Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://192.168.202.180:4000/handle/123456789/1
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item Striking a balance: Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) in the human-interspersed semi-arid landscape of Rajasthan(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Soni, Khushi; Krishnamurthy, Ramesh; Chinnasamy, C.This study investigates the spatial ecology and conservation need of critical habitat refugia of a large carnivore, striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), in Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) within the Aravalli Range in Rajasthan, India. Striped hyena plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem health through scavenging and occasional predation, yet faces significant threats from habitat loss, decrease in denning refugia, and increased human disturbance in human-interspersed landscapes. The research focuses on understanding the occupancy patterns and den-site use of striped hyenas in STR, their adaptability to human presence, and their interactions with co-occurring large carnivores such as tigers and leopards, which will provide insights into their persistence in this landscape of coexistence.The study was conducted in an occupancy framework covering 130 survey units of 9 Km2 each. Single season single species occupancy was modeled using environmental and ecological covariates. Den-site use was analyzed using binomial generalized linear models (GLM) incorporating first only environmental covariates, and later both environmental and ecological covariates combined to look if striped hyena shows a tradeoff in utilizing the available denning refugia. Spatial interaction with tigers and leopards was also analyzed through conditional occupancy estimates and species interaction factors (SIF) to look at the change in their spatial ecology over a decade. The best-fit occupancy model (AIC = 435.38) identified open habitat as the strongest positive influence (β = 1.607 ± 0.417, p<0.001), followed by wild prey index (β = 1.226±0.434, p<0.005), closed habitat (β = 0.668, p < 0.05), and ruggedness, which showed a negative effect (β = -0.584±0.285, p < 0.05). Striped hyenas exhibited a higher probability of site utilization in the presence of tigers (0.73 ± 0.09) and leopards (0.83 ± 0.06), with SIF values of 1.18 for tigers and 1.29 for leopards, indicating co-occurrence and potential resource sharing. Compared to a 2014 study when tiger numbers were lower (n=11), site utilization in the presence of tigers increased from 0.53 to 0.73, revealing behavioral adaptations following tiger reintroduction in STR. High SIF with leopards suggested that high prey availability in STR mitigates interspecific competition. This challenges the mesopredator release hypothesis, as both striped hyena and leopard populations have increased alongside rising tiger numbers, likely due to abundant resources and available habitat refugia. Den-site selection was analyzed using two approaches: environmental predictors alone and a combination of environmental and ecological predictors. The best environmental model (AIC = 132.47) included elevation (β = -1.0961, p < 0.01), ruggedness (β = 0.5166, p < 0.0 ), distance to road (β = 0.6249, p < 0.05), and distance to village (β = 0.4363, not significant), indicating a preference for moderate elevations, rugged terrain, and areas away from roads. The combined model (AIC = 131.07) included elevation (β = -0.9766, p < 0.01), ruggedness (β = 0.5452, p < 0.05), and human disturbance index (HDI, β = -1.0113, p < 0.05), which indicated towards the striped hyena’s ability to tolerate moderate human disturbance. The shift in the denning refugia, after including ecological variables- Human Disturbance and Wild prey index, indicated towards the tradeoff in the den-site selection by striped hyena that would offer both security and access to essential resources. The findings suggested that open habitats facilitate foraging due to enhanced carcass visibility, while closed habitats and rugged terrain provide secure denning and resting sites. The Aravalli Range, particularly STR, serves as a critical refugia, supporting one of India’s highest striped hyena densities (15.44 ± 2.48 individuals/100 km²). High wild prey abundance and scavenging opportunities from tiger and leopard kills would have likely reduced the reliance on livestock, which too occur in high density. These spatially explicit results showing critical denning refugia in STR as well identifying intensively utilized areas would allow managers to develop evidence-based habitat monitoring program, that would allow to delineate critical habitats as well as include it in the village relocation plan to create more inviolate spaces for wildlife and reduce the anthropogenic pressure on forests as well as check the spread of invasives in the protected areaItem Ecology and Management of Lion and ungulate habitats in Gir.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 1995) Sharma, Diwakar; Johnsingh, A.J.T.The Gir is the only refuge of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) in its range. This implies that long term conservation of the Asiatic lion will remain an overirding management objective. A study on the impacts of management practices on lion and ungulate habitat was conducted in Gir Protected Area (PA) from June 1991 to July 1994. The Gir . PA includes Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. It is situated between 200 55' to 21 0 20 'N and 700 25' to 71 0 15' E in the Southern part of Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat. Gir PA (hereafter Gir) is located about 60km South of Junagadh. The area which was .3,107 sq km iIi 1877 (Joshi 1976) has been presently reduced to 1,412 sq km, o~ which about 259 sq Ian is national nark. Gir is the last refuge of the wild Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) and long term conservation of the Asiatic lion is an overriding management objective of Gir. In order to improve habitat conditions in Gir, the park authorities, over the last 20-25 years have made some management interventions such as relocation of some maldharis (local graziers), reduction in livestock grazing (specially migrant livestock during the rainy season) and fire control. These measures have led to vegetational recovery and increase in wild ungulate and lion populations. Understanding this vegetational recovery was thought to be crucial to determine the extent of management intervention required. It also needed to be determined if the trend (especially in the western Gir) was toward a higher woody proportion both at shrub and tree levels, and whether this in long term would adversely affect ' the distribution and abundance of ungulates, and therefore, group hunting by the lions, their pride size and territoriality.Item Resource partitioning of non-pantherine carnivore community in Kanha Tiger Reserve, M.P., India.(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) Pradhan, Anup Kumar; Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, QamarCarnivores of all groups have unequivocal role in structuring and functioning of their ecosystems. Hence their existence need to be secured to maintain functional ecosystems. In the current scenario of rapid industrial growth and economic development, pressure on natural resources is escalating, which in turn has jeopardized the survival of important species. Hence, to maintain harmony between economic growth and ecological balance, an effective wildlife conservation and management plan should be a priority. The Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR), spreading over an area of around 2100 km2 located in the central Indian highlands, has immense ecological significance as it supports a wide variety of flora and fauna. The tiger reserve is home to carnivores, including tiger, leopard, dhole, sloth bear, and many small cats. However, there are several conservation challenges exists for the persistence of this ecosystem. A thorough understanding of the ecosystem and its inclusive components is a prerequisite for developing and implementing an effective wildlife conservation plan. And in the case of KTR, despite several pioneer studies, the existing research gap on the ecology of small and meso-carnivores undermines the understanding of the complete ecological functioning. To fill this research gap, I undertook this study focusing on distribution, habitat use and preference of small and meso-carnivores in KTR. I aimed to study the distribution pattern and abundance of non-pantherine carnivores (Sloth Bear, Wild Dog, Jackal and jungle cat) and their niche separation by developing a species distribution and habitat suitability map. I performed camera trapping exercises during three successive seasons in 2014, 2015, and 2016 successively in all the available habitat types to obtain information on the abundance and distribution pattern of the targeted species. The camera traps were placed in a two sq km grid-based manner. I used data from transect surveys, remote sensing techniques and published literature to obtain other ecological variables. I used presence software to run the occupancy model for each focal species separately, considering relevant environmental variables. Similarly, I used the Maxent software to prepare the habitat suitability map for each species individually. I used the kernel density approach in R software to analyze the activity overlaps between these studied species. As a result of occupancy analysis, tiger, leopard, sloth bear, and jungle cats were observed to be inhabited in the cores area of the tiger reserve and associated with dense forest cover, grasslands, and prey abundance. However, dholes preferred the fringe area of the forest, associated negatively with densities of tigers, leopard, and their preferred area, i.e., the core of the forest and positively with the grasslands. In addition, variables such as distance from human settlements, terrain ruggedness, and NDVI also affected the occupancy of these study species in the KTR. Jackal did not follow any particular pattern rather it observed throughout the forest area. Aligning with the occupancy result, the habitat suitability maps prepared by the Maxent model strengthened the observation of the spatial ecology of these carnivore groups in the KTR. The Maxent model showed that the large carnivores at the ecosystem's apex position preferred to live in the core area of the forest with abundant prey and least human interference. However, second and third order carnivores such as dholes, preferred to live outside the core to avoid possible strife with the dominant tiger and leopard. The habitat selection by these meso carnivores also indicates the dominancy iii of the large carnivores in occupying the central position and their influence in the placement of the subordinate group of carnivores in a common ecosystem. We did not observe any effect of tiger and leopard on the habitat preference of sloth bear and jungle cat which indicated the difference in the dietary pattern also play significant role in occurrence of these sympatric carnivores in a multi-predator ecosystem. Tigers and leopards were primarily crepuscular and nocturnal. Despite high activity overlap, their activity peaks were different from each other. Dholes and jackals were active during the day, whereas Sloth bears and jungle cats were nocturnal. The results of temporal interaction among these carnivores were not completely diverged from the pattern of spatial interactions observed earlier. Instead, these results strengthen the findings of the spatial interaction among these carnivores in the KTR. As observed earlier, dholes and jackals shift their activity to avoid possible conflict and become diurnal. In contrast, the activity pattern of tigers and leopards did not influence the activity pattern of sloth bears and jungle cats. The study provides information on the spatiotemporal interactions of a carnivore community in a multi-predator ecosystem in central India. The findings strengthen the earlier understanding of the ecology of large-bodied carnivores such as tigers and leopards. At the same time, it enhances the knowledge of their counterpart i.e. the lesser studies small and meso- carnivores of KTR. Large-bodied carnivores occupied the central and apex position of the ecosystem and regulated the distribution pattern of the meso-carnivores present in their ecosystem. However, species with a different ecological niche were less influenced by these apex predators.