Watershed avifaunal inventories are useful in devising management strategies appropriate to the habitat, as well as species conservation. The Chenab River basin forms one of the largest and most important river basins in Jammu & Kashmir. The upper Chenab catchment offers a rich and diverse fauna, especially birds, owing to variety of habitats, different climatic regimes, and a wide range of altitude,. We present an avifaunal list of four watersheds—Bhot, Marusudar, Kalnai and Neeru of the Chenab River basin including Kishtwar Town and the surrounding area of the upper Chenab catchment over an elevation range of 820–4,500 m. The list includes 251 species belonging to 60 families and 150 genera of which six are globally threatened, 127 residents, 124 migrants and three new to the state. The paper also describes species-wise habitat occupancy, feeding behaviour, migratory status and abundance of the avifauna. The study reveals that mosaic habitats comprising forests, riverbeds, rangelands and rocky outcrops are crucial for the conservation of birds in the region.
Background: Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a pervasive carnivore species across most of Eurasia and parts of North Africa. The current study was aimed to evaluate baseline values for selected haematological and biochemical variables for red fox in Ladakh, India. Methods: Blood samples were collected from a female red fox with a drug combination of Xylazine and Ketamine. Selected haematological and biochemical variables were assessed for red fox in Ladakh, India. Result: The total leucocytic count was found as 6.37 10^3/uL, Differential Neutrophil count was found as 4.86 10^3/uL, absolute lymphocyte count, monocytes, eosinophil and basophils were found as 1.08 10^3/uL, 0.42 10^3/uL, 0 10^3/uL and 0.01 10^3/uL respectively. Differential count for neutrophil lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophil and basophils were found as 76.1%, 17%, 6.6%, 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. Total erythrocytic count was found as 8.710^6/uL, hematocrit as 12 g/dL, mean corpuscular volume was 47.4 fL and platelet as 212 10^3/uL. Serum biochemical analysis revealed serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase/ aspartate aminotransferase as 316 U/Lt, serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase/alanine aminotransferase as 260 U/Lt and alkaline phosphatase as 46 U/Lt.
Red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) is the most widespread wild carnivore globally, occupying diverse habitats. The species is known for its adaptability to survive in dynamic anthropogenic landscapes. Despite being one of the most extensively studied carnivores, there is a dearth of information on red fox from the Trans-Himalayan region. We studied the home range sizes of red fox using the different estimation methods: minimum convex polygon (MCP), kernel density estimator (KDE), local convex hull (LoCoH) and Brownian-bridge movement model (BBMM). We analysed the daily movement and assessed the habitat selection with respect to topographic factors (ruggedness, elevation and slope), environmental factor (distance to water) and anthropogenic factors (distance to road and human settlements). We captured and GPS-collared six red fox individuals (three males and three females) from Chiktan and one female from Hemis National Park, Ladakh, India. The collars were programmed to record GPS fixes every 15-min. The average BBMM home range estimate (95% contour) was 22.40 ± 12.12 SD km 2 (range 3.81–32.93 km 2 ) and the average core area (50% contour) was 1.87 ± 0.86 SD km 2 (range 0.55–2.69 km 2 ). The estimated average daily movement of red fox was 17.76 ± 8.45 SD km/d (range 10.91–34.22 km/d). Red fox significantly selected lower elevations with less rugged terrain and were positively associated with water. This is the first study in the Trans-Himalayan landscape which aims to understand the daily movement of red fox at a fine temporal scale. Studying the movement and home range sizes helps understand the daily energetics and nutritional requirements of red fox. Movement information of a species is important for the prioritisation of areas for conservation and can aid in understanding ecosystem functioning and landscape management.
Mapping and monitoring of land use and land cover types along with detection of change are essential in the Trans Himalaya to understand landscape dynamics and assist with planning for sustainable development. This study attempts to monitor land use and land cover in Ladakh and identifies patterns of spatio-temporal change in land use using multi-temporal satellite images. Landsat images for three different time-periods (1999, 2009, and 2019) were used to quantify changes between 1999 and 2019. Eight major classes were identified on satellite images: barren land, agriculture, built-up, waterbody, wetland, range land, scrub land, and snow/glacier. Results indicate that major land use in Ladakh is barren land in all three time-periods and that built-up area has increased significantly by 123 sq km (800%) between 1999 and 2019. The possible causes for change in the region include geopolitical importance of the region, growth of the tourist sector with increase in number of tourists, and change of socio-cultural lifestyle.
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