Theses and Dissertations
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Item An ecological study on nesting patterns and Behavioural dynamics of vultures in Kangra valley, Himachal pradesh(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Bhattacharya, MalyasriVultures are nature’s most efficient scavengers, playing a critical role in maintaining ecological balance. Their populations in India have suffered a drastic decline from 97-99% between 1993 and 2002, leading to the establishment of captive breeding programs aimed at species recovery. Threats of decline have now stabilized, but little is known about the ecology and survival of the vultures in the wild, necessitating this study for the conservation of vultures in their natural habitat. Kangra Valley, situated in the westernmost region of Himachal Pradesh state in India, is one of India's important vulture sites, supporting most of the nine vulture species recorded in the country. Among these, the White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis), and Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus) are the most observed, while the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus), Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), and Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus) are recorded occasionally. Kangra is also one of the most densely populated districts of Himachal Pradesh, with an extensive road network, contributing to anthropogenic pressures on vulture populations. While the region has a long history of vulture census efforts, aspects of their breeding ecology remain poorly understood. Why do they select a particular tree for nesting? What are the variables that affect nest site selection? What is the nest success rate? Where do they move, and what is their home range? What are the threats? This study, conducted between 2019 to 2024, focuses on the breeding ecology of White-rumped Vultures in Kangra, examining their nesting preferences, reproductive success, threats to nesting colonies and spatial movements. Additionally, the research explores the climatic niche availability for all nine vulture species found in the region, assessing current and future climatic scenarios to predict potential habitat suitability. The Chir Pine forests of Kangra serve as the breeding habitat for White-rumped Vultures in the region. The breeding season of the White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) in the area extends from November to April, encompassing mating, incubation, hatching, and fledgling development, lasting approximately 25-28 weeks (October—April). Over three consecutive breeding seasons (2021-2024), the study recorded 17 active nesting colonies with a total of 617 active nests, primarily in Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii) trees. Nest site selection was influenced by tree characteristics, with vultures preferring trees with a larger girth at breast height (GBH) (average GBH of 254.8 cm + 49.3 SD), lower canopy cover (5-10%), greater shrub density (77-100%), and proximity to other nesting trees and water sources. Conversely, areas with high fire activity, dense canopy cover, and limited nearby trees were found to be less suitable. In addition to breeding ecology, the study identified 36 carcass dumping sites in the region. These sites, managed by local communities, serve as designated areas for livestock carcass disposal, primarily for cattle and buffalo. The carcasses are transported from households to the dumping sites by local cobblers, locally known as "Harijans." The decline of open carcass disposal areas has posed further challenges for vulture populations. To understand movement patterns, five wild White-rumped Vultures were satellite-tagged in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, in 2021. The tagged individuals exhibited extensive movements, ranging across Jammu & Kashmir, the Pakistan border near Punjab, and Uttarakhand. Three of these vultures have consistently nested in Dolba and Lapiana within Kangra between 2021 and 2024. The study recorded an average home range of 1367.6 km? for non-breeding individuals and 1719.8 km? for breeding individuals across seasons. The future distribution for the nine vulture species shows a significant decline in the modeled climatic niche for seven vultures by 2041-2060 and 2061-2080. The study identified electrocution, forest fires and poisoning as major threats, with notable vulture fatalities recorded. Major forest fire-prone areas include Gopalpur, Pathiar Range, Lunj, and Baranj Sirmani. This study offered insights into India's largest documented aggregation of 617 White-rumped Vulture nests. The study recommends targeted conservation interventions to ensure the long-term survival of White-rumped Vultures. These include the protection of nesting sites, preservation of old-growth forests, and support for cobbler communities engaged in carcass disposal. Additionally, designated vulture feeding stations within forested areas should be established. Given these findings, the study proposes designating the region as a Vulture Safe Zone, suitable areas for releasing captive-bred vultures with continuous monitoring. Himachal Pradesh Forest Department (HPFD) and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoEFCC) have to come up with guidelines to declare a vulture safe zone as well as a strategic conservation plan to safeguard this critically endangered species.Item Assessing the Impacts of Road Network on Wildlife Corridors and Mitigation Measures in Assam : Transportation Against Animal Corridor(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Borgohain, Roshme; Habib, Bilal; Ramesh, C.Protected Area Networks (PA) and Conservation Areas (CA) are very essential for ensuring the conservation of wildlife. However, the connectivity among these protected areas is much more important to ensure the viable population of species. Furthermore, the increase in infrastructural development and human encroachment leading to the fragmentation of forests and the natural habitat of wildlife species. The wildlife corridors are the essential structures to connect the fragmented areas, ensure the viability of the isolated population, restores the genetic variations, corridors also increases the habitat diversity in the two habitat patches that it connects, it provides a passage for migration and also acts as an escape route in cases of fire in one patch. Overall wildlife corridors are structures that are important for conservation. Although these protected areas were not well connected the corridor structures help to maintain the continuity of the area. The state falls under North-East India Biogeographic zones under the Province North-East-East-Brahmaputra Valley (9B), (Rodgers and Panwar 1998). In Assam, there are seven National Parks and twenty Wildlife Sanctuaries occupying the area of 3925+ sq. km, where two are designated as World Heritage site (WHS) which is the highest designation given to the protected area. Out of twenty-seven protected area in Assam, fifteen were bifurcated by road networks and there are total eleven corridors, connects the protected areas, eight corridors were cut at multiple places by roads. These connections of the corridors are essential to maintain the contiguous landscape, which is further essential for maintaining the integrity of the WHS. In this study, I have tried to look at the current status of the wildlife corridor portion bifurcated by the road networks in Assam. The objective of the study is 1) What is the extent of different types of road networks concerning PAs and corridors in the State of Assam? 2) What is the land use pattern near the corridor bifurcated by the road? 3) Characterize the current status of the corridor sites impacted by the road network.Item Detecting climate change impacts through soil bacterial communities in Alpine regions of Gangotri National Park, Western Himalaya(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) Bhattacharya, Pamela; Rawat, G.S.The proposed study aims to use molecular data to understand the ecology of bacterial community including variation in their diversity, composition and functions in response to climate warming in alpine region of Gangotri National Park, western Himalaya. Earlier to this study, knowledge regarding the ecological traits of these communities and the impact of climate warming was entirely lacking. The primary focus of this work was to generate baseline data on alpine soil bacterial community in the Himalaya. The objectives of this doctoral research are:1. Understanding the shifts in soil bacterial diversity and ecological traits at different periods post deglaciation of Gangotri glacier, western Himalaya. 2. Assessing climate change impacts on soil bacterial diversity and functional traits using alpine elevation-vegetation gradient as proxy. 3. Evaluating the role of temperature and edaphic factors in shaping the community diversity and composition along the elevation-vegetation gradient. 4. Investigating bacterial community response to experimental warming in an alpine.The study was conducted along a recently deglaciated valley in the upper Bhagirathi basin towards the snout of the Gaumukh glacier in Gangotri National Park, western Himalaya (30.95–30.99° N, 78.99–79.06° E)Item Agro-Pastoral Practices and their impacts on Wild Mammals in Ladakh, Indian Trans-Himalaya(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) Raza, Mohd; Rawat, G.S.; Namgail, T.This study was conducted in Western Ladakh to address the status of current agro-pastoral practices and possible impacts on the wild mammals. Barley and wheat are primary crops whereas alfalfa and oats are cultivated as fodder crops. Sheep, goat and cow are major livestock types. Communities belong to balti and purig ethnicity. Elevation ranges from 2600 – 7000 m. Vegetation comprises wet meadow, steppe, riverine and scrub. Himalayan brown bear, Asiatic ibex, Ladakh urial, musk deer and long tailed marmot are major wild mammals. Major objectives of the study were to study (i) the current status of agro-pastoral practices in the region, ii) vegetation structure and composition in the rangelands intensively used by domestic livestock, iii) habitat use and time budget wild mammals especial long tailed marmots iv) livestock killing by large carnivores in western Ladakh. Field work was conducted during 2017 -2020 in different seasons and valleys. In order to analyse the recent trends in agro-pastoral practices we used questionnaires and informal interviews with the local people ((519 respondents) in all the valley covering Chiktan (56), Suru (227), Drass (117), Shayok (39) and Gya – Meru (39). Data were collected on demography of the pastoral communities, livestock holding pattern, dependency on rangelands and drivers of changes in the region. Likewise, for objective 2) vegetation sampling was carried out in Drass Valley in varying level of livestock grazing intensity from June – August (2018 and 2019). We laid 245 quadrates, comprising 90 in low, 88 in medium and 67 in high grazing areas. We recorded number of species in each quadrat in addition to overall vegetation cover. We also recorded aspect, slope, elevation and landscape type for each quadrat laid in the area. Plants were identified in field using field guides and were authenticated by the supervisors. Habitat use data on marmot were collected from 51 colonies in two valleys whereas data on marmot behaviour was collected from Drass valley. Overall 88 households were interviewed in the valley. Households were randomly selected and data on number of livestock, livestock killed, season, time and place of occurrences were collected. Attitude of respondents with respect to carnivore was also assessed. We observed declining trend in agriculture and livestock production practices in the region. Ten crop types are cultivated in the region. Barley is cultivated in all the valleys whereas oats is a new addition. Crops such as buckwheat, wheat, peas and lentils has been abandoned by many households. Likewise, livestock population and herd size has decreased. Field work was conducted during 2017 -2020 in different seasons and valleys. In order to analyse the recent trends in agro-pastoral practices we used questionnaires and informal interviews with the local people. The local communities perceive that there is a decline in traditional agro-pastoral practices in the study area during past 2-3 decades and an increase in sightings of wild mammals in the study area. Also, they perceive increase in population of Ibex and bear which are widely distributed in the region. We did not have enough sightings on mammal in the summer except for marmots in the region. Sighting on ibex were mostly in winter season. Therefore, impacts of low use of livestock on ibex populations could not be ascertained. We observed difference in vegetation cover and species richness across varying level of livestock intensity. Decrease in vegetation cover and species number, irrespective of all bio physical parameters was observed in high grazing areas. It signifies the impact of livestock grazing with implication on habitat use by mammals.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 Effect of Grazing on the Community Structure and Functional Diversity of Grazing Lawns in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Malagi, Aaroha; Adhikari, B.S.; Page, Navendu V.; Ramesh, K.Understanding the effects of grazing (by both livestock and wild ungulates) on grasslands is paramount to come up with more robust managerial actions to conserve, and increase the ecosystem function of these valuable ecosystems. In the current study, we investigate the effects of grazing on a highly productive, mesic grassland ecosystem, viz. grazing lawn in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. We examined how species richness and composition of a grassland patch change across a grazing gradient by carrying out plot-based vegetation sampling in the grazing lawns of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. We also looked at how trait composition and functional diversity changed across the grazing gradient, to better understand the plant functional response and resilience of the grazing lawn complex. We used a Linear Mixed Effect Model (LMM) to investigate the impact of grazing intensity on species richness, and a Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) to look at the differences in species composition between different grazing treatments. Functional composition and diversity were measured using Lavorel and Villeger’s index in the ‘FD’ package of R (4.0.2). We found that grazing lawns were minimally affected by grazing intensity in terms of species richness and trait composition, but showed a significant change in species composition and functional diversity across the grazing gradient.