Large herbivore populations outside protected areas in the human-dominated Western Ghats, India

Punjabi, Girish Arjun; Rao, Madhu

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2017.05.004

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…avoid predation or maximize foraging benefits (Sharma, 2001). For sambar, we envisaged higher undergrowth to provide foraging benefits and cover from predators, such as tigers, dholes, and leopards, all of which are present in the study site (Punjabi and Rao, 2017). However, we observed a weak positive relationship with undergrowth for sambar.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…In Southeast Asia, wild pigs can become hyper-abundant in oil palm plantations due to food availability and low predator densities (Luskin et al, 2017). Punjabi and Rao (2017) also found higher abundances of wild pig near agricultural areas in the Tillari landscape. Wild pigs likely use cashew plantations near human settlements and away from forests for the dual benefits of access to cashew pedicels and nuts as a food source and to avoid predation by large carnivores.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The study area is located in the northern part of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al, 2000). The elevation ranges from 50 to 1,030 m above sea level (Punjabi and Rao, 2017). The vegetation comprises mainly of moist deciduous forests with semi-evergreen forests along riparian patches (Champion and Seth, 1968).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dominant tree species include Tectona grandis, Garcinia gummi-gutta, Sterculia urens, Schleichera oleosa, and riparian species such as Hydnocarpus pentandra, Homonoia riparia, and the liana Entada rheedii (Jog, 2009). The mean annual rainfall is 3,000 mm (Gathade, 2013), and mean annual temperatures vary from 16 • C to 35 • C (Punjabi and Rao, 2017). The study region falls on a large mammal corridor between three protected areas: Kali Tiger Reserve in the state of Karnataka, Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in the state of Goa, and the Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra (Punjabi and Rao, 2017).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mammals Make Use of Cashew Plantations in a Mixed Forest–Cashew Landscape

Rege

Punjabi

Jathanna

et al. 2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Heterogeneous landscapes harboring mosaics of natural habitat and agriculture are increasingly gaining conservation focus in the tropics. While research on cash crops such as coffee, rubber, and oil palm has led to an understanding of their role as supplementary habitats, such has remained limited in cashew plantations despite it being a cash crop of global significance. We conducted a study to understand the occurrence of terrestrial mammal species in a mixed forest–cashew landscape in the northern Western Ghats, India. During January to April 2016, we used trail cameras to sample a total area of 25 km2 divided into 100 grid cells of 0.25 km2 each. We deployed six trail cameras for a 24 h period in each grid cell and obtained photo-captures of 11 species in forests, of which nine were detected in cashew plantations, but most species showed low capture rates. For three of these species—Indian crested porcupine, sambar, and wild pig—we modeled habitat use as a function of site-specific attributes. Wild pig showed a higher probability of use of cashew than forest, while porcupine and sambar did not show any pronounced differences between the two land uses. The probability of habitat use by sambar and porcupine was positively influenced by undergrowth but not for the wild pig. Wild pig habitat use was positively related to increased proximity of human settlements and increasing distance to forests, but the pattern was unreliable for sambar and porcupine. Our preliminary study demonstrates that a subset of terrestrial mammals in the forest makes use of cashew plantations and highlights the need for further research in forest–cashew landscapes to assess conservation opportunities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mammals Make Use of Cashew Plantations in a Mixed Forest–Cashew Landscape

Rege

Punjabi

Jathanna

et al. 2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…Although these non-protected areas harbour significant mammalian biodiversity (Dorji et al, 2019;Harihar, 2011;Punjabi and Rao, 2017) and act as important corridor habitats for freeranging animals (Neelakantan et al, 2019;Sunderraj et al, 1995), they are often overexploited (land conversion, grazing, unregulated poaching and hunting practices etc.) (Macdonald et al, 2013;Ripple et al, 2015Ripple et al, , 2014 and experience strong human-wildlife conflict (crop raiding, damage to infrastructures and injuries to humans) (Gubbi et al, 2014;Kissui, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of endemic northern swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii) distribution and identification of priority conservation areas through modeling and field surveys across north India

Paul

Sarkar

Patil

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Recent declines in large herbivores have led to significant conservation efforts globally. However, the niche-specific megaherbivores residing outside protected areas face more imminent extinction threats. Swamp deer, the obligate grassland-dwelling endemic cervid is the most extinction-prone megaherbivore in the Indian subcontinent. Limited information on distribution and habitat status pose significant conservation and management challenges for the remaining fragmented populations in north, north-east and central India. To this end, we combined exhaustive field surveys and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling to generate the most detailed distribution map for the northern swamp deer subspecies. We used primary data from more than 6000 km2 field surveys and eight ecologically relevant covariates for model predictions. Grassland cover, annual mean temperature and distance from water were the major factors that predicted the species distribution. Models predicted swamp deer distribution in only ~3% of the entire landscape, covering both protected (~1.4%) as well as non-protected (~1.6%) areas. Our validation surveys in some of these predicted areas confirmed swamp deer presence and indicated ~85% model accuracy. Finally, we identified four ‘Priority Conservation Area’ still retaining adequate grassland habitat and species presence that require immediate attention to ensure population connectivity across this landscape. These results highlight the importance of the marginalized grassland ecosystems of northern India that still retains high biodiversity. We suggest a swamp deer-centric conservation approach to protect these human-dominated habitats and emphasize in generating such information for other endemic, habitat-specialist species across the globe.

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