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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively. Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively. On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs. In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc. During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.

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2015 - 20175
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Subject: Wildlife Management × Author: KAU × End date: 2017 × Start date: 2000 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Status, distribution and habitat preferences of small carnivores in Eravikulam national park, Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Sciences, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara,Thrissur, 2015) Nikhil, S; KAU; Nameer, P O
    A study was conducted to understand the diversity, status, distribution and habitat preferences of small carnivores in Eravikulam National Park (ENP). The study was conducted from September 2014 to March 2015. This was the first ever study on the small carnivores in ENP.The small carnivores were studied using the camera traps. This was supplemented through the study of the indirect evidences of the small carnivores, using line transect methods. A total of 855 camera trap days, having 20,520 hrs and 65km of transect walk was done at ENP. The vegetation of the study site was studied by taking 77, 10x10m quadrants, covering an area of 7700m2. A total eight species of small carnivores were recorded from ENP. This accounted for 50% of small carnivores of W. Ghats and 19% of India. Small cats of the family dominated the small carnivores at ENP, accounting for 50% of the total small carnivores. The small cats at ENP were the Jungle Cat Felis chaus (27.7%) and Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis (22.2%). The other small carnivores found at the ENP were Stripe-necked Mongoose Herpestes vitticollis (22.2%), Asian small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinerea (11.1%), Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsii (0.05%), Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphrodites (0.05%) and Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica (0.05%). A total of 153 incidence of indirect evidences of small carnivores were recorded from 65 km transect walk. Abundance of small carnivores (scats/kilometer), with the small cats (1.04) having the maximum abundance followed by civets (0.80), mongoose (0.26), otters (0.17) and Nilgiri Marten (0.04) at the ENP. There was no significant difference in the habitat preference by the small carnivores. They were using both the shola forests as well as grasslands. Therewas no significant difference in the habitat preferences across the seasons under study too. The prominent vegetation at the ENP was Ficusdrupacea, Syzygium arnottianum, Pithecellobium subcoriaceum, Microtropis ramiflora, Gomphandra coriacea. Though no relationship could be made between the vegetation type and the small carnivore distribution, most of the study locations were dominated by Ficus drupacea and Syzigium arnottianum. The most widely distributed small carnivore at ENP was the civets and the greater presence of the fruit trees across the ENP could be the reason for the wider distribution of the viverrids, which has a diet preference towards fruits. Out of the eight species of small carnivores of ENP two are Vulnerable, according to IUCN RedList. However, no conservation threats could be observed on the small carnivores of ENP, and ENP would be acting as an important adobe for the survival of the small carnivores of Western Ghats.
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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.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Phylogeny and systematics of the genus cynopterus (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in Kerala
    (Department of Wildlife Sciences, College of Forestry, Vellanikkara, 2015) Devika, V S; KAU; Nameer, P O
    The taxonomic status of the genus Cynopterus is subject of debate in the scientific world due to the cryptic nature, overlapping morphological characters and addition of six new genetically distinct lineages in the Cynopterus in the last decade. The present study was carried out with the objective of resolving the taxonomic ambiguity of the genus Cynopterus in Kerala and to infer the phylogenetic affinity of the genus Cynopterus within order Chiroptera. This is the first study which address the taxonomic status of the genus Cynopterus in Kerala and second one in India. The bats were studied from eight different locations in three biogeographical regions of Kerala during April 2014 to December 2014. A total of 67 bats were captured from these locations. On each of these bats the 24 morphometric, dental and cranial variables were measured. Apart from that a molecular analysis was also carried out on 31 samples. Phenol-chloroform extraction or the GeniPureTM Mammalian Genomic DNA Purification Kit (GeNeiTM) was employed for DNA extraction and PCR amplification was done for complete cytochrome b gene. The sequences were compared with those registered in NCBI databank. The phylogeny reconstruction and the calculation of genetic distances were done using the IQ-TREE and MEGA 5.2. The study reiterates the importance of integrative taxonomy using morphological and molecular techniques. Fifty one samples of C. sphinx and 13 samples of C. brachyotis were used for the multivariate morphometric analysis. This proved that the forearm length has been the only distinctive morphological character to distinguish between the C. sphinx and C. brachyotis. However, the other morphometric parameters were found to be overlapping. Twenty four sequences of C. sphinx and 7 sequences of C. brachyotis were used for molecular analysis. The phylogenetic tree constructed and the pairwise genetic distance has proved that the C. sphinx from Kerala constitutes the ‘true’ C. sphinx, since they are genetically more identical to C. sphinx from its type locality and all C. sphinx studied forms a single species The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the C. brachyotis from Kerala may be a different species, since it differ genetically from those species from Borneo, the type locality of C. brachyotis. The presence of genetically distinct lineages within C. brachyotis indicates that the species C. brachyotis has diversified independently at multiple instances in different locations during the past. The clustering of C. brachyotis from Kerala with C. sphinx confirms that they are sister taxa. Extensive sampling from throughout the geographical range of the genus Cynopterus should be done to confirm their systematic position and revise their taxonomic status.