Programme & Abstracts

th30 ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR

29-30 September 2016

© AC

XXX Annual Research Seminar, 2016 i

XXX ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR 29-30, September 2016

PROGRAMME

0830 – 0900 h Registration

INAUGURAL SESSION

0900 – 0905 h Welcome Dr. Bitapi Sinha Research Coordinator, WII

0905 – 0910 h Opening Remarks Dr. V.B. Mathur Director, WII

0910 – 0930 h Research activities and accomplishments (2015-2016)

Dr. G.S. Rawat Dean, FWS, WII

0930 – 0940 h Inaugural Address Dr. M.M. Kutty Additional Secretary, E,F&CC

0940 – 0950 h Release of Publications by Guests

Wildlife Watch in the Indian Himalayan Region – Series-II

Dr. M.M. Kutty Additional Secretary, E,F&CC

ENVIS Bulletin: Bibliography on the Fauna and Microflora of the Indian Himalayan Region

Sh. Vinod Rishi Former ADG (Wildlife)

Evaluation of MHC gene heterozygosity in isolated tiger population - Project Final Report

Sh. Chandan Sinha Principal Secretary (Forests), West Bengal

Diversity of moth (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) assemblage and their potential role as conservation tool in different Protected Areas of Uttarakhand - Project Final Report

Dr. Rajendra Dobhal Director General, UCOST

Medicinal Plants of Uttarakhand – Report Sh. D.V.S. Khati CWLW, Uttarakhand

XXX Annual Research Seminar, 2016 ii

TECHNICAL SESSION – I

Recent Initiatives

Chair

Dr. Shashi Kumar, Director, IGNFA & DG, ICFRE

Co-Chair(s) Sh. D.V.S. Khati, CWLW, Uttarakhand Dr. A. K. Bhardwaj, Scientist-G

0950-1000 Endangered Species Recovery Program - A new conservation initiative

Y.V. Jhala

1000-1010 Addressing Human-Wildlife negative interactions in the Indian Himalayan region: Initiative under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies

S. Sathyakumar

1010-1020 Implementation of Monitoring System for Tigers - Intensive Patrolling and Ecological Status “MSTrIPES” Phase II

Qamar Qureshi

1020-1030 Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation: A National Mission on Clean Ganga Initiative

S.A. Hussain

1030-1040 Addressing research voids on marine mammals of Southern Ocean and Antarctica: Challenges and Opportunities

Anant Pande

1040-1100 Discussion and comments of Chair and Co-chair

1100-1130 Group photograph and Tea

TECHNICAL SESSION – II

Management of carnivores and their prey

Chair

Dr. Pradeep Vyas, CWLW, West Bengal

Co-Chair(s) Dr. Debabrata Swain, IGF, NTCA Nagpur Sh. Qamar Qureshi, Scientist-G

1130-1150 Validating and conserving Tiger corridors in Eastern Vidarbha Landscape, Maharashtra

Indranil Mondal

1150-1210 Factors governing spatial dynamics and breeding of tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve

Dibyendu Mandal

1210-1230 Dominance & Promiscuity: Social Organization of Gir Lions

Stotra Chakrabarti

1230-1250 Large predators, meso-predators and prey: Interactions at spatial and temporal scale

Nilanjan Chatterjee

1250-1310 Discussion and comments of Chair and Co-chair

1310-1430 Lunch

XXX Annual Research Seminar, 2016 iii

TECHNICAL SESSION – III

Studies in the Himalaya

Chair

Dr. V.K. Melkani, CWLW, Tamil Nadu

Co-Chair(s) Sh. Ajai Saxena, CWLW, Goa Dr. Pratap Singh, Scientist-G

1430-1450 Participatory Planning for Management of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Kailash Sacred Landscape – India

Arti Kala

1450-1510 Assessing climate change impact on wildlife of the Indian Himalayan Region: An Update

Tapajit Bhattacharya

1510-1530 Causes of avian diversity gradients along the Himalaya Suresh Kumar Rana & Ashutosh Singh

1530-1550 Tea

1550-1610

Himalayan wolf and its prey: An opportunist in a landscape of scarcity

Shivam Shrotriya

1610-1630 Patterns of microhabitat utilization by principal fishes of upper Subansiri River, Arunachal Pradesh

Sutanu Satpathy

1630-1650 Discussion and comments of Chair and Co-chair

1650-1800 E-poster session (External Delegates only)

1900-2000

Cultural evening

2000 hrs Dinner

XXX Annual Research Seminar, 2016 iv

Day 2: 30 September 2016

0830-0930 E-poster session

TECHNICAL SESSION – IV

Wildlife Monitoring

Chair

Dr. P.P. Bhojvaid, CWLW, Haryana

Co-Chair(s) Dr. Durgesh Pant, Director, USAC Dr. Asha Rajvanshi, Scientist-G

0930-0950 Large landscapes and long-term monitoring: Lessons for large mammal conservation from Terai Arc Landscape, India

K. Ramesh

0950-1010 Effect of small size and isolation on demography of tigers in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve

Ayan Sadhu

1010-1030 Effect of predator and habitat on gaur group size and composition in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

Navaneethan B

1030-1050 Discussion and comments of Chair and Co-chair

1050-1110 Tea

TECHNICAL SESSION – V

Conservation Genetics

Chair

Dr. R.K. Singh, CWLW, Chattisgarh

Co-Chair(s) Dr. D.N. Singh, Member Secretary, CZA Dr. Y.V. Jhala, Scientist-G

1110-1130 Conservation genetics and management of the Great Indian Bustard

Srinivas Yellapu

1130-1150 Habitat use by Asian elephants in relation to cropping and crop raiding patterns in and around Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand

Rahul De

1150-1210 Discussion and comments of Chair and Co-chair

XXX Annual Research Seminar, 2016 v

CONCLUDING SESSION

Chair

Sh. P.R. Sinha, Chairman, TRAC

Co-Chair(s) Dr. V.B. Mathur, Director, WII

1210-1230 Comments on the Annual Research Seminar

1230-1250 Photographic competition awards

Dr. Bitapi Sinha Research Coordinator

1250-1305 HRS, IARS & ARS best presentation awards Dr. Bitapi Sinha Research Coordinator

1305-1320 Concluding Remarks

Sh. P.R. Sinha Chairman, TRAC Dr. V.B. Mathur Director, WII

1320-1330 Vote of Thanks

Dr. Bitapi Sinha Research Coordinator

1330 Lunch

1500 Training, Research and Academic Council (TRAC) Meeting (For members only)

1500 - 1700 E-poster session

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E POSTER SESSION (Day 1: 1650 – 1800) (Day 2: 0830 – 0930 and 1500 – 1700)

PANEL 1 : NEW INITIATIVES PANEL 2 : KEY INITIATIVES

S.No. Title Presenter S.No. Title Presenter 1. Great Indian Bustard Conservation GIB Team 1. Biodiversity Conservation and

Rural Livelihood Improvement Project: An overview

BCRLIP Team

2. Conservation Action Plan For Sangai (Rucervus Eldii Eldii) Recovery

Sangai Team 2. Natural World Heritage Conservation

UNSECO C2C Team

3. Recovery of Dugongs and their habitats in India: An integrated participatory approach

Dugong Team 3. WII Forensic & Conservation Genetics Cell Activities: An Update

FCGC Team

4. Development of Conservation Action plan for river Dolphins

Dolphin Team 4. Tiger Cell- A conservation initiative of NTCA and WII

Tiger Cell

5. Assessment of Climate Change Effects on Wildlife Species in the Indian Himalayan Region: An Update

NMSHE Team 5. Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN): A UNDP-MoEFCC-WII Project

BIOFIN Team

6. Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation

NMCG Team

PANEL 3: CARNIVORES AND PREY PANEL 4 : WETLANDS AND MARINE ECOSYSTEM

S.No. Title Presenter S.No. Title Presenter 1. Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Large

Carnivores in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

Anindita Bidisha Chatterjee

1. Application of Flight Initiation Distance of waterbirds for delineating buffer zone around wetlands

Neeraj Mahar

2. The deer and the tiger- a case study in Sundarban

Manjari Roy 2. Enhancing capacity of forest sector in the integrated and sustainable management of Coastal and Marine biodiversity in India

D. Adhavan

3. Density and activity pattern of Leopard and its prey in Kalesar National Park (KNP) and Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS), Haryana, India

Shaldavya Kuruganti

3. Maternal lineage of whale shark (Rhincodon typus) from Gujarat coast, India in relation to other world populations

Bheem Dutt Joshi

4. Changing numbers and shifting spaces: Tigers in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India

Madhura Davate 4. Food habits of large herbivores of Kaziranga National Park, Assam

Anita Devi

5. Effect of human use, season and habitat on ungulate density in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

Neha Awasthi 5. Patterns of biomass production by the wet grasslands of Kaziranga National Park, Assam

Monika Sharma

Parallel Sessions

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Endangered Species Recovery Program - A new conservation initiative

-Y. V. Jhala

Recovering endangered species populations entails targeted, multidisciplinary research that flows into management actions and advocacy for policy changes. With this vision, Wildlife Institute of India has commenced recovery programs for endangered species with funding from Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (CAMPA). Species targeted for recovery actions are Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), Sangai (Rucervus eldii), River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) and Dugong (Dugong dugon). These species have small, fragmented populations that need urgent conservation attention. Project activities are being implemented by WII in collaboration with species' range state Forest Departments and partner NGOs.

Great Indian Bustard recovery program aims at: (a) developing conservation breeding center; (b) conducting applied research to prioritize conservation areas, characterize threats, monitor population/habitat recovery, assess livelihood issues, and understand population genetics; (c) demonstrating best-practices for habitat improvement; (d) improving protection through smart patrolling; and (e) garnering public support by sensitizing stakeholders, incentivizing land-users to adopt compatible practices, and outreach programs. Initiated activities include preparation of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to institutionalize ex-situ and in-situ components, research on population and genetic assessments, tagging, characterizing threats (power-lines and dogs), and outreach program to sensitize stakeholders.

Sangai recovery program aims at: (a) securing the existing population in Keibul Lamjao National Park through improved conservation; b) establishing second population in wild as insurance against catastrophes; (c) restoring habitat quality in the Park; (d) involving local people in conservation efforts; and (e) conducting research for developing scientific management. Initiated activities include signing of MoU with Forest Department, conservation measures focusing on developing conservation breeding center and community participation, revision of management plan for improving conservation management in Park, and meetings with Forest Department for deciding reintroduction site.

River Dolphin recovery program aims at: (a) population monitoring of Dolphin, associated river fauna, and their habitat; (b) characterizing threats and critical habitats of Dolphin; (c) understanding their ecology; (d) developing protocols and mechanisms for Dolphin rescue and rehabilitation; and (e) enhancing the capacity of concerned stakeholders in participatory management of Dolphin habitats.

Dugong recovery program aims at: (a) assessing and monitoring Dugong population and habitat status; (b) implementing site specific management actions to recover populations and restore critical habitats; (c) incentivizing participatory conservation efforts involving local stakeholders; and (d) improving the capacity of enforcement and management agencies to promote integrated protection and management of Dugong and associated species.

Keywords: Conservation breeding, applied research, capacity building, outreach.

Project Title : Endangered Species Recovery Program - A new conservation initiativePrincipal Investigator(s) : Yadvendradev Jhala, Qamar Qureshi, S. A. Hussain, K. Sivakumar, Ruchi Badola, Bilal Habib, J. A. Johnson Researcher(s) : A. Wakid, C. Dave, C. Tuboi, N. Marimuthu, R. Raza, S. Dutta, Bipin C. M, V. Singh, A. Phukon, D. Kukadia, L. Prasad, M.

Ningombi, P. Bagaria, Prem Jothi, S. Deori, S. Gole, Srinivas & S. Khan Funding Agency : National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Advisory CouncilProject Duration : 2016 - 2021

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Addressing Human-Wildlife negative interactions in the Indian Himalayan region: Initiative under the National Mission on

Himalayan Studies

-S. Sathyakumar

Negative Human-Wildlife Interactions (HWI) or conflicts is a major management issue in the Indian Himalayan region (IHR) where large expanse of human habitations and agricultural land areas are either interspersed with fragmented wildlife habitats or located in close proximity to wildlife habitats.

WII has initiated a new project to work towards reducing negative HWI in the IHR through action-oriented applied research and community engagement under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) with the following objectives: (i) to develop risk assessment tools and processes for identifying negative HWI in the IHR and predict potential hotspots of conflict for regular monitoring and development of site specific mitigation efforts, (ii) to understand the biological factors and ranging patterns of selected wildlife species involved in negative HWI, and (iii) to develop and implement adaptive management strategies in some of the identified vulnerable areas through community participation and use of modern tools and approaches.

We have selected six target wildlife species viz., rhesus macaque, wild pig, common leopard, Asiatic black bear, Himalayan brown bear and snow leopard that are involved in negative HWI in the IHR and would conduct action – oriented applied research in a few study sites in the States of Jammu &Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and West Bengal (northern hill districts) in collaboration with the Forest/Wildlife Departments and active participation of local communities.

The deliverables visualized under this project are: (i) preparation of conflict intensity maps and prediction of vulnerable zones (ii) predictive, spatially-explicit occurrence and abundance estimates for target species, (iii) fine scale spatio-temporal data on species specific ranging and movement pattern of individuals involved in conflicts, (iv) preparation of species and area specific mitigation plans for negative HWI in the IHR , (v) replication and up-scaling of successful examples of mitigation measures in selected sites through community participation, (vi) standardization of non- surgical or least-invasive reproductive control measures, and (vii) development of scientific protocols to determine ecological parameters for populations that needs to be reproductively suppressed to achieve acceptable macaque and wild pig densities.

Keywords: Human-wildlife interaction, Indian Himalayan region, mitigation strategy, risk assessment, community participation.

Project Title : Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution Mechanism in the Indian Himalayan Region: Risk assessment, Prediction, and Management through Research and Community engagement

Principal Investigator(s) : V. B. Mathur, S. Sathyakumar, G.S. Rawat, Y. V. Jhala, Qamar Qureshi, Parag Nigam, K. Ramesh, C. Ramesh

Researcher(s) : Dipanjan Naha, Aishwarya Maheshwari, Sarvesh K. Rai (Project Associates), Paranjay Kumar Singh, Anuj Trivedi, Chandramaya Sharma, Deepan Chakravarthy (Project Fellows)

Funding Agency : MoEFCC under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS)

Project Duration : 2016 - 2019

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Implementation of Monitoring System for Tigers - Intensive Patrolling and Ecological Status “MSTrIPES” Phase II

-Qamar Qureshi

Monitoring System for Tigers-Intensive Patrolling and Ecological Status “MSTrIPES” was developed to assist Tiger Reserve and Park managers in making informed decision for adaptive management. The information generated from prevailing law enforcement systems across tiger reserves in India is ad hoc and rarely available in a format for informed decision making. MSTrIPES addresses this void by assisting law enforcement in protected areas and monitoring the ecological systems on single platform. Apart from the patrol component, which is part of many other law enforcement software, MSTrIPES provides several additional and unique functions. Ecological module of MSTrIPES allows assessment of spatio-temporal trends of tigers, other carnivores, prey and habitat quality. The conflict module maps conflict ‘hot-spots’ and catalogues compensation to enhance transparency.

During Phase I of MSTrIPES (2012 – 2016), GPS-aided patrol module was implemented in seven tiger reserves of India, resulting in improved law enforcement in these parks. Implementation of MSTrIPES not only transformed attitudes among frontline staff towards patrolling, but also augmented patrol efforts invested by them. For instance, an annual patrol effort of over 1.2 lakh km was recorded from one range of Kanha TR in 2015-16, and the number of patrol days saw a twofold increase compared to the previous years. Phase II of MSTrIPES allows for a hierarchical integration of data, analysis and visualization from beat to range, division, park, state and National levels. Real time visualization of the park protection is envisaged across several spatial scales, thereby facilitating immediate intervention against illegal activity recorded by any patrolling team across India. The newly developed android application of MSTrIPES supports recording and uploading of this information through smart phones. A Panic button included on the MSTrIPES mobile application enables the user to send an alert message to the concerned office, during medical emergencies, armed encounter and animal mortality inside the park, thereby eliciting a rapid response.

The first training workshop for Phase II was held at Bandipur from 29th August, 2016 – 2nd September, 2016. The workshop was attended by 80 officials from, NTCA, WII, WWF, WCT and State Forest Departments of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. MSTrIPES motivates the frontline staff by demonstrating their efforts for improved management and protection and guides conservation managers towards better management and legal enforcement. If implemented as designed, MSTrIPES can probably facilitate a cultural shift in the management of protected areas of India and other Tiger Range Countries.

Keywords: Tiger, MSTrIPES, patrolling, GPS, India.

Project Title : MSTrIPES - Monitoring System for Tigers: -Intensive Patrolling and Ecological Status- Phase II Principal Investigator(s) : Y.V. Jhala, Qamar Qureshi Researcher(s) : Ashok Kumar.K, Ashish T Prasad, Anup Pradhan and Ninad MungiFunding Agency : National Tiger Conservation AuthorityProject Duration : 2016-2019

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation: A National Mission on Clean Ganga Initiative

-S.A. Hussain

Despite their importance, river systems around the globe have been devastated by development activities. The rate of extinction for riverine species is much higher than for their terrestrial and marine counterparts. The Ganga River ecosystem supports large assemblages of species ranging from microorganisms to mammals; however, its biodiversity is on decline due to reduction in flow, pollution, and unsustainable resource use practices. The earlier attempt to restore the Ganga was limited to water quality improvement without giving due importance to the other ecological functions of the river. Thus, in spite of concerted efforts, desired success in restoring the River was not achieved. Other factors that affected the efficacy of the effort were that, in the restoration programme, community participation was not solicited. The Government of India has initiated the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) with a comprehensive approach to restore the aquatic environment of the Ganga River through wastewater treatment, solid waste management, industrial pollution abatement and river front development. It has also developed a comprehensive strategy to restore the biodiversity values of the Ganga. The proximate goal is to ensure that, by 2020, a significant reduction in threats to the species diversity of the Ganga will be achieved. The NMCG-WII sponsored project “Biodiversity conservation and Ganga rejuvenation” aims to prepare a science-based aquatic species restoration plan for the Ganga by involving multiple stakeholders. The project has the following six components: (i) Establish Ganga Aqualife Conservation Monitoring Centre at WII for science-based conservation planning, (ii) Prepare biodiversity profile of the Ganga River and develop pilot species restoration plans for select stretches and species, (iii) Develop capacity of Forest Department and other stakeholders of the Ganga River States in monitoring the identified species, (iv) Assist NMCG in establishing the rescue and rehabilitation programme for endangered fauna at select sites by developing human resources and infrastructure, (v) Elicit participation of local communities in NMCG initiatives through the Panchayati Raj System, capacity development and payment for ecosystem services, and (vi) Develop and implement conservation education programmes for the river side communities. The project was launched on 7th July, 2016, at the five sites where WII intends to establish the Ganga Knowledge Centres for the conservation of biodiversity of the Ganga River. Project is at its preparatory phase and the proposed conservation actions will be initiated post monsoon.

Keywords: Ganga, aqualife, restoration, dolphin, water security.

Project Title : Biodiversity conservation and Ganga rejuvenation: WII – NMCG initiative

Principal Investigator(s) : V.B. Mathur, G.S. Rawat, S.A. Hussain, Ruchi Badola, Abhijit Das, Ajay Srivastav, A.K. Bhardwaj, Anju Baroth, J.A. Johnson, B.S. Adhikari, Bitapi Sinha, Gautam Talukdar, Gopi G.V., P.C. Tyagi, C. Ramesh, Sandeep Gupta, Suresh Kumar, V.P. Uniyal

Researcher(s) : To be appointed Funding Agency : National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvination, Govt. of IndiaProject Duration : 2016-2019

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Addressing research voids on marine mammals of Southern Ocean and Antarctica: Challenges and Opportunities

-Anant Pande

Antarctica and its surrounding ocean encompass critical feeding/breeding grounds for several marine mammal species. The present study aims to highlight the key distribution area of marine mammals in the southern Indian Ocean and Antarctica. The voyage route of Indian Antarctic Expedition from South Africa to Prydz Bay to Princess Astrid Coast along with selected stretches of pack-ice areas were surveyed.

Marine mammals were enumerated onboard Indian expedition vessel within 500 m of the either side of the ship. Aerials surveys were conducted onboard Bell or Eurocopter type helicopters to count pack-ice inhabiting seal species. Opportunistic counts were recorded as and when any marine mammal was encountered and data from open access databases was also downloaded to identify gap areas. High resolution photo-imagery was pilot tested to record ice-breeding seals in Prydz bay. Information on species, number, age class (adult or pup/chick), time, approx. distance from the transect line, reaction to the noise of helicopter, GPS location etc. were subsequently recorded on each sighting. The surveys were carried out in the Antarctic summers (Nov-Mar) of the years 2013-14 and 2015-16.

Eleven species of marine mammals were recorded in approximately 145 hours of voyage-based observations in the aforementioned sectors during the Indian expeditions. 35% of the sightings consisted of baleen whales dominated by Humpback and Sperm whale. Aerial transects (effort = 12.5 hours) revealed presence of four species of seals in the Indian sector of operation in Antarctica. Over half of the total counts were those of Weddell seals compared to only 20% of Crabeater seal. Data on marine mammals was restricted to areas near Antarctic research stations. A large gap in the occurrence information was observed for marine mammals in the Dronning Maud Land coast.

Information on occurrence of marine mammals in the southern ocean is scarce and spatio-temporally segregated. Role of oceanic fronts and ocean productivity could be investigated to understand marine mammal distribution in this remote region. Further surveys should be planned in accordance with available logistics and by strengthening networks with other Antarctic programs to increase the spatial extent of data collection. High resolution remote sensing data and open access dataset would help in developing marine spatial planning of the concerned area.

Keywords: Marine spatial planning, Antarctic expedition, distribution.

Project Title : Long-term monitoring of wildlife and their habitats in Antarctica Phase-IIPrincipal Investigator(s) : K. Sivakumar, V.B. Mathur, S.Sathyakumar, S. MondolResearcher(s) : Anant Pande (Senior Research Fellow) Funding Agency : WII, NCAOR Project Duration : 2013-2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Validating and protecting tiger corridors of the Eastern Vidarbha Landscape, Maharashtra

-Indranil Mondal

Penny scarce conservation scenarios demand ground validation of modelled outputs before suggestions are communicated to managers and policy makers for effective management and conservation. The aim of this study is to use actual tiger movement data to validate modelled corridors and assess the state of these corridors with respect to fragmentation and human pressure. This would aid in prescribing solutions that may be undertaken to safeguard these corridors.

The study was carried out in the Eastern Vidarbha Landscape, comprising mainly of the Nagpur Division, which is dotted with eight protected areas where tiger is present, with two of them acting as important source populations. The landscape is also criss-crossed by tiger corridors, which are heavily fragmented at places by mining activities, infrastructural developments and irrigation projects.

We used tracking data from 3 radio-collared tigers in the Eastern Vidarbha Landscape to validate predicted corridors. Cohen’s Kappa statistic was used for accuracy assessment. Furthermore, we compared spatial attributes of tiger movement tracks with corridors to analyze agreement levels between predicted corridors and actual tiger movements. Disturbance parameters like fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance also was calculated along corridors.

According to Cohen’s Kappa statistic, predicted corridors show 76% agreement with movement data of collared tigers. Analysis of tiger movement data indicates that fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance are one of the most important factors affecting tiger movement in corridors. We applied various morphometric indices and found predicted pinch points to coincide with highly fragmented areas. Finally, we outline how to opportunistically amalgamate resources available for tiger conservation beyond protected habitats from various sectors where tiger conservation is not the main goal.

The study highlights the importance of tiger movement data in validating modelled corridors. The study also highlights the application of fine-scale movement data for identification of weaker links in the corridors.

Keywords: Corridor validation, tiger movement, corridor fragmentation, triage.

Project Title : Evaluating pattern of landscape use by dispersing tigers (Stray) and modelling potential connectivity bottlenecks Principal Investigator(s) : Bilal Habib, Parag Nigam, Gautam TalukdarResearcher(s) : Indranil Mondal (University Grants Commission—Junior Research Fellow)Funding Agency : National Tiger Conservation AuthorityProject Duration : 2013-2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Factors governing spatial dynamics and breeding of tigers Sariska Tiger Reserve

-Dibyendu Mandal

Tiger population decline is driven by large-scale habitat and prey loss caused by complex socio-cultural, political and economic reasons. The smaller, porous, and isolated areas together with linear development and human habitations across landscape further pose a challenge to conservation. The present study aims to understand the factors influencing the spatial dynamics and breeding ecology of reintroduced tigers of Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan and explore future conservation implications.

Sariska Tiger Reserve (1200 km2) is an isolated reserve that shares sharp boundary with human habitation with 29 villages within the reserve. The reserve situated in the semi-arid landscape of western India represents the westernmost distribution limit of the tiger.

Radio-telemetry, direct sighting, camera trapping and pugmark tracking were used to monitor individual tigers during the study period (2013 – 16). Seven annual home range polygons of seven adult females were considered to study the factors governing breeding and spatial dynamics of tigers. The polygonswere further classified as breeding/ non-breeding. Home range polygon was classified as ‘breeding,' if the female was accompanied by cub(s). The rate of photo capture of human and livestock, distance to village and road, prey availability and ruggedness were used as variables to understand the influence of different variables on spatial dynamics and breeding of tigers using Generalized Linear Models (GLM). Logistic regression using the aforementioned GLMswas used to predict suitable areas for tiger breeding in Sariska.

The present study showed that ruggedness, human disturbance and distance to village significantly influenced breeding and spatial dynamics of tigers in Sariska (Adjusted R2: 0.9953, P Value: 0.047).

The study highlighted the importance of terrain complexity in concealment and producing apparent inviolate areas, crucial for tiger breeding. Our results also indicate the importance of site prioritization for village relocation, imperative in determining reintroduction success.

Keywords: Inviolate space, isolated population, anthropogenic disturbance, relocation prioritization, tiger conservation.

Project Title : Monitoring of reintroduced tigers in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan Phase IIPrincipal Investigator(s) : Parag Nigam, P.K. Malik, Bilal Habib, Qamar Qureshi, K SankarResearcher(s) : Dibyendu Mandal and Debaprasad Sengupta (Project Biologists)Funding Agency : National Tiger Conservation Authority Project Duration : 2015-2018

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Dominance and promiscuity: Social organization of Gir lions

-Stotra Chakrabarti

Studies from Africa reveal that lions are the only social felids, with a ‘pride’ comprising of related females (and their cubs) and a pride-owing male-coalition. Males in a coalition cooperate to gain access to female-groups and their lands, siring all the cubs born to a pride during their tenure. Unique to lion societies is the absence of dominance-hierarchies within like-sexes. However, sedentary prey in a more forested structure, coupled with a different land-tenure system in Asiatic lions necessitate investigation of social organization and resource-allocation among individuals of this only free-ranging population.

Observation on range use, mating-events (n=116) and predation-incidents (n=44) were made on 4 single-males, 7 male-coalitions and 9 female-prides in Western and Central Gir PA between 2013-2016, to assess resource procurement and distribution among: singletons-and-coalition males, male-partners in a coalition; and to understand the mating system prevalent among Asiatic lions.

Overall-fitness of singletons were significantly lower than coalition-males; with the former having lower territory-holding probabilities and less frequent matings than the latter. Pronounced dominance-hierarchies were seen between coalition-partners, with one male getting >70% of all mating-events appropriated by a coalition. Competition on kills was intense between male-partners, which increased with decline in prey size and increase in number of males and their appetites (quantified through belly scores). Neighbouring male-ranges overlapped considerably (32.2%), with each coalition having access to 1 primary female pride (overlap=81%) and 2 or more secondary prides (overlap=26%). Females in a pride readily mated with more than one coalition. However, extra-primary coalition matings were only shown by females who had littered before.

Unlike African lions, Asiatic lion-males form hierarchical coalitions and seem to be more tolerant towards rivals. A promiscuous mating-system, where females mate with more than one coalition, hints towards female-strategies of reducing infanticide through confused paternities and enhancing genetic variability amongst litters.

Keywords: Asiatic lion, infanticide, male-coalition, reproduction, singleton, territoriality.

Project Title : Ecology of endangered Asiatic lion using satellite and GPS telemetryPrincipal Investigator(s) : Y.V. Jhala Researcher(s) : Stotra Chakrabarti (Senior Research Fellow)Funding Agency : Department of Science & Technology and Grant-in-AidProject Duration : 2013-2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Large predators, mesopredators and prey: Interactions at spatial and temporal scale

-Nilanjan Chatterjee

Large predators play important role in shaping community structures and dynamics across diverse ecosystem. Decline in large predator occupancy and shift in activity can influence response of mesopredators from intraguild competition. This may result in change in community structure and influence other ecological processes. In this study, we try to evaluate the interaction of large predators, mesopredators and prey at spatial and temporal scales.

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur District of Eastern Maharashtra spreads over an area of 1700 sq.km with moderately undulating terrain. It is a tropical dry deciduous forest with Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) and Teak (Tectona grandis) being the dominant species, which provides suitable habitat for a wide array of faunal species.

In order to study spatio-temporal interaction, intensive camera trapping was carried across the core and buffer area of TATR by placing a pair of motion-sensored camera traps in 1.42x1.42 km grids. 397 grids were sampled across the reserve. The automated camera recorded the date and time of each capture. Interaction at spatial scale was studied from co-occurrence of species at each site. For temporal overlap non-parametric kernel density estimator was used.

Total 23 species of mammals were photographed across the reserve. 6 species of carnivore and 7 species of herbivore was chosen based on the number of captures. Sambar was the most captured animal (n=1058), whereas chinkara and pangolin were the least captured (n=2). Species richness varied from 1 to 12 unique species for different camera trap sites. The temporal overlap between tiger and leopard was highest (0.94) followed by leopard and wild-dog (0.61) in the large carnivore guild. Jungle cat and rusty-spotted cat had the highest overlap (0.86) in the mesopredator guild. Gaur and Sambar had almost same amount of overlap (~0.87) with both Tiger and Leopard. Tiger and leopard had almost 68% spatial overlap in their occupied habitat followed by 49% between Tiger and Jungle cat.

The difference in activity peak was highest among intraguild competitors and less among interguild competition. Effective community conservation requires an understanding of how large, mesopredator and prey interact in temporal and spatial scale.

Keywords: Intraguild competition, mesopredator release, niche segregation, overlap, trophic cascade.

Project Title : Long term monitoring of Tigers, co-predators and prey species in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and adjoining landscape,Maharashtra, India

Principal Investigator(s) : Bilal Habib, Parag Nigam, Vinay K Sinha, G.P. Garad

Researcher(s) : Nilanjan Chatterjee, Madhura Davate and Anil Dashahare (Junior Research Fellows)

Funding Agency : Maharashtra Forest Department, National Tiger Conservation Authority

Project Duration : 2013- 2018

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Participatory Planning for Management of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Kailash Sacred Landscape – India

-Arti Kala

Landscape approach is a well-established way to integrate conservation and development. This approach also lays emphasis on strengthening community institutions. This project aims to develop institutional mechanism for management of biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem services in Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL). It is being implemented in Gokarneshwar-gad and Himkhola micro watershed of Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.

After a series of consultations and confidence building with the local communities, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) methods were used to generate basic information on the patterns of bio-resource availability and use by the local communities. Subsequently we facilitated preparation of a comprehensive Ecosystem Management (ESM) plan for one pilot site involving the members of Van Panchayat (VP) and Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC). This plan was discussed with district line agencies for leveraging with the ongoing conservation and development programmes.

Four areas of intervention were prioritized by the villagers and included in the ESM Plan viz., protection and restoration of degraded watersheds; Restoration of weed infested grassland and village grazing land; Mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts; and increased production of agriculture and conservation of native crop varieties. Accordingly, site specific activities have been initiated with technical and financial support from the project. Efforts are being made to enhance the capacities of BMC in further planning process. Though the initial results are encouraging, the institutional mechanism for up-scaling the good practices at the landscape level is not yet fully established.

It is felt that, local institutions such as VPs and BMCs would require capacity building and hand holding for biodiversity and ecosystem management planning.

Key words: Kailash Sacred Landscape, ecosystem management plan, participatory approach

Project Title : Execution of Implementation Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI) Principal Investigator(s) : G.S Rawat, B.S Adhikari, S. Sathyakumar, V.P. Uniyal, K. Sivakumar, Gopi G.V.

Researcher(s) : Arti Kala (Research Associate), Ajaz Hussain, Sumit Kumar Arya, Mona Chauhan, Alka Chaudhary and Vipin Upadhyay(Project Fellows)

Funding Agency : International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), NepalProject Duration : 2013-2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Assessing climate change impact on wildlife of the Indian Himalayan Region: An Update

-Tapajit Bhattacharya

Impact of climate change on the fauna and micro-flora of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) are largely unknown. As a task force in the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE), the aim is to develop strategies to mitigate climate change effects on wild animal species and ecosystems in the IHR. The thematic approaches have been divided into terrestrial system, aquatic system, human ecology, and spatial ecology.

The objectives are to assess theme specific species diversity, distribution and abundance and to assess the impacts of climate change on ecosystem services.

The Bhagirathi basin has been selected as the primary study area for first two years.

Primary information collection was carried out covering an elevation extent from 500m to 5000m. Secondary information collection has been completed for both terrestrial and aquatic themes. Preliminary analysis of species distribution and inventory preparation has been carried out. Research trend and knowledge gap analysis for all the terrestrial and aquatic themes have been completed.

Presence of 82 lichen, eight major nematode families, 65 Odonata, 72 butterfly, 11 fish, 18 reptiles and 12 amphibians, nine Galliformes and 34 mammal species have been recorded so far. Nanorana minica and Asymblepharus spp. have been selected as focal herpetofaunal species for investigations on climate change impacts. Using the camera trap photo-captures (n= 110, 7368 photos) altitudinal distribution of carnivores (n=15, 6349 photos), ungulates (n=8, 729 photos) and Galliformes (n=5, 290 photos) has been documented. For long term monitoring, 12 permanent plots (5 ha) have been established. To obtain the fine scale temperature and humidity records, data loggers has been deployed in the study area. Among 800 villages, 33 villages have been selected for detailed questionnaire survey to document the impact of climate change on ecosystem services.

By reviewing literature, >4500 articles have been compiled into a database on fauna and micro-flora of IHR. The number of publications showed substantial rise in the last two decades and dearth of studies on climate change impacts was observed for all the taxa.

Information generated through these field methods and secondary data mining will be used to prepare species distribution and abundance models. Climate projections will be prepared to predict future habitat changes and to determine the vulnerability of different taxa.

Keywords: Bhagirathi basin, species distribution, long term monitoring, ecosystem services, knowledge gap analysis, climate projection.

Project Title : Assessment and Monitoring of Climate Change Effects on Wildlife Species and Ecosystems for Developing Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies in the Indian Himalayan Region

Principal Investigator(s) : V.B. Mathur, S. Sathyakumar 11 Co-PI(s)Researcher(s) : Project Scientist (3), Project Associate (3), Project Fellow (7), H-JRF (5), Project Assistant (3) Funding Agency : Department of Science and TechnologyProject Duration : 2014-2019

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Causes of avian diversity gradients along the Himalaya

-Suresh Rana & Ashutosh Singh

To investigate avian diversity gradients along the Himalaya by studying phylogenetically coherent group of flycatchers. The ecological and phylogenetic relations of species distributed across the Himalaya were studied to understand the possible causes of such gradients

Eastern Himalaya: West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Western Himalaya: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

The flycatcher densities and distributions were assessed along elevational gradients by spot-mapping in 35 no’s, 5ha grids (East-18, West-17). Habitat characteristics (Woody plant richness, density, biomass and canopy structure) were sampled along the same elevational gradients. Biological samples were collected using mist-nets for studying genetic differentiation. Morphometric measurements were recorded during mist-net captures and from museum specimens and foraging behaviours were observed in the field.

The flycatcher diversity reduces from 19 species in eastern to only 8 in western Himalaya. Along the elevational gradient species diversity peaks at 2000m in the eastern, and forms a plateau between 2000-3000m in the western Himalaya. The habitat correlation along elevational gradient is significant between flycatcher numbers and tree basal area and foliage density except at foothills in eastern Himalaya. Whereas vegetation diversity and density didn’t correlate with flycatcher numbers. Foraging behaviour and morphology of flycatchers showed maximum variation in mid-elevations indicating highest expansion of niche space resulting in more species diversity.

Phylogenetic relationships of 6 species were studied based on mitochondrial genes i.e. Cyt b, CoI and D-loop region. Our results show that divergence time between eastern and western populations of Ficedula tricolor is 4.9 Mya which deserves a split from sub-species to species. Cyornis rubeculoides also shows split of three species with divergence time of 3.1 Mya between west Himalaya (600-700m) and east Himalayan high elevational populations (1000-1300m) and 4.7 Mya with east Himalayan low elevational population (100-300m). However, Ficedula superciliaris, Ficedula strophiata, Niltava sundara and Eumyias thalassinus didn’t show much divergence.

Our findings suggest that the mid-elevation peaks in avifauna particularly in flycatchers are likely to be a result of maximum niche expansion. This pattern is supported by higher plant productivity and foliage complexity in mid-elevations and higher insect abundance at this zone. The phylogenetic differences between east and west populations of select flycatchers indicates that climatic and topographic complexity of Himalaya have possibly lead to reproductive isolation in past resulting in new species formation.

Keywords: Flycatchers, foraging behaviour, genetic differentiation, mid-elevation peak, plant productivity.

Project Title : Causes of avian diversity gradients along the HimalayasPrincipal Investigator(s) : R. Suresh Kumar, Pratap Singh, S.K. Gupta, Dhananjai Mohan, Trevor Price (Advisor)Researcher(s) : Suresh Kumar Rana and Ashutosh Singh (Junior Research Fellows)Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of IndiaProject Duration : 2013-2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Himalayan wolf and its prey: An opportunist in the landscape of scarcity

-Shivam Shrotriya

The oldest lineage of the wolves, the Himalayan wolf, is highlighted in the research and conservation docket very recently. Aspects of its ecology and taxonomy are still being explored. We looked at the dietary habits of one of the top predators in the Trans-Himalayan landscape of India. We also related their feeding ecology to the availability of prey and feeding habits of sympatric carnivores.

The study was conducted in the Trans-Himalayan landscape in the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India. The unique mammalian assemblage of this region is intricately shaped by the predator, prey and anthropogenic factors.

We collected and analyzed a total of 1738 scats of the major carnivores (Wolf= 427, Red fox= 1264, Snow leopard= 47). We used DNA-assisted scat identification for the wolf scats from Spiti valley, Himachal Pradesh. We also conducted simultaneous point count distance sampling surveys to estimate wild prey densities in the Trans-Himalayan landscape of the eastern Ladakh and Uttarakhand.

Wolves in the eastern Ladakh and Spiti landscape were found to mainly feed on domestic prey (55.3%) while wild ungulates and small mammals were also used (36.2%). We collected winter scats from only a small area in Chiktan, Kargil, where the wolves were heavily dependent on livestock (89%). In the case of domestic prey, a difference between killed prey and carrion could not be made. We could calculate densities for Blue Sheep (0.22 ± 0.17 SE individuals/km), Tibetan Argali (0.02 ± 0.03 SE) and Kiang (0.86 ± 0.36 SE) in the eastern Ladakh and for Blue Sheep (0.99 ± 0.17 SE) and Himalayan Tahr (0.32 ± 0.19 SE) in Uttarakhand.

The Trans-Himalayan landscape is known for sustaining major prey species at low densities, which was supported by our results as well. Livestock grazing and associated use of rangelands is pervasive across the Trans-Himalayan landscape and has played an important role in the ecological history of the region. Himalayan wolf seems to be capitalizing on the availability of livestock which forms a major portion of its diet, a typical characteristic of an opportunist. We have also radio-collared two wolves in Spiti valley, Himachal Pradesh, which are providing additional information on the rangeland use. Further analyses on the diet and use of the landscape are underway.

Keyword: Prey density, Trans-Himalaya, red fox, snow leopard, diet.

Project Title : Ecology and Conservation of Himalayan WolfPrincipal Investigator(s) : Bilal Habib, Y.V. Jhala, Salvador LyngdohResearcher(s) : Shivam Shrotriya (Senior Research Fellow), Hussain S. Reshamwala (Junior Research Fellow) Funding Agency : WII Grant-in Aid Project Duration : 2010-2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Patterns of microhabitat utilization by principal fishes of upper Subansiri River, Arunachal Pradesh

-Sutanu Satpathy

The Subansiri river basin is of utmost importance for the sustenance of a large chunk of biodiversity in North-Eastern Himalayas. Information on the systematic record of fishes of upper Subansiri River is not available. With this background until September 2015, we had explored the various fish communities in the upper Subansiri river basin. Fish assemblage associations with macrohabitat characteristics were also studied. We also recorded microhabitat preferences of fishes belonging to the Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, and Psilorhynchidae families.

The Subansiri originates in Tibet and flows for 442km in India before flowing into the Brahmaputra in Assam. The Upper Subansiri district has a geographical area of 7000 sq. km. and an altitudinal range of 200-3000m.

Sampling was carried out in three 4th order streams in different habitats (pools, riffles, and glides), between Oct-Nov, 2015 and Feb-Mar, 2016. For microhabitat availability assessment, each habitat was intensively sampled using transects across the stream. At every meter interval, water depth, flow,and substrate types were recorded. Fish association with each microhabitat was recorded based on direct observation using snorkel and mask/ aqua-scope. The variables depth, flow and substrate were categorized as (D1–6), corresponding to 0-10cm, 11-30cm, 31-60cm, 61-100cm, 101-150cm and >150cm. Water velocity was grouped into four categories (F1-4): corresponding to 0-0.15m/s, 0.16-0.30m/s, 0.31-0.60m/s and >0.60m/s. Substrate was classified into Bedrock (>512mm), boulder (200-512mm), cobbles (100-200), pebbles (20-100mm), gravel (5-20mm), and sand (1-5mm). Ratios of habitat-use to availability were calculated habitat-wise, for the dominant species. Preference curves were then plotted to acquire species-wise information in different habitat categories.

Habitat preference curves showed Barilius bendelisis and Garra gotyla preferred low to moderate flow velocities (0.2-0.4m/s). Schistura sp.,Aborichthys sp. and Danio rerio preferred still or slow moving (0-0.1m/s) portions of the stream. Aborichthys and Schistura preferred the shallowest (1-10cm) waters, while Danio rerio preferred moderate depth (10-30cm). Boulders were the most preferred of all substrates.

Understanding the habitat preferences of fish helps realize effects of anthropogenic activities, aiding in making conservation decisions. As this river basin has been identified as extremely suitable for hydropower dam construction, the habitat-use curve will be useful for estimating flow requirements of fishes in the Subansiri River.

Keywords: Habitat selectivity, biodiversity hotspots, riverine ecology, Eastern Himalayas, hydro-electric dams.

Project Title : Ecology, taxonomy and conservation of fish diversity in Subansiri River basin of Arunachal Pradesh, North East IndiaPrincipal Investigator(s) : J.A. Johnson, K. Sivakumar, Gopi G.V.Researcher(s) : Sutanu Satpathy (Junior Research Fellow)Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of IndiaProject Duration : 2013-2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Large landscapes and long-term monitoring: Lessons for large mammal conservation from Terai Arc Landscape, India

-K. Ramesh

Landscape scale management and conservation actions for large mammals such as tiger (Panthera tigris) and elephant (Elephas maximus) are both imperative and challenging. Conservation efforts in Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) in India signify a species-centric approach, while intrinsically aiming to secure unique biological elements confined to this landscape. This project that was implemented in unprecedented scale in the country, was repeated to detect decadal change in the status of tiger and its prey species. Parallel studies have also been implemented in TAL under the project framework during the interim period.

The methodological framework involving sign survey implemented in 2013-15 was similar to the strategy in 2002-03 and additionally quantified the status of select corridors and western part of Ganges where conservation translocation is proposed. Survey time also corresponded to the earlier survey period. Sign surveys along the dry riverbed and forest roads provided information for estimating occupancy pattern of the target species and used remote sensing data for detecting landscape change including the status of corridor.

Tiger occupancy in Indian TAL was 0.58 in 2012-13 and it was 0.49 in 2013-14, reflecting marginal decline at finer scale. Elephant showed a reduced space use in the landscape consistently across the landscape units. Probabilistic model on distribution for this species substantiated the declining trend and if applied with climatic effects, the distribution is likely to be towards plains with potential situation for increased conflicts. Although certain anthropogenic correlates such as cattle and dog use have significantly reduced, there is increased pressure in the western-part of Ganges, potentially negating the proposed conservation translocation in the current situation.

In spite of concerted efforts across the landscape units by the Government and Non-governmental Organizations, conservation gains are appeared to be restricted to certain areas with conventional approach. Thus, long-viability of the landscape requires enhanced sensitivity to meta-population contexts and landscape approach incorporating legal provisions.

Keywords: Species-centric conservation, occupancy sampling, change detection, MaxEnt, conservation translocation.

Project Title : Landscape Ecology of Large Mammals in the Shivalik- Terai Landscape with Focus on Flagship Species and Ecosystem Services

Principal Investigator(s) : K. Ramesh, Bivash Pandav Researcher(s) : M. Naveen (Senior Research Fellow) Funding Agency : Grant-in Aid, Wildlife Institute of India Project Duration : 2012-2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Effect of small size and isolation on demography of tigers in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve

-Ayan Sadhu

Ranthambhore tigers epitomize most of the large carnivore populations in Asia, i.e. they are small, isolated and often originating from a small founder base. Such populations are vulnerable to extinction caused by environmental and demographic stochasticity. Hence, understanding reproductive parameters of a potentially genetically compromised population is important to develop appropriate conservation strategies.

We obtained long-term data on demographic parameters from 97 individually known tigers in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve from 2006 to 2014 using camera traps, radio-telemetry, photo-album documentation and intensive monitoring. Tiger density was estimated by using spatially explicit capture recapture framework. Tiger density recovered from an initial low of 3.85 tigers/100km2 (SE 1.12) and subsequently remained stable at 5.9 tigers /100km2 (SE 1.9). Male: female ratio was 0.76 (SE 0.07) and cub: adult tigress ratio was 0.48 (SE 0.12). Average litter size at two month age was 2.24 (SE 0.14). Age at first reproduction in tigresses was 54.5 months (SE 3.7). Inter-birth interval was 29.6 months (SE 3.1). Male recruitment as sub-adults (77.8%, SE 2.2) was higher than females (62.5%, SE 2.4). While male recruitment as territorial adult (76.2%, SE 2.0) was lower than females (86.7%, SE 1.3). We used known-fate model with staggered entry design to compute survival rates in program MARK. Survival rates of cubs (82.4%, SE 5.0) and juveniles (82.4%, SE 5.6) were lower than that of sub-adult (97.6%, SE 2.3) and adult tigers (96.3%, SE 1.01). Among all cub mortality events 21% was natural and 42% was human caused, while in adult tigers it was 31% and 23% respectively.

Ranthambhore tigers had higher age of first reproduction with longer inter-birth intervals compared to tiger populations elsewhere probably due to density dependent regulation. Demographic parameters of Ranthambhore tigers that could potentially be depressed by inbreeding were comparable to tiger populations elsewhere. The best long-term conservation strategy for Ranthambhore tigers would be to establish and manage a metapopulation in the landscape by restoring habitat patches for tigers to colonize and promoting habitat corridors between these patches for tiger dispersal.

Keywords: Dispersal, inter birth interval, known fate model, litter size, survival rates. Project Title : Monitoring Source Population of Tigers in Ranthambhore Tiger ReservePrincipal Investigator(s) : Y. V. Jhala, Q. Qureshi Researcher(s) : Ayan Sadhu Junior Research FellowFunding Agency : National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of IndiaProject Duration : 2006 – 2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Effect of predator and habitat on gaur group size and composition in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

-B. Navaneethan

Fifty gaur (Bos gaurus gaurus) were reintroduced in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR), from Kanha Tiger Reserve between 2011 and 2012 and intensively monitored. These animals initially explored the area (405.2 km2) and later established in different groups of variable size and composition. The overall population grew to 127 individuals by 2016 with 27 mortalities resulting from predation, disease and natural causes. The present study was aimed at understanding the changes in gaur group size, composition and movement in response to presence of large predator and availability of restored habitat following village relocation.

The study was conducted in BTR (1,536.7 km2) located in the Satpura Maikal landscape and home to variety of flora and fauna with high density of tigers including associated prey species.

Telemetry data across the gaur occupied area was used to study the group size, composition and movement. Camera trap data (2013-2015, n=772) was used to identify intensive use area by the tiger and was plotted against the point location data of the gaur groups. Second-order resource selection function was used to determine the habitat use by gaur.

The overall gaur group size varied from 1-42 individuals with mean group size of 15.24 ¡À 0.3. Twenty events of gaur predation were recorded with 75 % of the events in groups having < 15 individuals. The predation was highest amongst female groups with the young calves contributing to 60% of predation. Eighty percent of predation was found in the groups having single adult male as compared to the ones having more number of males of different age class. The study revealed that irrespective of group location with respect to tiger¡¯s intensive use area, there was less predation in larger group (¡Ý30 individuals) and group having more number of adult males. Gaur with smaller herds or females with calf avoided areas intensively used by the tigers. Compositional analysis showed that the overall habitat use of gaur was bamboo forest followed by mixed forest and grassland. The study revealed that the habitat types across landscape did not affect the gaur group size and composition.

The growing population of gaur in BTR indicated an effect of predation on group size and composition with limited influence of available habitat. This may probably be due to the current population not reaching expected carrying capacity and extensive available habitats.

Keywords: Predation, large carnivore, habitat restoration, carrying capacity.

Project Title : Monitoring of reintroduced gaur in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh - Phase II Principal Investigator(s) : Parag Nigam, K. Sankar, Qamar Qureshi, Bilal HabibResearcher(s) : B. Navaneethan (Senior Research Fellow)Funding Agency : Madhya Pradesh Forest DepartmentProject Duration : 2015-2018

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Conservation genetics and management of the Great Indian Bustard

-Srinivas Yellapu

The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) (GIB) is a critically endangered, endemic grassland species of Indian subcontinent. Until few decades ago, GIB was wide spread across Indian subcontinent but now is confined to fragmented parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh in India. The major threats to the survival of GIB are habitat loss (agricultural development), hunting, egg collection, nest predation, disturbance and mismanagement of habitat. In this scenario, the species is in urgent need of recovery actions and management interventions. Molecular tools can be of great relevance in assisting necessary conservation actions. Therefore the aim of the study is to know the genetic structure of the species throughout the distribution range and develop conservation strategies and plan management actions accordingly.

Non-invasive samples (Feathers, Feces, Egg shells) were collected across substantial portion of the GIB distribution ranges in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

GIB was identified using mt DNA sequences of 323 bps fragment of hypervariable control region II and 399 bps fragment of cytochrome b gene. Polymorphic microsatellites (n=10) were used further to assess genetic variation and examine patterns of genetic structure across the range of the GIB. We used population differentiation statistics and Bayesian analysis of population structure to analyse data using microsatellites.

Mitochondrial sequencing data showed only three haplotypes defined by three variable sites and no phylogeographic structure between populations. Microsatellites loci showed low levels of genetic diversity with alleles ranging from 2-8. Mean observed heterozygosity value was 0.31 (expected value 0.51). Microsatellite data showed presence of null alleles across some loci but this was not consistent over different sampling sites. Structure gave similar results to Tess i.e. providing evidence for two different clusters where Rajasthan population that was most diverse was clubbed with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh populations. Gujarat population formed a second cluster with some gene flow with Rajasthan. Presence of first generation migrants were detected using GENECLASS between Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh populations.

Conservation breeding is proposed as an conservation strategy, for GIB. The largest population, currently survives in Rajasthan which fortunately is also the most diverse encompassing the genetic composition of other smaller populations as well and is therefore ideal to source a founder population.

Keywords: Critically endangered, non-invasive, microsatellites, genetic diversity, conservation breeding.

Project Title : Conservation of the Great Indian BustardPrincipal Investigator(s) : Yadvendradev Jhala Researcher(s) : Sutirtha Dutta, Chittaranjan Dave (Project Scientists), Farah Istiaq, Bipin C.M. (Project Associate), Srinivas Yellapu (Project

Fellow) Funding Agency : CAMPA, Rajasthan Pollution Control Board, Na Geo, MBZ, USFWS, WII Grant in aid.Project Duration : 2012-2019

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Habitat use by Asian elephants in relation to cropping and crop raiding patterns in and around

Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand

-Rahul De

Habitat fragmentation, degradation and land use changes impact Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) populations resulting in animals straying out, raiding crops, causing human casualties leading to retaliatory killing of elephants. This study is undertaken with the objective of understanding the dynamics of habitat use by elephants with respect to cropping and crop raiding patterns in the study area.

The study was carried out in Rajaji Tiger Reserve (820 km2), Uttarakhand, India, lying at the foot of the Shivalik hills. This is also the western limit of the Asian elephant distribution.

A ‘detection-non-detection’ survey of fresh elephant signs was carried out during June, 2016 under an occupancy survey design. The study area was divided into 61 grid cells (sites) of 16 square kilometers each, of which 55 grids (90.1%) were surveyed. Forest trails of six kilometers (six spatial replicates of one kilometer each; 274 kilometers in total) were walked per site having 100 percent elephant habitat, while for sites with less habitat coverage, number of replicates were scaled and reduced accordingly. Data for site and survey co-variates were collected from one habitat plot per replicate. Intensity of habitat use (psi) was estimated using a statistical model that explicitly addressed variable detectability across space and spatially dependent non-closure of occupancy across sampling replicates.

Fresh elephant signs were detected in 47.2% of the sites. It was observed that the combined effect of preferred food plant (Mallotus philippensis), distance from crop field boundary, and forest cover influenced habitat use by elephants. Sites adjacent to the crop fields (n=13) were more intensely used (mean psi=0.84) compared to the other grid cells at the Reserve boundary (mean psi=0.44) or inside the forest (mean psi=0.75). The sites at the vicinity of frequently raided crop fields along southern boundary had a mean psi value of 0.82.

The study revealed the areas adjacent to crop fields (23.6% of total sites) were intensively used by elephants and is concurrent to our previous findings regarding spatial patterns of cropping and crop-raiding. Mitigation of human-elephant conflict thus needs to take habitat use into account for developing site specific courses of actions.

Keywords: Elephas maximus, habitat use, occupancy, human-elephant conflict

Project Title : Patterns of spatial and temporal habitat occupancy in relation to crop raiding behaviour and genetic variation of free-ranging Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in north-west India using non-invasive genetic sampling

Principal Investigator(s) : Parag Nigam, S.P. Goyal, Qamar Qureshi and A.C. WilliamsResearcher(s) : Rahul De (University Grants Commision - Junior Research Fellow)Funding Agency : Project Elephant, MoEFCC, Govt. of India, WWF-Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy, University Grants Commission,

Operation Eye of the Tiger, India Project Duration : 2012-2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Himalayan Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change

-Arun Kumar

Climate change has become a major driver of ecological patterns and processes and evidence suggests that responses of species to impacts of climate change are inter-alia manifested in changes in phenology, earlier onset of spring, migration, and even extinction. WII being a Task Force under the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) will be working on the development of strategies to mitigate climate change effects on wildlife and habitats in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).

To assess the present status of species diversity, distribution and abundance and to forecast their vulnerability due to changing climate.

Bhagirathi basin is the primary study area to test and standardize the methodology.

The baseline field data is being collected based on grid sampling across the valley covering the elevational gradient from 500m to 5000m. Secondary information has been collected for all the thematic groups. Preliminary analysis of species distribution and inventory preparation has been carried out alongside with the identification of landscape drivers including climate and anthropogenic stressors.

Over 4500 literatures have been compiled into a database on fauna and micro-flora of IHR. The number of publications showed substantial rise in the last two decades and there is still a prevailing knowledge gap in understanding the climate change impacts on all the taxa. A total of 82 lichens, 8 nematode families, 65 odonids, 72 butterflies, 11 fishes, 18 reptiles and 12 amphibians, 9 Galliformes and 34 mammal species have been recorded so far. Twelve permanent plots have been established along the elevational gradient to aid in long term monitoring. To obtain the fine scale temperature and humidity records, data loggers has been deployed in the study area. A total of 33 villages have been selected for detailed questionnaire survey to document the disparities in the ecosystem services and the human wildlife conflict that occur as a result of changing climate. A 17 model ensemble was used to project changes in temperature and precipitation for future periods with respect to the baseline and for two scenarios RCP45 and RCP85. Spatial regression modelling was used to identify the climatic and anthropogenic drivers behind changes in forest cover in the landscape

From the collated field data and secondary data including remote sensing imageries, Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) will be generated for key species in the Bhagirathi basin. Future climatic projections will be prepared and be used to study the changes in the habitat and the landscapes.

Keywords: Bhagirathi basin, climate change, long term monitoring, landscape driver analysis, climate projection, visualization.

Project Title : Assessment and Monitoring of Climate Change Effects on Wildlife Species and Ecosystems for Developing Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies in the Indian Himalayan Region

Principal Investigator(s) : V.B. Mathur, S. Sathyakumar 11 Co-PI(s)Researcher(s) : Project Scientist (3), Project Associate (3), Project Fellow (7), H-JRF (5), Project Assistant (3) Funding Agency : Department of Science and TechnologyProject Duration : 2014-2019

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project (BCRLIP): An Overview

-BCRLIP Team

The BCRLIP aims to develop new strategies for conservation of biodiversity at a landscape level by integrating biodiversity considerations and participatory interventions for successful conservation and livelihood improvement. Askot is one of the four landscapes where the project is implemented and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is carrying out studies to generate baseline information on floral, faunal and social aspects. The objective is to generate monitoring protocols for key indicator species among various taxa which would ultimately be translated in a spatial domain so as to develop a dynamic decision support system.

The Askot Conservation Landscape in the eastern Kumaon region of the Western Himalaya in Uttarakhand, spreads over an area of 4463 km2 within an altitudinal range of 600m to 7000m. The physiographical diversity of the landscape makes it a biodiversity hotspot with a distinct socio-cultural heritage.

Following an extensive floral, faunal and social survey in the largest valley - Gori valley (42% of the region), four pilot sites were selected in two valleys representing all the biogeographical elements of the landscape. To assess the structure and composition of forest communities, a stratified sampling along the elevational gradient based on vegetation types was conducted. To assess mammalian status, gradient directed transects (gradsect), vantage point counts and camera trapping exercise was done. For avifauna a preliminary survey was conducted to identify key indicator species for long term monitoring. Using standard fishing methods, 21 second and third order streams were sampled for fishes in 1 km reach wherein Riparian Vegetation Index (RVI) and ecological threat index were used to generate scores for each stream. Additionally, using a structured mixed questionnaire schedule, 680 interviews were conducted in 50 Van Panchayats in an intensive socio economic survey to assess the socio-economic status and natural resource dependencies of communities. Along with it crop and livestock loss by wildlife was estimated in juxtaposition to loss of the same to diseases and environmental factors.

A total of 18 forest communities have been identified overall in the landscape with Oak species, Ougeinia oojeinensis, Castanopsis tribuloides, Litsea monopetala being the prominent ones of conservation importance. 12 forest communities were identified in Gori and 14 in Darma valley with a total of 580 species. Species richness was more in Banj oak and Kharsu oak mixed forests in Gori and Darma valleys respectively. Potential distribution and Habitat suitability maps of 11 mammal species were generated. 18 species of mammals were photo captured including a female tiger, which is the highest elevation record of tiger presence in India. Intensity of space use and temporal activity patterns of 5 species were estimated. 11 Galliformes species were selected as potential indicators along different elevational gradients for habitat quality assessment. Twelvefishes belonging to two orders, three families and nine genera and status of streams were identified. Schizothorax richardsonii was commonly found in all streams. On the basis of indicator species criteria and disturbance matrix Schizothorax richardsonii and Naziritor chelynoides were identified as potential indicators of mostly anthropogenic disturbances in streams. Based on socio-economic assessment the Van Panchayats were classified into, three distinct socio-economic classes and dependency on fuelwood, fodder and other natural resources were estimated. More crop and livestock loss were found to be from environmental vulnerabilities and diseases than wildlife.

This information will be valuable in making informed decisions to synergize development and conservation goals along with monitoring changes.

Keywords: BCRLIP, Askot, flora, fauna, socio-economic.

Project Title : Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement ProjectPrincipal Investigator(s) : A.K. Bhardwaj, Aseem Shrivastava, V.P. Uniyal, S.A. Hussain, Ruchi Badola, B.S. Adhikari, J.A. Johnson, Bilal Habib, R.

Suresh Kumar, Gautam Talukdar Researcher(s) : Soni Bisht, Vandana Rajput, Ankita Bhattacharya, Amrita Laha (Project Assistants)Funding Agency : World Bank Project Duration : 2012-2018

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

UNESCO Category 2 Centre (Asia-Pacific) and Its Role

-Jyoti Negi

UNESCO Category 2 Centre on World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific region at WII C2C is the first centre globally to be established dealing with World Natural Heritage. This is an unprecedented step towards protection, conservation and identification of potential sites with outstanding universal values across the 50 countries in Asia -Pacific region to safeguard their future. The overall objective of the C2C is to focus on natural heritage conservation issues with the aim to contribute to the strengthening of capacities in the management of Natural World Heritage in the region and contribute to achieving a more balanced representation of properties from Asia and the Pacific on the World Heritage List. It also aims to raise awareness among the general public and the youth, in particular, of the importance of Natural World Heritage and the need to protect it, and foster international cooperation on Natural World Heritage initiatives. The Centre's mission is to strengthen implementation of World Heritage Convention in the region by building the capacities of all those professionals and bodies involved with world natural heritage site inscription, protection, conservation and management in the region, through training, research, dissemination of information and network building. The operationalizing of UNESCO C2C at WII would enable India to establish its leadership in the entire Asia-Pacific Region comprising 50 countries in matters relating to identification, management and monitoring of natural world heritage and to build capacity of a range of professionals and stakeholders.

Keywords: Natural World Heritage, capacity building, UNESCO

Project Title : UNESCO Category 2 Centre on World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific Region Principal Investigator(s) : V.B Mathur, Sonali Ghosh, Manoj Nair, Malvika OnialResearcher(s) : Jyoti Negi, Vivek Sarkar, Anukul NathFunding Agency : Project Duration :

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Wildlife Forensics and Conservation Genetics (WFCG) Cell - An update

- Vipin

The mandates of WFCG Cell are research and development in wildlife forensics and conservation genetics, providing technical support and training to enforcement agencies and to provide services in resolving wildlife crime cases from across the India.

The Institute has received 3,261 forensic cases of which 68% have been resolved using morphological and molecular approaches. Annually the WFCG Cell conducts training for IFS, Customs and SFS officials, and for international agencies through specially designed courses in wildlife forensics and law enforcement. Protocols and manuals for identification of species in illegal wildlife trade are prepared for several Indian species and disseminated to various agencies and laboratories. Continued research for species identity based on morphological and molecular features is ongoing. WFCG Cell is also establishing/strengthening the law enforcement protocols in neighboring countries and recently, the Cell has conducted two hands-on-training courses for scientific officer from Bangladesh and for five scientificofficers from Nepal for dealing the wildlife offence cases in their countries.

Molecular approaches addressing questions on phylogeography, phylogeny, and population genetics have resulted in major findings leading to critical conservation actions. An initial screening of Asiatic lions using 22 microsatellite loci revealed high level of polymorphism and heterozygosity indicating that they might not be as genetically depauperate as previously thought. Recent genetic analysis of three subspecies of swamp deer exhibited unambiguous variation and justified its phylogenetic position.Now WFCG Cell is undertaking further research on connectivity of swamp deer populations in the states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.Genetic analysis of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) samples collected from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh populations provided evidence for two different clusters.The Rajasthan population was most diverse and was clubbed with Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh populations. The Gujarat population was shown as second cluster with some gene flow with Rajasthan.These studies emphasize the need to prioritize conservation focus at subpopulation levels. In another research,major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I gene was evaluated in tiger populations of Ranthambore (RTR),Bandhavgarh (BTR) and Bandipur (BdTR). Comparable MHC classI variability was observed in these populations which indicated that these populations have equal level of immunological fitness. WFCG Cell is also addressing the metapopulation dynamics of tigers in the Terai-Arc landscape, India where the key focus is on understanding connectivity among the tiger landscapes in this region.

Keywords: Morphometry, molecular species identification, wildlife crime, training.

Project Title : Wildlife Forensics and Conservation Genetics (WFCGC) CellPrincipal Investigator(s) : Y.V. Jhala, S.K. Gupta, Samrat Mondol, S. P. Goyal (ES)Researcher(s) : C. P Sharma (Senior Technical Officer), A. Madhanraj (Lab Technician), Vipin (Research Associate), Vishnupriya K. (Senior

Research Biologist), Ved Kumar (Forensic Researcher), Ajit Kumar (Forensic Researcher), Bhim Singh (Forensic Researcher)

Funding Agency : Grant in aid (Wildlife Institute of India)Project Duration : WII ongoing activity

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Tiger Cell- A conservation initiative of NTCA and WII

-Ridhima Solanki

Understanding the ‘pulse’ of a population is imperative for decision making and prioritizing resource allocations in any conservation management program. In the absence of proper scientific evidence, conservation has to often yield to mounting pressures of unplanned developments. To address this, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in collaboration with the State Forest Departments, NGO's, and the Wildlife Institute of India conducts a National assessment for the tigers, predators, prey and their habitats every four years using a refined methodology approved by the Tiger Task Force. The entire process, including protocols for data generation and subsequent analyses, besides generating four yearly status reports, needed further institutionalization. Moreover, implementation of MSTrIPES and intensive monitoring of tiger source populations in the tiger reserves needed a technical entity to assist NTCA in the design, analysis, interpretation for policy formulation and subsequent data archiving. The role of the National Tiger Database (camera trapped tiger photographs) maintained at WII for combating tiger related crimes and the use of spatial database for policy formulations and management interventions is crucial.

With this background, the NTCA and WII established a Tiger Cell in April 2016. The mandate of this cell is to assist the NTCA in achieving the goal of tiger conservation through a holistic approach based on science. Apart from periodical ecological monitoring of the tiger reserves, the cell is also required to i) impart training as and when required for monitoring; ii) strengthening the forensic capabilities so as to support NTCA in controlling illegal tiger trade and, iii) design and conduct applied research to address specific objectives required for policy and conservation management of tiger reserves.

Since its inception, the cell has hitherto evaluated and communicated its recommendations to the NTCA on fifteen developmental projects from various parts of the country. Tiger and leopard distribution maps have been prepared based on the information generated from countrywide phase I, II and III data. A national level training workshop on MSTrIPES Phase II for the Western Ghats landscape was also organized in Bandipur between August 29 and September 02, 2016 under the ambit of the Cell wherein an android application and a new desktop version of the program were launched.

In future, Tiger Cell envisages to adopt a multi-pronged approach which includes conservation research, technology aided management support, training and capacity building, monitoring of tiger populations and habitats, and reconciling development with effective tiger conservation objectives in priority habitats.

Keywords: Tiger Cell, capacity building, monitoring, habitats, conservation.

Project Title : Tiger Cell Principal Investigator(s) : Y.V. Jhala Researcher(s) : Kaushik Banerjee, Vishnupriya Kolipakkam, Ujjwal Kumar, Swati Saini, Ridhima SolankiFunding Agency : National Tiger Conservation AuthorityProject Duration : 2016-2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN): A UNDP-GOI-WII Project

-WII BIOFIN Team

How much money is being spent on conserving India’s biodiversity? Is it enough? Do we need more funding? Or do we need better utilization of the funds already committed for biodiversity conservation in the country? Such questions can be answered only if we have a precise estimate of the amounts being currently spent on conserving biodiversity in India.

Biodiversity funding involves various stakeholders in country – the Government programs being run by Ministries at the Central and State levels, the Corporate sector, the International organizations, the NGO sector etc. To understand the quantum of funds available for biodiversity conservation and to ascertain the funding gap and then to work out a resource mobilization strategy, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in the collaboration with UNDP has piloted the BIOFIN project in India in 2015.

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) have been chosen as technical partners for running the pilot in the States of Uttarakhand and Maharashtra respectively. As a first step, 77 Schemes of 23 Ministries of the Government of India were identified as having relevance to biodiversity conservation. The expenditure figures of these central ministry schemes givea generic idea of the biodiversity spending at the government level. However, a need was felt for the development of‘multiplier’for a more accurate estimate of biodiversity expenditure as not the entire schemebudgetgoes towards biodiversity conservation. A concept of ‘coefficient/multiplier’ was developed to assign a specific percentage to the scheme ranging from 0.1% to 75 (100)% depending on its activity details in the concerned ministry’sfinancial document or Demands for Grants (DFG).

Funds flow from the Centre through various channels, and often these channels overlap or run parallel with international funding or state sponsored funding - increasing the risk of ‘double counting’. To deal with this issue, an approach involving "Tagging and Tracking" has been adopted wherein each scheme is tagged through its various financial codes. Tracking the funds of each scheme from its journey at the Centre to the State and then on to various local bodies has helped in avoiding ‘double counting’ of resources.

Along with the assessment of funding, a communication strategy is also under development for the various financial stakeholders of biodiversity in the country. Various activities of the BIOFIN project have been showcased in the e-poster.

Keywords: BIOFIN, finance, natural resources, management.

Project Title : Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) under Natural Resource ManagementPrincipal Investigator(s) : V.B. Mathur, Malvika Onial, C. Ramesh

Researcher(s) : Nasim Ahmad Ansari (Project Associate-NRM), Sharmistha Singh (Project Associate- Communications), Nupur Hembrome (Project Assistant), Diksha Barthwal (Project Assistant), Omesh Kumar (Project Assistant)

Funding Agency : United Nations Development Programme - IndiaProject Duration : 3 Years (Initial contract for one year)

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Large Carnivores in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

-Anindita Bidisha Chatterjee

Sympatric carnivores co-exist with each other based on segregation in spatial and temporal distribution. In this study we aim to look at the spatio-temporal dynamics between three large sympatric carnivores: tiger, leopard and dhole in the study area. This will in turn aid us in identifying areas mostly occupied by the carnivores, their activity peaks and take a first step towards studying interspecies interaction.

Pench Tiger Reserve (410 km2) which comprises of Pench National Park (292 km2) and Pench Mowgli Sanctuary (118 km2)

Camera-trap based mark-recapture was used to estimate the density of tigers and leopards. Trapping area comprised of 410 km2 (sampling unit = 4 km2 grids, n=82), with a total effort of 9130 trap nights. Densities were estimated using Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture (SECR) framework. Captures per 100 trap night for all three species were calculated based on the camera trapped photographs. The date and time of the same were used to examine the activity peaks of these carnivores.

The density of tigers was calculated at 7.37+ 1.17 / 100 km2 and that of leopards was estimated at 6.96 + 1.23 / 100 km2. The captures of dholes, tiger and leopards were spatially overlapping with few segregated peak of capture for these sympatric carnivores. Tigers showed a typical crepuscular activity. Leopards were mostly active in the early morning hours and late evening period and dholes were mostly diurnal in nature. There was significant overlap between temporal activities of the study species viz. 87% between tigers and leopards, 73% between leopards and dholes and 63% between tigers and dholes.

The density of tigers and leopards have remained constant over the past few years. Dholes occur in low abundance naturally in the study area. There is significant overlap between temporal activities of these species. Although the number of photo-captures for these three species varied in different camera traps, overlap was significant when seen from a spatial scale.

Keywords: Sympatric large carnivores, density, abundance, distribution pattern, temporal activity pattern.

Project Title : Ecology of Tigers in Pench Tiger Rerseve, Madhya Pradesh, Phase – IIPrincipal Investigator(s) : Qamar Qureshi, Y.V. Jhala, K. Sankar, Member Secretary NTCA, Field Director PTR, MP Researcher(s) : Anindita Bidisha Chatterjee (Junior Research Fellow) Funding Agency : Grant-in-aid Project Duration : 2013-2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

“The deer and the tiger”- a case study in Sundarban

-Manjari Roy

This study set out to quantify and monitor chital population over time as it is the principal prey of the tiger in Sundarban. Alongside we also modelled tiger abundance with covariates using a double sampling approach to understand the relationship between density and signs.

Boat transects were conducted in West range for estimation of prey density for 5 years (2011- 2016). World Wide Fund for Nature-India and Wildlife Institute of India camera trapped almost entire Indian Sundarban while Bangladesh Forest Department conducted camera trapping in three blocks representative of the Bangladesh Sundarban. Phase I data was collected by both West Bengal as well as Bangladesh Forest Department.

We recorded perpendicular distance to animals encountered along with information on cluster size, mangrove type, type of tide and slope of bank during the transect. For modelling the tiger abundance with signs, we extracted tiger density and signage to 100 sq km grids and after using exploratory data analyses, covariates that showed a reasonably good relationship were used in a multiple regression framework.

Since sample sizes were low, we obtained a pooled estimate of 5 years which was 4.8 (SE 1.09). Tiger density was found to have a positive relation with tiger sign intensity (r = 0.464; P = 0.008); and encounter rate of prey (r = 0.447, P = 0.012), while it had a negative relationship with encounter rate of human disturbance (r = -0.554, P = 0.0012).

This is the first attempt to quantify and monitor prey abundance in Sundarbans using a robust standardised technique. However, our findings need to be further augmented by usage of drones and collaring of prey to understand their distribution and preference. We also need to consider sign decay and deposition to account for old signs which have an additive effect on index calibration.

Key words: Prey, transect, abundance, covariate, density.

Project Title : Population estimation and ecology of the tiger in Sundarban Tiger ReservePrincipal Investigator(s) : Y. V. Jhala, Qamar Qureshi Researcher(s) : Manjari Roy (Senior Research Fellow)Funding Agency : National Tiger Conservation AuthorityProject Duration : 2009-2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Density and activity pattern of Leopard and its prey in Kalesar National Park (KNP) and Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS),

Haryana, India

-Shaldayya Kuruganti

Effective conservation of carnivores requires reliable estimates of population density for prioritizing investments and assessing the effectiveness of conservation interventions. For proper management of a wildlife reserve, it is essential to estimate density and biomass of herbivores that in turn determine the density of carnivores. Hence this study was conducted to estimate the density of common leopard and density of ungulates in Kalesar National Park and Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary. Activity pattern of leopard and its prey species was also studied. KNP and KWLS form the westernmost tip of the Terai Arc landscape with Shivalik mountain range cutting across the area.

We used camera traps and spatially explicit capture–recapture analysis in R (3.3.1) and QGIS to provide reliable abundance and density estimates for the common leopard. We have used 67 camera trap stations for 66 days of camera trapping. These provided a total of 3897 camera-trap days, which photo-captured 31 individually identified common leopards. Density estimates using maximum likelihood spatially explicit capture–recapture were 31 ± SE 5.0 per 100 km2. We used distance sampling to estimate the population density of wild prey species. Sambar is the abundant prey species (19 individuals/km2), followed by chital (13 individuals/km2), rhesus macaque (10.6 individuals/km2), peafowl (9.4 individuals/km2). When the density figures were multiplied by the average weight of each prey species, biomass of 4109.3kg/km2 was obtained. Highest temporal activity overlap of leopard is found to be associated with sambar (Dhat1 = 0.84), followed by wild boar, nilgai, chital, barking deer and domestic buffalo being the least (Dhat1=0.28). The mean activity time of leopard in KNP was found to be 12:28 hrs and 01:13 hrs for KWLS.

The study has established a baseline for the long-term monitoring programme for large carnivores and its prey in Kalesar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. The 98/Km2 intensive study area was found to have moderate prey species density.

Keywords: Kalesar, leopard, Haryana, SECR.

Project Title : Long-term monitoring of leopard and its prey species in Kalesar National Park (KNP) and Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS), Haryana, India.

Principal Investigator(s) : Bilal Habib, Bivash Pandav, Gautam Talukdar, Parag Nigam, Salvador Lyngdoh.Researcher(s) : Shaldayya Kuruganti Funding Agency : Haryana Forest Department Project Duration : 2016 - 2020

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Changing numbers and shifting spaces: Tiger population in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra

-Madhura Davate

Precise population estimate and space use pattern are crucial information for population survival. Camera trapping helps to measure these factors for individually identifiable species like tiger. Current study aimed to assess the change in population size and space use by tigers.

The study was carried out in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in eastern Maharashtra. The reserve is mainly a tropical dry deciduous forest dominated by Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) and Teak (Tectona grandis) with moderately undulating terrain spreading across 1700 sq km.

A sampling grid of 1.42 × 1.42 sq km was followed to place the camera traps in core and buffer area of the reserve. Camera traps were deployed following the sampling grid at total 397 locations with one pair in each grid. Camera trapping was conducted in four consecutive blocks with 22-24 operational days per block. Individual capture histories were prepared for each unique tiger. Minimum space use polygons were delineated for the individual tigers which were captured at more than two camera trap locations. These polygons also reflect minimum home range area of the individual tigers. Population estimates and average home ranges calculated from camera traps were compared between three years ofcamera trapping surveys.

Number of unique individuals captured for the year 2014, 2015 and 2016 were 52, 64 and 65, respectively. Population of the females increased consecutively. Turnover rates for year 2014-2015 for females and males are 23.19 and 13.63, respectively while it changed to 20.51 and 33.33 in the year 2015-2016.

The average home range calculated from camera trapping survey in 2015 was 49.47 sq km for males and 20.58 sq km for females, while it reduced to 34.83 sq km for males and 10.54 km for females in 2016.

Tadoba tiger population showed a steady increase in three years successively. High number of new entrant and high turnover rate indicates the connectivity of Tadoba population with adjoining areas. Adult male individuals in the population showed shift in home range area after injury during territorial fights and new adult males were seen filling up the voids. Female home range areas showed very less overlap. A gradual increase in the total area of home range was observed for breeding females with respect to growth of their cubs.

Keywords: Camera trap, space use, home range, population, turnover.

Project Title : Long term monitoring of tigers, co-predators and prey species in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve and adjoining landscapes, Maharashtra, India.

Principal Investigator(s) : Bilal Habib, Parag Nigam, V.K. Sinha, G.P. GaradResearcher(s) : Madhura Prakash Davate , Nilanjan Chatterjee , Anil Dashahre (Junior Research Fellows) Funding Agency : National Tiger Conservation Authority and Maharashtra Forest DepartmentProject Duration : 2013-2018

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Effect of Human use, season and habitat on ungulate densities in Kanha Tiger Reserve

-Neha Awasthi

Density of large carnivores is primarily dictated by the density of their prey. Therefore, optimal management of ungulates populations permit harbouring of viable large carnivore populations within protected areas. Ungulate density is likely to respond to regimes of protection and to vegetation types. This has generated the need among conservation practitioners to obtain strata specific seasonal species densities for habitat management. Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) of 2074 km2 area comprises of two distinct management strata: The core (940 km2), devoid of human settlements and buffer (1134 km2) which is a multiple use area. In general, four habitat strata, grassland, sal forest, bamboo-mixed forest and miscellaneous forest are present in the reserve. Stratified sampling approach was used to access a) impact of human use and b) effect of habitat and season on ungulate densities. Since 2013 to 2016, ungulates were surveyed in winter and summer of each year with an effort of 1200 km walk in 200 spatial transects distributed throughout Kanha Tiger Reserve. We used a single detection function for each species within each habitat stratum for each season for estimating species specific seasonal density, using program DISTANCE. Our key results state that the core area had 4.8 times higher wild ungulate biomass compared with the buffer zone, highlighting the importance of undisturbed area. Chital was found to be most abundant, having a density of 30.1(SE 4.34)/km2 and contributing 33% of the biomass with a habitat preference for grassland. Unlike other ungulates, Gaur being mega herbivore, showed a major seasonal shift in density from bamboo-mixed and sal forest in summer to miscellaneous forest in winter. Maximum diversity and ungulate biomass were supported by grassland followed by bamboo-mixed habitat. Our study stresses the importance of inviolate core areas for achieving high wild ungulate densities and for maintaining populations of endangered and rare species. Grasslands accounts for 9% of the core area of KTR maintained in arrested stage of succession, therefore enhancing this habitat would maintain ungulate diversity, density and cater to the needs of only surviving population of the endangered barasingha and grassland specialist the blackbuck. We show the relevance of different habitat types for differential seasonal use by ungulates and attempt to interpret this in the context of nutrition and cover needs by wild ungulates. Management for an optimal habitat mosaic that maintains ungulate diversity and maximizes ungulate biomass is recommended.

Keywords: Distance sampling, habitat management, ungulate biomass

Project Title : Intensive population monitoring and study of tiger dispersal in Kanha Tiger Reserve (Phase IV) Principal Investigator(s) : Dr Y.V Jhala and shri Qamar QureshiResearcher(s) : Neha Awasthi -Senior Research FellowFunding Agency : NTCAProject Duration : 2009- 2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Application of Flight Initiation Distance of waterbirds for delineating buffer zone around wetlands

-Neeraj Mahar

In India, buffer zones around protected areas and ecologically sensitive areas are designed for terrestrial habitats to reduce the impact of anthropogenic activities. Such a concept, though prevalent for wetlands and waterbird habitats, has hardly succeeded in keeping the wetlands free from disturbance. Even the well-managed wetlands in India lack a scientific approach in this regard. Here, we propose a scientific approach to delineate effective buffers around wetlands based on Flight Initiation Distances (FIDs) of waterbirds.

We studied the escape distance behavior of waterbirds in the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh and Gharana Wetland Conservation Reserve, Jammu. Changthang is a Trans-Himalayan protected area with an area of ~4000 sq. km which harbors 22 major wetlands. We measured FIDs of 12 migratory waterbird species in the 13 selected wetlands across the sanctuary. FIDs of eight species were measured in Gharana wetland near Indo-Pak border.

The wetlands were visited on varying days of the week and at varying times of the day between 7:00 and 19:00 hr. by two observers. The first observer walked towards the target bird/s with constant speed (0.5–1.0 m/s), and the second observer recorded the bird activity till the bird fled from its location. Initial distance and FID were measured using a range finder.

Our study reveals that the mean FIDs in the wetlands of Changthang varied between 27.5 – 228.78 m (n=202 approaches), the minimum value for Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus) and maximum for Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus). At Gharana, FIDs varied between 24.67- 66 m (n=46 approaches), minimum FID was measured for Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) and maximum for Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). Globally several studies have recommended buffer zone width to be thrice the FID of the least tolerant species present in the wetland. Variations in FIDs among the sites suggest that it is a site-specific trait; therefore, such studies need to be replicated in the other wetlands.

FID should be considered as a necessary tool for wetland management and wildlife managers should be introduced to this approach for carving out appropriate buffer zones around wetlands.

Keywords: Optimal Escape Theory, predation risk, disturbance, tourism, Trans Himalaya.

Project Title

: Distribution pattern, habitat use and movement of breeding waterbirds with respect to Bar Headed Geese and Black Necked Crane in Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary and Gharana Wetland Conservation Reserve, Jammu and Kashmir

Principal Investigator(s) : S.A. Hussain, Bilal Habib, Gopi G.V., WII and Jigmet Takpa, Intesar Suhail J&K Wildlife Department Researcher(s) : Neeraj Mahar (SRF) Funding Agency : Department of Wildlife Protection, Govt. of Jammu & KashmirProject Duration : 2012- 2017

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Enhancing capacity of forest sector in the integrated and sustainable management of Coastal and

Marine biodiversity in India

-D. Adhavan

India and Germany have joined hands to work towards the conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity and the improvement of the livelihoods of the local population concerned under the new project “Conservation and Sustainable Management of existing and potential Coastal and Marine Protected Areas” (CSM-CMPA). The project is jointly implemented by MoEFCC, Government of India, and GIZ GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The overall objective of the project is, “Improved conservation and management of biodiversity in selected existing and potential Coastal and Marine Protected Areas (CMPA) supports improvements in biodiversity and local livelihoods”. India has a vast coastline of 7,517 km, with an Economic Exclusive Zone of 2.02 million sq. km.Despite the tremendous ecological and economic importance and the existence of a policy and regulatory framework, India’s coastal and marine biodiversity are under threat. Marine protected areas network in India has been used as a tool to manage natural marine resources for biodiversity conservation and for the well-being of people dependent on. However, weak participatory approaches possibly due to lack of capacity was found to be obstacle in the integrated management of MPAs in India, therefore, this project has been initiated As part of capacity building programme, one month special certificate courses have been conducted for frontline staff of Forest Sector especially Range Forests Officers and the Forest Guards. They were also trained for one month along with the certification of SCUBA diving. Similarly, IFS officers working in coastal and maritime States/PAs were trained for one week along with an introduction to SCUBA diving. So far, two courses for IFS officers, two Special certificate courses for Range Forest Officers and one training workshop on “Enhancing Capacity for Effective Management of Coastal and Marine World Heritage Sites of the Asia-Pacific Region” have been conducted. So far, a total of 96 officers have been trained through these courses. Further, WII has also been supporting the CMPA project as a knowledge partner in the capacity development measures for IFS probationers (with IGNFA), media students and professionals and as well officials from fisheries, irrigation, and other key stakeholders. Training of Trainers (ToT), eLearning and management effectiveness workshops are organized by the project for the master trainers from WII, IGNFA and other National level forest, fisheries and media institutes. As a next step, WII will organize ToT the State level institutions working for the conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity, and also for the young research professionals. WII and GIZ worked together and developed training modules and implemented it for the officers of the coastal states which will strengthen the efforts of the Indo-German project in the project sites.

Keywords: Capacity, forest sector, coastal, marine, biodiversity.

Project Title : Strengthening Capacity for Sustainable and participatory Management of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas of IndiaPrincipal Investigator(s) : K. Sivakumar, J. A. Johnson, G. V. Gopi, A. K. BhardwajResearcher(s) : D. Adhavan ( Project Scientist)Funding Agency : GIZ Project Duration : 2014-2017

30th Annual Research Seminar, 2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Maternal lineage of whale shark (Rhincodon typus) from Gujarat coast, India in relation to other world populations

-Bheem Dutt Joshi

Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is one of the largest aquatic fish and distributed in all tropical and warm temperate seas except the Mediterranean and is of high conservation priority because of several threats reported for this species. The present study aim is to generate DNA profile of a population of the Indo-Pacific Whale shark along Gujarat coast using a mitochondrial genome. Present data sets will help to identify regional genetic diversity and its relationship with other extant populations. The study is carried out in Gujarat coastal area, India

Total 18 samples in which 16 samples were of Whale and two samples of Bryde's whale were collected. DNA was extracted using the commercially available kit (Qiagen, Germany). Total three sets (one cytochrome b (401bp) and two CR (1250bp) regions) were used. Five new primer sets were also designed of a smaller fragment of 250bp for use with degraded samples. PCR was performed following Verma and Singh, 2003 for Cyt b and Castro et al., (2007) for CR. Amplified samples of CR gene were performed for the DNA sequencing.

DNA from all 18 samples were extracted successfully. Based on the gel image, DNA quality was categorised on a scale of 0-3 as good (3), moderate (2), low (1) and no (0) visible DNA. Both the sets of CR regions successfully amplified (set 1 in 16 samples and set 2 in 18 samples). After cleaning of the sequences, 1090 bp long sequences were used for the analysis (n=11). Newly designed primer sets also successfully optimised. Among the 11 samples analysed out of 18, total six new haplotypes were observed which were unique (H46 to H 51) and were not reported earlier. Of these samples, number of samples in each haplotype were H50 (3)> H51 (2) > H-46, 47, 48, 49, (1 in each). The median-joining (MJ) network spanned with 51 haplotypes and connected with many median vectors. Phylogenetic tree splits in two major clades, no zone wise haplotype clustering, was found, and mixed arrangement of these haplotypes occurred.

Among the 11 samples, total six haplotypes were observed, and all were unique and only one sample (5321) matched with Haplotype 44 of Castro et al., 2007 that was sampled from Western Indian Sea. MJ network spanned with 51 haplotypes with many of median vectors, which shows that there are many missing haplotypes that were not sampled from distribution range.

Keywords: Mitochondrial DNA, control region, phylogenetic

Project Title : Phylogeography and population structure of Whale shark (Rhincodon typus, Smith, 1828) in Gujarat coast in IndiaPrincipal Investigator(s) : S.P. Goyal, K. Sivakumar , J.A. Johnson Researcher(s) : Bheem Dutt Joshi Funding Agency : Wildlife Trust of India, Noida, IndiaProject Duration : 2016-17

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Food habits of large herbivores in Kaziranga National Park, Assam

-Anita Devi

The successful management of sympatric large herbivores in a landscape requires knowledge on resource partitioning and overlap among them, as mammalian herbivore species coexist by partitioning the key niche dimensions of diet and habitat. This study aims to examine the diet composition of six large herbivore species, with varying body size, occurring sympatrically in Brahmaputra flood plains, Assam.

This study was carried out in Kaziranga National Park, Assam (428.71 km2).

The food habits of one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), wild buffalo (Bubalus arnee), swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii), hog deer (Axis porcinus) and sambar (Rusa unicolor) were examined through the micro-histological analysis of a total of 1975 faecal (both dung & pellet) samples collected during 2013-15. The forage availability was determined in terms of above-ground biomass via the harvest method wherein three replicates were clipped every month from 1 m x 1 m plots within ten enclosures of 10 m x 10 m. Forage preference and diet overlap was derived using Ivlev’s Electivity Index and Pianka’s Index, respectively.

The diet of large herbivores in Kaziranga comprised of 57-66 forage species in the dry season and 49-66 species in the wet season. Graminoids dominated the diet of all the species studied, except elephant and sambar. In both the dry and wet seasons, Saccharum spp. contributed the most to the diet of large bodied mammals such as elephant, rhinoceros, wild buffalo and sambar, whereas Hemarthria compressa contributed the most to the diet of hog deer. The diet of swamp deer was dominated by Saccharum spp. in the dry season and by H. compressa in the wet season. In the dry season, Oxalis corniculata was the most preferred forage species by all the studied species (IV 0.99) whereas, in the wet season, Echinochloa crus-galli was most preferred (IV 0.99). Results indicated a significant overlap in the diet of the six herbivores, in both the dry and wet seasons (Pianka’s index - 0.86 and 0.89).

In the wet season, grasses are more nutrient rich, thus, graminoid dominated the diet of all the studied species. Rhinoceros, elephant, wild buffalo and sambar feed more on tall grasses while swamp deer and hog deer feed more on short grasses.

Keywords: Diet composition, dietary overlaps, forage preference, mega-herbivores, forage availability

Project Title : Pattern of biomass production by wetlands and its use by wild ungulates in Kaziranga landscape Principal Investigator(s) : S.A. Hussain, Ruchi Badola, Gopi G.V.Researcher(s) : Anita Devi (Project Fellow), Monika Sharma (Junior Research Fellow)Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of IndiaProject Duration : 2013-2016

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30TH ANNUAL RESEARCH SEMINAR, 2016

Patterns of biomass production by the wet grasslands of Kaziranga National Park

-Monika Sharma

Altered hydrology in the floodplains may affect the availability of consumable plant biomass to large herbivores, causing a cascading effect on the ecosystem. Thus, this study aims to examine the above ground biomass (AGB) productivity of the seasonally flooded grasslands of the Brahmaputra floodplains.

The study was carried out in Kaziranga National Park (KNP), Assam, characterised by the alluvial deposits of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries.

The ‘Harvest Method’ was used to estimate the AGB production for a period of two years. Fifteen enclosures, 10 m x 10 m in dimension, were constructed, out of which nine were in areas that remain inundated for less than 6 months and are characterized by tall grass communities (TG) and six in areas that remain inundated for more than 6 months and are characterized by short grass communities (SG). To quantify the AGB production, the grassland vegetation close to the soil surface was harvested monthly from the enclosures in 1 m x 1 m quadrates in triplicates. The productivity assessment is based on 121 plant species recorded from these enclosures.

The overall mean biomass productivity was 8421.29 ± 824.01 g m-2 (N=18). In 2014, the mean annual productivity was 6658.08 ± 962.70 g m-2 and, in 2015, it was 10184.5 ± 1087.07 g m-2. The overall productivity varied significantly among the two sampling years (t-test, p = 0.01). There was significant difference in AGB of TG, 5285.80 ± 682.09 g m-2, and SG, 3135.49 ± 489.72 g m-2 (p = 0.01). AGB productivity is directly related environmental factors such as rainfall, number of rainy days and temperature. Overall, highest productivity was observed in the month of July in TG and during May in SG. Among TGSaccharum spp. was the highest contributor to biomass followed by Alpinia nigra, Ipomea sp., Mimosa sp. and Cuphea procumbens. In SG, Hemarthria sp. contributed the most to the AGB productivity followed by Cynodon dactylon, Cyperus sp., Saccharum spp. and Lippia javanica.

The overall biomass productivity between the two study years varied significantly, which could be due to the synergistic effects of varied precipitation, temperature and flooding of the grasslands and, subsequent, nutrient enrichment. Further analysis on the role of these environmental variables may reflect factors affecting the productivity of this dynamic ecosystem.

Keywords: Biomass production, grasslands, floodplains, temperature, precipitation.

Project Title : Pattern of biomass production by wetlands and its use by wild ungulates in Kaziranga landscape Principal Investigator(s) : S.A. Hussain, Ruchi Badola and Gopi G.V.Researcher(s) : Monika Sharma (Junior Research Fellow), Anita Devi (Project Fellow)Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of IndiaProject Duration : 2013-2016

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