Theses and Dissertations

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Habitat destruction

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    Ecology and ranging behaviour of Elephants, Elephas maximus, and its implications for managing human-elephant conflict in Chhattisgarh, India
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) Lakshminarayanan, N.; Pandav, Bivash
    In the East-central region of India that supports the smallest regional elephant (Elephas maximus) population, the elephant ranges have expanded in northern Chhattisgarh (erstwhile eastern Madhya Pradesh) since late 1980s. Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh during the year 2000, and thence, the State has been witnessing elephant range expansion and concomitant population growth resulting in acute human–elephant conflict. Over 60 human lives are lost every year due to human–elephant conflict, and the trend is only increasing. Chhattisgarh scenario represents challenges facing management of elephant populations undergoing environmental dispersals that typically result from saturated habitat conditions in the elephant home ranges. In response to the prevailing conflict situation, the study aimed to understand facets of elephant ecology and aspects of human–elephant conflict to generate management perspectives. Historic information available as fragments in literature indicates that elephant distribution in the whole of East-central region was marked by both range expansions and local extinctions during the last one century. In particular, the contemporary phenomenon of elephant range redistribution in the East-central region peaked after 1980s, and coincides with large-scale human-induced disturbances to the formerly intact elephant habitats in the region. There were also pull factors like creation of pseudo-habitats (providing only cover for elephants) through forestry operations that possibly attracted elephants to human–dominated areas perpetuating human-elephant conflict. In Chhattisgarh, the elephant distribution during the period 2012 to 2017 was reported from 16 Forest Divisions and four Protected Areas in the north and north-central regions of the state. The elephant population, as enumerated by Chhattisgarh Forest Department during 2021, ranged from 250 to 300.
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    Ecological impacts of roads on mammals and integrity of the Central Indian Tiger Landscape
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2023) Saxena, Akansha; Habib, Bilal; Rajvanshi, Asha
    Road networks are increasing at an alarming pace worldwide, but most rapidly in developing countries like India. The drivers of road building in such countries include the need to make the benefits of development accessible to citizens in the remotest corners. However, road building in ecologically rich and sensitive regions can have severe repercussions for the wildlife in these regions. Road construction leads to destruction of habitats and physically disconnects previously contiguous landscapes. Traffic on roads directly cause wild animal mortality, cause changes in behaviour of wildlife by altering patterns of space use, and in the long-term can cause populations to diminish through either loss due to mortality, or by isolation of neighbouring populations by creating a barrier to their movement. Through this study, I aimed to understand the responses of a large mammal community to road-related disturbance through different methods, and form a basis for identifying and prioritising road stretches for mitigation of impacts on the large mammal community. The study was based in the central Indian tiger landscape which has one of the greatest potentials for long-term tiger conservation in the country, and at the same time is also facing incremental rates of road infrastructure development. The focal study species included the tiger, its co-predators and primary prey. The study is the first long-term research on the ecological impacts of roads conducted in an important tiger conservation landscape. It has direct management implications for understanding varied species responses to roads, mitigation requirements at different road types and forest protection types, and for landscape-scale prioritisation of sites for mitigating barrier and collision risk.
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    A study people – Protected Area interface at Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2014) Leima, Sanggai; Badola, Ruchi; Hussain, S.A.
    Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) is the only natural home of the remnant population of endangered brow antlered deer or Sangai whose habitat is the phumdi- a unique part of the habitat of KLNP. It is a floating mass of entangled vegetation formed by the accumulation of organic debris and biomass with soil particles. It covers approximately two thirds of the area of the park and the thickness varies from a few centimeters to about two meters. However, due to illegal exploitation of resources from the park in the form of vegetable and fuelwood collection, the park is facing consistent anthropogenic pressures which are posing a threat to the habitat of Sangai. A need arises to understand local people’s dependence on the park as well as their perceptions and attitudes in order to devise management strategies to solve parkpeople conflicts. Thus, the main objectives of the present study were to (a) examine the socioeconomic and demographic conditions of the villagers around KLNP, (b) quantify the resources extracted from the park and its contribution to the livelihoods of the local people, (c) assess the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the wildlife habitat, (d) examine the conservation awareness and attitudes of people towards the park and alternative livelihood options and (e) to assess the economic value of the park in terms of recreation for the conservation of Sangai and KLNP.
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    Impact of land use changes on the habitat, bahaviour and breeding biology of Indian Sarus Crane (Grus antigone antigone) in the semi-arid tract of Rajasthan, India.
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2007) Kaur, Jatinder; Choudhury, B.C.
    The Sarus Crane has been recorded all over the northern India and central region of the Indian sub-continent historically. However, this once abundant tallest flying bird species has now become threatened. The present study was undertaken during the year 2000-2002 to i) to determine the habitat use, breeding biology and behavioural ecology of the Sarus Crane in the semi-arid tract of Kota, and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and ii) to determine the changes in land-use and its impact on Sarus Crane in the semi-arid landscape and to suggest the conservation strategies for the long-term survival of Sarus Crane. The study was conducted in the semi arid tract of Kota, and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan. District Kota, the first intensive site falls under arid Zone V (the humid south-eastern humid plain zone,) where the development of canal irrigation has made this area rich in agricultural production. The population of Sarus Crane in Kota are dependent mainly on the canal system induced and other natural wetlands. Data on distribution and habitat utilization of Sarus Crane in Kota and in Keoladeo Ghana National Park were carried out