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. We estimated the population density and biomass of three ungulates and two other species in the Melghat Tiger Reserve, Central India. The study was conducted from September 2010 to April 2011. We used distance sampling to estimate the population density of wild prey species. The 225km 2 intensive study area was found to have high prey species density (69.5±8.3 individuals/km 2 ), with gray langur being the abundant prey species (42.9±7.2 individuals/km 2 ), followed by sambar (10.5±3.5 individuals/km 2 ), gaur (5.8±1.7 individuals/km 2 ), barking deer (2.7±0.3 individuals/km 2 ), and peafowl (7.6±0.6 individuals/km 2 ). When the density figures were multiplied by the average weight of each prey species, biomass of 6501.8 kg/km 2 was obtained.
Regionally Extinct and as threatened; of the reptiles two species are categorized as Regionally Extinct and as threatened; of the birds three species are categorized as Regionally Extinct and as threatened; and of the mammals are categorized as threatened. The main threats to China's vertebrates are human activities, habitat loss and overexploitation. For the mammals, overexploitation is the main threat, with mammal species affected, followed by human interference and habitat loss.
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. We estimated the population density and biomass of three ungulates and two other species in the Melghat Tiger Reserve, Central India. The study was conducted from September 2010 to April 2011. We used distance sampling to estimate the population density of wild prey species. The 225km2 intensive study area was found to have high prey species density (69.5±8.3 individuals/km2), with gray langur being the abundant prey species (42.9±7.2 individuals/km2), followed by sambar (10.5±3.5 individuals/km2), gaur (5.8±1.7 individuals/km2), barking deer (2.7±0.3 individuals/km2), and peafowl (7.6±0.6 individuals/km2). When the density figures were multiplied by the average weight of each prey species, biomass of 6501.8 kg/km2 was obtained.
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