour was used as an estimate of vigilance. 'Scanning' refers to the state when the animal has its head above shoulder level and the senses of sight, smell and hearing are actively 'scanning' the environment. Individual vigilance was found to decrease with increasing group size, decreasing density and increasing visibility. In large groups adult males, fawns and adult females with fawns were found to be significantly more vigilant than females without fawns and yearling males. Group vigilance level was found to increase significantly with increasing group size, even as the group scan level decreased. Individuals seemed to reduce vigilance with relation to group size rather than the group vigilance level. The results suggest that individual chital do not adopt levels of scanning that maximize cooperative predator detection. The benefits of the group size effect vary with age-sex classes and other probable internal and external predation risk Factors and so vigilance is more likely governed by a combination of dilution and detection hypotheses mechanisms, the focus changing from one to the other with individual risk.Item Habitat use and food selection by wild and domestic ungulates in the Sikkim Transhimalaya.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2007) Chanchani, Pranav; Rawat, G.S.By defining a resource, determining the resources available to animals and sampling the array of resources actually used by an animal (Krebs 1999), it becomes possible to gauge the nature of interactions between species. This study explored aspects of resource use by diverse assemblage of wild and domestic herbivores including The Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon hodgsoni), Tibetan Gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), kiang (Equus kiang), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), domestic yak and sheep in a Trans-Himalayan environment during the lean winter period. Sampling was carried out in a systematic manner using trails, as well as by sampling opportunistically. To quantify vegetation, a 3.52 Ian grid was overlaid on an image of the study area, and grids were randomly picked from these for random sampling. A number of habitat and vegetation variables were measured or noted for all ungulate sightings or within vegetation sampling stations and these were used in analysis to ascertain patterns of habitat use and food selection. U sing a hierarchy of spatial scales, the study modeled animal distributions, and investigated the use of habitats and food habits of ungulates in relation to the availability of these resources in their environment. The study's major findings were that all ungulates were found to occur in the true Trans-Himalaya except for the blue sheep which selected more mountainous terrain in the transition zone between the greater and Trans-Himalaya .. Statistical tests of significance revealed that ungulates differed from one another or from random in their use of resources. Further, terrain features appeared to influence habitat selection to a greater-extent than vegetation. Finally, the findings of this research indicate that although the wild and domestic ungulates of this region all exist in relatively large numbers, they tend to vary in their use of habitats and food either by differences in their distribution, or in the selection of finer environmental (habitat and food) variables. The study therefore concludes that competitive inter-specific interactions are not very apparent in this region.Item Habitat use by Chital (Cervus axis) in Dhaulkhand, Rajaji National Park, India(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1993) Bhat, Sridhar D.; Rawat, G.S.A study on the habitat use by chital or spotted deer (Cervus axis) was conducted in Dhaulkhand Rajaji National Park, from November 1992 to May 1993. The objectives of the study were to understand the spatio-temporal use of habitats by chital and to identify the factors that govern the patterns of habitat use. Foot transects were used to estimate the densities of chital and quantify the availability and utilization of resources.