Theses and Dissertations
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Item Feeding Ecology of Ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) in Pin Valley National Park, Himachal Pradesh.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1997) Manjrekar, Neema; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The foraging ecology of the Asiatic ibex was studied in Pin Valley National Park Lahul and Spiti District, Himachal Pradesh, between October 1991 and October 1994. The National Park encompasses 675 km2, and has a buffer of 1150 km2. The study area constituted part of the Parahio catchment of the pin Valley. Thango was the base camp for this study. It was a summer settlement of five families from Sagnam, the largest village of Pin Valley. The local people are Buddhists, of Tibetan origin. Apart from cultivating the land adjacent to the villages, in the buffer zone, they use the Park area for cultivation of barley, wheat, peas, mustard, and potatoes. They also graze sheep, goats, yaks, horses and donkeys in the area. Fuel wood, and fodder for stall-feeding, is collected from the Park before winter. Two potential conservation threats to ibex were identified. Firstly, migratory livestock from the neighbouring areas use the area between June and August every year. ' There is no control on the numbers of animals entering the area, and the effects of grazing and trampling need to be quantified.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 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.Item Pastoral Practice and Herders Attitude Towards Wildlife in South Gobi Mongolia(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2011) Mijiddorj, Tserennadmid; Rawat, G.S.; Badola, RuchiThis study deals with analysis of traditional and current pastoral practices in south Gobi areas of Mongolia with emphasis on herders' attitude towards wildlife. The study was conducted during December 2010 to May 2011. The major objectives of the study were to study: (i) Nomadic herders' pastoral practices and drives of changes. (ii) Influence of pastoral practices on human-wildlife conflict and (iii) nomadic herders' attitude towards wildlife. I used questionnaire surveys in two villages in Gurvantes soum to find out the past and current patters of herding, herders' attitudes and major drivers of changes. The villages were selected based on the fact that in one village (Tost), Snow Leopard Conservation initiatives are going along with livestock insurance and research programs, while in another village (Baysah) no conservation initiatives have been undertaken. However the range use patterns by the local herders and the level of conflict with wild carnivores is the same in both areas. A total of 144 individuals from different age, gender and educational background were interviewed, 74 in 8 aysah (nonconservation) area and 70 from Tost area where snow leopard conservation activities are taking place. The data were analyzed using SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) PC version 16.0 for . Generalized linear model GLM linear and negative binomial with log linear model. The study reveals that the pastoral practices among the herders in the study area is largely influenced by land tenure, mining disorder, school kids' admissions and development factors. Assessment of pastoral practice changes revealed that 84.7% herders had highly altered their seasonal movement pattern which can affect pasture degradation and regeneration of grass growth. Owing to changes in pastoral practices, the herders have become more prone to lose more livestock to carnivores. Using GLM models it is proven (Wald chi-square =4.551 df=11 P=O.033) that recent faulty pastoral practice change (.e.g, nuclear family, vulnerable for natural disaster and herding techniques) explains livestock losses due to the carnivores. It requires implementing livestock husbandry management in better ways. Gurvantes soum's two different villages offered ideal condition to compare carnivore conservation efficiency and way to forward to mitigate such human-wildlife conflict. Study indicated that in generally herders positive perception towards ungulates whereas carnivores Tost (conservation area) area herders' tolerance level was higher than those of baysah area (non-conservation area) (t=5.23, df=89. PItem Effects of Grazing, Utilisation and Management on the Grasslands of Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1997) Karki, Jhamak Bahadur; Jhala, Y.V.I studied the temporal effect of grass harvest, burning, fertilizer, and grazing, with a factorial experimental design, in three grasslands of Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. I tested the hypothesis of (i) nutrient depletion of grasslands by continuous harvest . and burning and (ii) differential use of areas by ungulates that were differentially managed m relation to forage quantity and quality. Addition of Di-ammonium phosphate and urea did not result in a significant increase in green above ground biomass and forage quality. Cut-burnt plots had the highest nutrient quality as indexed by crude protein and lignin. Plots that were only harvested had highest above ground biomass for the first month following harvest, and were more intensively grazed by ungulates during that time. Ungulates preferred to graze cut-burnt and burnt areas more during the second and third month following the treatment. Unmanaged tall grassland areas were also observed to have nutritive and other wildlife values. A management strategy for the grasslands of Bardia based on the above results is suggested. I compared the community structure, nutritive quality and above ground biomass of "grazing lawns" (patches of short grass communities), with neighboring grasslands. Grazing lawns differed form neighboring grasslands in species composition and community structure. A 50 day grazing free environment made areas of grazing lawns indistinguishable from neighboring grasslands in terms of above ground biomass. Grazing lawns had more nutritive forage in terms of digestibility and crude protein content. Sodium, magnesium and phosphorus were found to be below the critical requirements of ungulates. These minerals were ~found in higher concentrations in forages from grazing lawns. Grazing lawns seem to be maintained by continuous grazing and enriched by deposition of urine, dung and by certain plant species not found elsewhere in the neighboring grasslands.