Theses and Dissertations

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    Resource Selection By Large Herbivores with Special Reference to Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) in Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2013) Jabaraj, Frank Sadrack D.
    Most of the wildlife habitats in India are shared by a number of ungulate species. This encompasses both wild and domestic ungulates. In areas, where both domestic and wild ungulates co-occur, it is essential to understand the ecological interactions among them so as to better manage the habitat and wild species. Competition between livestock and wild herbivores has remained contentious and it has remained as major a conservation issue for native ungulates. This work aimed to investigate the resource selection by wild (Blackbuck and Chital) and domestic ungulates (Feral horse and Cattle) with special emphasis on Black Buck in Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. The Black buck Antilope cervicapra Linnaeus (1758) is a grazer that is listed as near threatened species (IUCN Red list, 2012) and has been accorded the Schedule I status by the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Black buck numbers in India have come down intensely in the last century and this antelope is currently restricted to small and scattered populations. Hunting and loss of suitable habitat are considered to be principal factors for the reduction in numbers. The present study deals with estimating the abundance and density of the wild and domestic ungulates using distance sampling and to determine the food habits and habitat use of these ungulates in the coastal landscape of Point Calimere wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu. The study was conducted from December 2012 to April 2013. Population densities of four sympatric ungulates in Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, was estimated using Distance sampling under line transect technique between January and April 2013. A total of eight line transects were laid with the total length 14.8 km, covering three habitats- Grassland, Mudflat and Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF). Each transect varied in length from 1.5 to 2 km and was walked thrice in each month. A total of 628 sightings of the target species were recorded in the line transects (n= 458 black buck, n=S8 chital, n=50 feral horses and n=62 cattle). The total effort was 177.6 km(grassland- 57.6 km, Mudflat-26 km and TDEF -96 km}. The estimated density {number of individuals per km2± SE} of blackbuck was 37.1 ± 5.2 with group density of 9.6 ± 3.1, chital was 4.5 ± 0.9 with group density of 2.7 ±0.5, feral horse was 7.6 ± 1.2 with group density of 3.3 ±0.3 and cattle was 21.9 ± 3.3 with group density of 2.5± 0.4. Adult sex ratio (Male: Female) of blackbuck was 12.5 Male/100 Female, and for chital it was 25 Male/ 100 Female. The Female: Fawn ratio of blackbuck was 24.2 Fawn/100 Female and for chital it was 21 Fawn/100 Female. Most ungulates show a temporal diet variation between monocot and dicot dominated diets. This study investigated the habitat use and diet overlap between wild ungulates (blackbuck, chital), domestic livestock (Brahmini cattle) and feral horse at Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu during January 2013 to April 2013. The assumption of the study was that black buck has high degree of food and habitat overlap with other sympatric ungulates in the study area. The food habits and diet overlap of ungulates were estimated using feeding site method (Lovaas, 1958). The line transects that are laid for estimating the densities of the herbivores were used for studying the ungulate- habitat interactions. Two types of analysis were used for the assessment of habitat use, one- way analysis of variance {AN OVA) and multiple regression analysis. Levin's measure of Niche breadth showed highest for feral horse (O.89), followed by cattle (0.72), blackbuck (0.48) and lowest for chital (0.26). Pianka's index (Pianka 1973) showed high diet overlap between blackbuck and cattle (95 %) followed by blackbuck and feral horse {81 %}, blackbuck and chital (38.1%) and cattle and feral horse (91.3%). Forty three forage species were identified to be eaten by all target species out of which blackbuck utilized 23 foodplants, chital 33, cattle 29 and feral horse 35 food plants. The nutrient analysis of the food plants eaten by the sympatric ungulates was done and with respect to blackbuck, multiple regression analysis was done for the 23 plant species it has fed. The result showed that blackbuck did not show any significant difference towards nutrient contents of the utilized food plants. Dung/pellet analysis revealed that all the four species utilized monocots (graminoids) in high proportion where blackbuck utilized 82.12%, chital 74.63%, cattle 85.7% and feral horse 84.9%.The observed high competition for the available food resources especially for graminoids by the domestic livestock and feral horses is a matter of concern. Creation of Livestock- free areas is necessary for the conservation of blackbuck in the Sanctuary.
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    Habitat use by the Great Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the other sympatric large herbivores in Kaziranga National Park
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2001) Banerjee, Gitanjali; Rawat, G.S.; Choudhury, B.C.
    A study on the habitat use by the Great One horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and three other sympatric ungulates was carried out in Kaziranga National Park (KNP), Assam during December 2000 to April 2001. KNP supports more than half the world's population of the Indian Rhinoceros, a highly endangered species. Since this park also supports a high diversity and density of herbivores coexisting in a typical floodplain habitat, it was an ideal place to conduct the following study. The study aimed to determine how 4 large herbivore species rhino, wild buffalo, swamp deer and hog deer achieve spatial and temporal separation across two seasons. The study also investigated how nutritive content of the forage determines habitat selection by these species. KNP was an ideal place to study habitat use patterns by these four sympatric species due to the seasonal variation of forage quality caused by the practice of annual burning. Sampling for animal abundance within each habitat type over two seasons was done by monitoring transects. Feeding observations were obtained by scan sampling. Laboratory analysis was done to determine the nutritive content of the available forage during winter and summer. Seasonal and spatial differences observed in habitat occupancy patterns by the ungulate species within KNP seem to be a way of partitioning resources in order to minimize competition. During the winter season all ungulates selected the short grasslands for feeding. The wild buffalo and the swamp deer showed no variation in the habitat occupancy patterns showing a positive selection for the short grasslands. However, rhinos and hog deer were observed to prefer the tall, burnt and sprouting grasslands in summer for feeding during summer. When habitat occupancy patterns were correlated with the nutritive value of the forage it was found that all ungulates tracked high crude protein levels in available forage. Rhinos and hog deer formed an association that exploited areas that have high crude protein and low silica content. Wild buffaloes and swamp deer show less flexibility in habitat occupancy patterns and were observed to feed in short grasslands where there was a relatively high amount of crude protein available during both the seasons. The study revealed that crude protein played an important role in determining habitat use by hog deer, which shows a linear relationship with crude protein. Forage volume, an indicator of available food played a significant role in determining habitat use patterns for the large bodied ungulates, namely the rhino and the wild buffalo which is in keeping with their physiology and body requirements. There seems to be partitioning of space by the ungulates on the basis of body size and dietary separation. Rhino and hog deer were observed to formed one guild whereas wild buffalo and swamp deer formed another one. These two groups differed in the pattern of habitat occupancy suggesting that ecological separation in Kaziranga National Park, perhaps occurs on the basis of differential use of the habitat by ungulates that have a similar body size. There was an observed complementation of body sizes within each association. A large bodied ungulate associated with another ungulate that was much smaller in size. and therefore, had different ecological needs.