Data on densities, biomass and ecological factors governing the distribution of various wild ungulate species in the difFerent management units of Gir forest from 1987 to 1989 were collected. Density of ungulates ranged from 50.8 km−2 to 0.42 km−2, the highest for chital (Axis axis), followed by chinkara (Gazella gazella), sambar (Cervus unicolor), nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) and chowsingha (Tetracerus quadricornis). The density of chital did not vary significantly between different censuses and management units. The wild ungulate biomass ranged from 3290 kg km−2 in the National Park to 1900 kg km−2 in the Sanctuary East. Following the partial removal of people and livestock in the mid-1970s, there was an increase in the population of all wild ungulates except nilgai and wild pig (Sus scrofa). Concurrently, there was an increase in the proportion of wild ungulate prey in the lion's diet. Chital density has shown a 1320% increase. An increase in suitable habitats and a decrease in direct competition with livestock are the most likely factors to have triggered the eruption in chital population. These density estimates are discussed in relation to the prevailing ecological conditions in different management units of Gir.
tigers and leopards have experienced considerable declines in their population due to habitat loss and fragmentation across their historical ranges. Multi-scale habitat suitability models (HSM) can inform forest managers to aim their conservation efforts at increasing the suitable habitat for tigers by providing information regarding the scale-dependent habitat-species relationships. However the current gap of knowledge about ecological relationships driving species distribution reduces the applicability of traditional and classical statistical approaches such as generalized linear models (GLMs), or occupancy surveys to produce accurate predictive maps. This study investigates the multiscale habitat relationships of tigers and leopards and the impacts of future climate change on their distribution using a machine-learning algorithm random forest (Rf). the recent advancements in the machine-learning algorithms provide a powerful tool for building accurate predictive models of species distribution and their habitat relationships even when little ecological knowledge is available about the species. We collected species occurrence data using camera traps and indirect evidence of animal presences (scats) in the field over 2 years of rigorous sampling and used a machine-learning algorithm random forest (Rf) to predict the habitat suitability maps of tiger and leopard under current and future climatic scenarios. We developed niche overlap models based on the recently developed statistical approaches to assess the patterns of niche similarity between tigers and leopards. tiger and leopard utilized habitat resources at the broadest spatial scales (28,000 m). Our model predicted a 23% loss in the suitable habitat of tigers under the RCP 8.5 Scenario (2050). Our study of multi-scale habitat suitability modeling provides valuable information on the species habitat relationships in disturbed and human-dominated landscapes concerning two large felid species of conservation importance. these areas may act as refugee habitats for large carnivores in the future and thus should be the focus of conservation importance. this study may also provide a methodological framework for similar multi-scale and multi-species monitoring programs using robust and more accurate machine learning algorithms such as random forest. Tigers and leopards are two large carnivore species of conservation importance occurring in sympatry across much of their range in India. The nationwide tiger census conducted by Govt. of India after every 4 years has shown a gradual increase in the tiger population across many protected areas. However, a significant proportion of the tiger population still occurs in fragmented landscapes outside the conventional protected areas 1,2. Smallsized protected areas, increased habitat fragmentation, and high anthropogenic pressure on the remaining intact habitats increase the likelihood of tiger populations becoming more isolated and thereby restricting the potential dispersal opportunities 3. Tigers and leopards are wide-rangi...
BackgroundThe study was conducted between 2000 and 2003 on 750 human subjects, yielding 850 strains of staphylococci from clinical specimens (575), nasal cultures of hospitalized patients (100) and eye & nasal sources of hospital workers (50 & 125 respectively) in order to determine their epidemiology, acquisition and dissemination of resistance genes.MethodsOrganisms from clinical samples were isolated, cultured and identified as per the standard routine procedures. Susceptibility was measured by the agar diffusion method, as recommended by the Nat ional Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS). The modified method of Birnboin and Takahashi was used for isolation of plasmids from staphylococci. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing of clinical and carrier Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated during our study was performed as described previously.ResultsIt was shown that 35.1% of Staphylococcus aureus and 22.5% of coagulase-negative staphylococcal isolates were resistant to methicillin. Highest percentage of MRSA (35.5%) was found in pus specimens (n = 151). The multiple drug resistance of all MRSA (n = 180) and Methicillin resistant Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus (MRCNS) (n = 76) isolates was detected. In case of both methicillin-resistant as well as methicillin-sensitive Saphylococcal isolates zero resistance was found to vancomycin where as highest resistance was found to penicillin G followed by ampicillin. It was shown that the major reservoir of methicillin resistant staphylococci in hospitals are colonized/infected inpatients and colonized hospital workers, with carriers at risk for developing endogenous infection or transmitting infection to health care workers and patients. The results were confirmed by molecular typing using PFGE by SmaI-digestion.It was shown that the resistant markers G and T got transferred from clinical S. aureus (JS-105) to carrier S. aureus (JN-49) and the ciprofloxacin (Cf) and erythromycin (E) resistance seemed to be chromosomal mediated. In one of the experiments, plasmid pJMR1O from Staphylococcus aureus coding for ampicillin (A), gentamicin (G) and amikacin (Ak) resistance was transformed into Escherichia coli. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for A and G were lower in E. coli than in S. aureus. However, the MIC for Ak was higher in E. coli transformants than in S. aureus.ConclusionThere is a progressive increase in MRSA prevalence and multi-drug resistance in staphylococci. Vancomycin is still the drug of choice for MRSA infections. The major reservoir of methicillin resistant staphylococci in hospitals is colonized/infected inpatients and colonized hospital workers. Resistance transfer from staphylococci to E. coli as well as from clinical to carrier staphylococci due to antibiotic stress seemed to be an alarming threat to antimicrobial chemotherapy.
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