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Theses

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2016 - 20184
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Subject: Wildlife Management × End date: 2018 × Start date: 2016 × Type: Thesis ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Status and habitat preferences of White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis ) population of Wayand wildlife sanctuary, Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Sciences, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2018) Vishnu, M; KAU; Nameer, P O
    The research work entitled "Status and habitat preferences of White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) population of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala" was studied during August 2017 to April 2018. It was carried out in four study locations viz., Kurichiat, Muthanga, Sulthan Bathery and Tholpetty. The main objective of the study was to find out the status, nesting characteristics, feeding observations and interview of various stakeholders. Three species of vultures included in the family Accipitridae were reported from the current study in Wayanad WLS viz., Gyps bengalens is, Gyps indicus, and Sarcogyps calvus. Total of 4 active nesting trees were identified from two different colonies this year. All the 4 nest were present in Haldina cardifolia. Out of the 4 nests, 3 nests belongs to Gyps bengalensis located in Kazukankolli and 1 nest belongs to Sarcogyps calvus which was the 1st report of nesting of this species in the sanctuary located in Karamukku, Kurichiyad. Apart from this, 9 nests of the previous years on 6 different tree species were also studied. Other nesting tree species were Terminalia elliptica, Lagerstroemea microcarpa, Dalbergia latifolia, Stereospermum chelenoides and Tectona grandis. Thirty species of trees were identified belonging to 17 different families from the 44 circular plots surveyed in the nesting colony of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Most of the nesting are having height between 25 m - 35 m and girth more than 300 em. Mostly height of the nests are in between 23 m - 26 m of the nesting trees. IVI of the nesting trees are comparatively higher than the other tree species got from the plots. The vegetation parameters that influence the nesting habitat of vultures are the girth of the tree, height of the tree and the tree species diversity in the area. The camera trapping has been found to be a useful technique for the population estimation of the vultures at the vulture restaurants in Wayanad. The camera trap success rate of vultures observed in Kakkappadam is 34.09%. The high success rate is because it is a dumping ground of carcass. Carcass monitored was of Elephant, Sambar Deer and Spotted deer. The most preferred feeding hours by the vultures were 7-8 hours and 12-13. hours.From the survey conducted among the veterinarians and the medical shops it was found that the harmful NSAID's such as Ketoprofen are being used to treat livestock, which could be a problem for the long-term conservation of the vultures. The use of the veterinary diclofenac was nil at Wayanad District. However, some of the medical practitioners were found using the human diclofenac for treating livestock.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Taxonomic inventory and ecology of the bats of silent valley national park, Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Science, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2016) Aswathy Chandran, U B; KAU; Nameer, P O
    Status, distribution and habitat preference of small carnivores in Silent Valley National Park (SVNP) was studied during September 2015 to April 2016, using camera trap survey and day transects survey for the direct and indirect evidence. Seven species of small carnivores were recorded during the study. They are Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica, Brown Palm Civet Paradoxurus jerdoni, Stripe-necked Mongoose Herpestes vitticollis, Brown Mongoose Herpestes fuscus, Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis, and Asian Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinereus, and Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsii. 12 mammal species other than small carnivores were reported along with 7 species of birds and one species of reptile during this present study. Small Indian Civet is the most abundant small carnivore in SVNP followed by Brown Palm Civet, and Stripe-necked Mongoose. From the diversity indices, it is found that species diversity was high during rainy season compared to non-rainy season. The analysis of activity pattern of small carnivores of SVNP showed a significant difference in activity distribution of sympatric species. The Stripe- necked Mongoose has diurnal activity pattern where Brown Mongoose has a nocturnal activity pattern. Two species of viverrids, Small Indian Civet and Brown Palm Civet showed a nocturnal activity, but they have varying peak activity periods. Leopard Cat had a nocturnal activity pattern. Logistic regression analysis was done for predicting the presence of small carnivore species based on 20 habitat parameters. The predictive accuracy of the regression model for occurrence of Stripe-necked Mongoose and Leopard Cat were 100%, which of Brown Mongoose, Brown Palm Civet and Small Indian Civet was 97%, 80%, and 79% respectively. Differential preferences of the species for the studied habitat variables were examined using discriminant analysis. It is interesting to note that the small carnivores of Silent Valley shows niche overlapping.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Status, distribution and habitat preferences of small carnivores in Wayanad wildlife sanctuary, Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Science, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2017) Sreekumar, E R; KAU; Nameer, P O
    Status, distribution and habitat preference of small carnivores in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Wayanad WLS) was studied using camera traps during November 2016 to February 2017. The present work recorded 25 species of mammals during the study period that included 1932 camera trap days using 111camera trap stations. Out of that nine species were small carnivores belonging to four families (Mustelidae, Viverridae, Herpestidae and Felidae). This included Asian Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinereus, Brown Palm Civet Paradoxurus jerdoni, Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica, Indian Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardisii, Ruddy Mongoose Herpestes smithii, Stripe-necked Mongoose Herpestes vitticollis, Jungle Cat Felis chaus and Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis. The most common and abundant small carnivore in Wayanad WLS was Viverricula indica, followed by Herpestes vitticollis and Paradoxurus hermaphroditus. Among these Aonyx cinereus and Prionailurus bengalensis are rare species. The time activity pattern of small carnivores revealed that, all the viverrids were having exclusively nocturnal activity pattern while the Herpestes smithii and Herpestes vitticollis were showing diurnal activity pattern. An attempt was also made during the study to predict the occurrence of the small carnivores using 20 selected microhabitat variables by binary logistic regression analysis. The goodness of fit of the model well explained that the binary logistic regression is not suitable for predicting the occurrence of small carnivores using microhabitat variables studied. The present study also observed that selected microhabitat variables like canopy closure and tree density were negatively influencing the occurrence of Viverricula indica. However, the tree density was the only significant variable influencing the occurrence of Herpestes vitticollis. An attempt was also made to compare the small carnivore diversity in the natural habitat and the Senna spectabilis dominated landscape in Wayanad WLS. However, no significant difference in the small carnivore diversity was observed between these two habitats. Wayanad WLS supports one endemic species of small carnivore, the Paradoxurus jerdoni and one threatened species, the Aonyx cinereus. Therefore, the present study highlights the significance of the Wayanad WLS as a prime habitat for the conservation of the small carnivores.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Species diversity and community structure of reptiles of selected agroecosystems in Thrissur, Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Science, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2017) Abhirami, M Jayakumar; KAU; Nameer, P O
    Species diversity and community structure of reptiles of selected agroecosystems in Thrissur, Kerala was studied during January 2017 to May 2017. The agroecosystems chosen for the study were Coconut Plantation, Cashew Plantation, Rubber Plantation, Botanical Garden, Home garden and Wetland. Time-constrained visual encounter survey was the method used for the study, and a total effort of 360 man hours were spent in the field. The highest number of individuals were recorded from the Botanical Garden with 159 individuals of reptiles. While, the species richness was highest in the Coconut Plantation and Cashew Plantation with 11 species each. 18 species of reptiles belonging to six families were observed during the study. This include six species of geckos, four species of skinks, one agamid species and seven species of snakes. Bronze Grass Skink Eutropis macularia, was the most abundant species. More reptiles were recorded during night hours than morning hours. Correspondence analysis was deployed to compare the reptilian diversity between the habitats. Home garden and Wetland were found distinct in reptilian species composition from the rest of the agroecosystems. The effect of habitat variables on the presence of reptile species was analysed using canonical correspondence analysis. Litter cover, litter depth, canopy height, canopy cover, shrub cover and herb cover were found to influence the presence of the species Russell’s Kukri Snake Oligodon taeniolatus. Relative humidity was found to influence the presence of the reptiles such as Oriental Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor, Beddome’s Cat Snake Boiga beddomei, Termite Hill Gecko Hemidactylus triedrus, Spotted House Gecko Hemidactylus brookii, Common Wolf Snake Lycodon aulicus, Trinket Snake Coelognathus helena and Checkered Keelback Xenochrophis piscator. Maximum temperature was found to influence the presence of reptiles such as Common Krait Bungarus caeruleus, Dussumier’s Litter Skink Sphenomorphus dussumieri and Bark Gecko Hemidactylus leschenaultii. Two species of reptiles that are endemic to Western Ghats such as Beddome’s Cat Skink Ristella beddomii and Dussumier’s Litter Skink Sphenomorphus dussumieri were recorded. Of these, the report of the Ristella beddomii from the KAU campus is of interest, as it has been reported from a lower altitude (50m) than the already known lowest altitude range (400m) for this species. This documentation is important as it highlights the significance of agroecosytems in conserving the reptilian fauna of the region, including some of the Western Ghats endemic species.