The diet of Indian Eagle Owl Bubo bengalensis and its agronomic significance

Abstract

Abstract:If the importance of wildlife in agricultural pest control through predation can be conveyed, it can play an important role in the conservation of wildlife. However, such a strategy needs to be backed with convincing data. We studied the habitat preference, diet and reproductive behavior of the Indian Eagle Owl (IEO) Bubo bengalensis in order to understand its role in agricultural pest control. The Owls preferred landscapes with a higher percentage of agriculture and fed on rodents, birds, reptiles, arachnids, insects and other prey species. Despite being a generalist feeder, its diet was dominated by agricultural pests, which contributed 88% of the total prey biomass. Out of the13 rodent prey species, which comprised a major part of the diet, seven were identified as major agricultural pests and were 98% of the total rodent biomass in the diet of the IEO. The dependence of the IEO on rodent pests was further reflected by positive correlation between rodent biomass consumed and the breeding success of the owl. The IEO, therefore, plays a positive role in the biological control of crop pests. However, owls spent a longer duration of time in agricultural habitats, where they also had higher productivity. Thus IEO may be subjected to anthropogenic activities, human contact and interference. Since this owl is still hunted due to superstitious beliefs, scientific evidence elucidating the importance of the IEO in agricultural pest control can be used for its conservation by educating the farming community.

Food Habits of Spotted Owlet Athene brama (Temminck, 1821) in the Campus of Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur: an Ecological representation of Central India

“…Being at the apex of trophic levels in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the owls play an important role in maintaining natural balance and also help biologically in controlling harmful insect pests as well as small mammalian pests like rodents and insectivores (Pande & Dahanukar, 2011a, 2011b. In the present investigation, the feeding habits of the spotted owlet ( ) in the campus of Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh, India) were studied by analyzing their regurgitated pellets.…”

“…They are commonly found near human habitation, agriculture f ields and in forest areas. Owls are also known for their important role in bio-control agents and feeds number of harmful insect pests and non insect pests like small mammals species like rodents and insectivores (Pande & Dahanukar, 2011a, 2011b. Among the numerous species of owls found in India, the Spotted Owlet, is the most common small-sized, nocturnal and resident Indian raptor species occurring in India (Ali & Ripley, 1983).…”

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“…Insect prey items were identified up to order level on the basis of undigested pieces such as chitinous exoskeleton, heads, wings, legs, stings etc. A hand lens or low power binocular microscope was employed to identify insect exoskeleton [24], [25].…”

Role of India’s wildlife in the emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic pathogens, risk factors and public health implications

“…From a zoonotic disease perspective, many important wildlife species occur in abundance in India. Such animals include wild boar (Chauhan et al, 2009), bats (Epstein et al, 2008), non human primates (Work and Trapido, 1957), rodents (Chandy et al, 2013), wild aquatic and terrestrial birds (Rodrigues et al, 1981), canids and felids (Karanth and Nichols,1998;Vanak and Gompper, 2009), bovids (Bandyopadhyay et al, 2009), vultures (Cuthbert et al, 2011), owls (Pande and Dahanukar, 2011), and reptiles (Aengals et al, 2011).…”