Anamalai Tiger Reserve Research Articles

Avian fig foragers in sustaining forest ecosystem in Kariyanshola, a heritage site of Anamalai Tiger Reserve

Ficus species (Moraceae), play a pivotal role as keystone species within the forest ecosystem. They serve as a source of food for the frugivores in the forest, throughout the year. We conducted a survey of the frugivores in the protected area of Kariyanshola forest in Topslip and recorded the avian frugivores that feed on the fruits of fig trees. The study brought to light 31 species of birds from 7 families feeding on the figs of 7 different species of Ficus. Accentuating the richness of frugivores in the forest ecosystem helps in emphasizing the value of the keystone resources for those frugivores, which is the Ficus species. These fig trees that attract the various avian frugivores are suggested to be introduced in forest restoration activities to enrich the biodiversity of the area and enhance the health of the ecosystem.

Additions to the Orchid Flora of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India

A study was conducted in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), in the Southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, to document the wide range of wild orchids in the area and evaluate their conservation status. The ATR, known for its high species diversity, is a protected region spanning a core area of 958.59 km2 and a buffer area of 521.28 km2. The main objective of the study was to investigate and assess the diversity of orchids within the reserve, providing essential information for their conservation. The present study revealed the presence of 137 orchid species belonging to 56 genera in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. Among them, 37 species forms an addition to the orchid flora of the reserve. The dominant genus in ATR is Dendrobium followed by Habenaria, and Oberonia.

Socio -Economic and Demographic Characteristics of Kadar Tribe of Anamalai Tiger Reserve

Socio -Economic and Demographic Characteristics of Kadar Tribe of Anamalai Tiger Reserve

A new population record of the Critically Endangered Dipterocarpus bourdillonii Brandis from the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, India

Dipterocarpus bourdillonii, a Critically Endangered tree species endemic to the Western Ghats, India, has hitherto been reported mainly from the states of Kerala and Karnataka on the western slopes of the mountain range. In Tamil Nadu, this species has been reported to occur in two locations, but no population details have been documented and the species has neither been listed in state floras nor in a recent compendium of plant species. The present study documents the occurrence of a population of the species, with at least 40 individuals, in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, extends the known upper limit of its altitudinal range to 733 m, and suggests further surveys and in situ conservation efforts.

Native Shade Trees Aid Bird Conservation in Tea Plantations in Southern India

In the Western Ghats, India, we study how different intensities of tea cultivation influence birds. We com-pared bird communities in conventional monoculture tea and mixed-shade tea plantations, both of which use agrochemicals, with organic tea plantations, a rainforest fragment, and continuous rainforest within the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. In 225 point count sur-veys, overall bird species richness and abundance were lowest in conventional tea and up to 33% higher in organic tea. Mixed-shade tea had 40% higher spe-cies richness (including 15 canopy and 4 shrub and mid-storey species – primarily frugivores, nectarivores and insectivores), and 83% higher bird abundance than conventional tea, with a greater proportion of forest-affiliated birds and similarity in species compo-sition with forest sites. The rainforest fragment and continuous rainforest had a higher proportion, richness and abundance of forest-affiliated birds and fewer open-country birds, unlike tea plantations where the pattern was reversed. Habitat associations of 62 bird species in indicator species analysis revea-led similar patterns. Thus organic tea is better than conventional tea for birds, but mixed-shade tea is even better, although still poorer than forests. Retaining or promoting native shade trees in tea plantations will increase bird diversity and abundance, including of forest-affiliated species and support landscape-level bird conservation.

Human–Carnivore conflict in Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, Southern Western Ghats

Human–Carnivore conflict in Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, Southern Western Ghats

<p><strong><em>Syzygium</em></strong><strong> <em>anamalaianum</em> (Myrtaceae), a new tree species from the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India</strong></p>

Syzygium anamalaianum, a new species from Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India is described. This species is closely allied to Syzygium bharathii and S.caryophyllatum, but differs from it by having thick elliptic or ovate–lanceolate leaves with deeply grooved midrib, 4–angled prominently winged peduncle, smaller flower, funnel or pyriform hypanthium, inwardly curved stamens of varying lengths and obovate or subglobular seeds. This combination of characters makes determining the relationships of Syzygium anamalaianum difficult.

Population assessment of the Endangered Nilgiri tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, using the double-observer survey method

AbstractThe Nilgiri tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius is an Endangered species of mountain ungulate endemic to the Western Ghats of India, a biodiversity hotspot. Habitat fragmentation, hunting and a restricted range are the major threats to this species. Although several surveys have assessed the species’ status, a population estimate based on a scientifically robust method is needed. We used the double-observer method to estimate the population of the Nilgiri tahr in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, a protected area in the Western Ghats. We walked 257 km of transects across the Reserve, covering 36 grassland blocks (i.e. clusters of montane grasslands that were relatively separate from each other). We counted a minimum of 422 individuals in 28 groups, and estimated the tahr population in the study area to be 510 individuals (95% CI 300–858) in 35 groups. The male:female ratio was 0.71 and the young:female ratio was 0.56. Comparing our estimate with previous surveys suggests that the Nilgiri tahr population in Anamalai Tiger Reserve is stable. We found the double-observer survey method to be appropriate for population estimation and long-term monitoring of this species, and make recommendations for improved field protocols to facilitate the implementation of the method in the tropical mountains of the Western Ghats. Our findings suggest that the Reserve harbours 20–25% of the global population of the Nilgiri tahr, highlighting the area's importance for the conservation of this species.

Distribution and habitat associations of the Critically Endangered frog Walkerana phrynoderma (Anura: Ranixalidae), with an assessment of potential threats, abundance, and morphology

Distribution and habitat associations of the Critically Endangered frog Walkerana phrynoderma (Anura: Ranixalidae), with an assessment of potential threats, abundance, and morphology. Little is known about Walkerana phrynoderma, a frog endemic to the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats of India. Baseline information (i.e., distribution, threats, habitat characteristics, activity patterns, and relative abundance) is provided for this species, with the aim of improving our understanding of the status of the species in the wild. Visual-encounter, transect, and time-activity budget surveys were conducted in and around the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats. The frog skin was swabbed to determine the presence/absence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and habitat and environmental characteristics were recorded at sites where W. phrynoderma was found. These data were compared with those of sites apparently lacking this species that had suitable habitat. Walkerana phrynoderma is restricted to evergreen forests between 1300 and 1700 m a.s.l. in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve and at Munnar; thus, its range was extended from the state of Tamil Nadu to the adjoining state of Kerala. Pesticide runoff and human disturbance are the most severe threats to the species; B. dendrobatidis was not detected. This nocturnal anuran prefers forest edges and is associated with well-shaded forest foors in cool areas near freshwater streams. Walkerana phrynoderma is rarely encountered whereas its congener, W. leptodactyla, is more common. The impact of anthropogenic disturbances, especially waste disposal and development of tourism infrastructure, should be evaluated. The land that is owned by the Forest Department peripheral to the protected areas could be designated as eco-sensitive sites to prevent changes in land use that could have an adverse effect on W. phrynoderma.

Seasonal Variation in Wildlife Roadkills in Plantations and Tropical Rainforest in the Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India

Wildlife–vehicle collisions on the roads lead to mortality of a range of animal taxa both within and around wildlife reserves. Quantifying and understanding impacts of roads on wildlife mortality are essential for identifying vulnerable taxa and suitable mitigation measures. We studied animal mortality on roads in relation to habitat and season in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve and adjoining Valparai plateau in the Western Ghats, India. Habitats were broadly classified as forest, monoculture plantations (tea, coffee, eucalyptus) and mixed. Eleven road transects of 3–12 km length were surveyed between 9 and 12 times each during monsoon (2011) and summer (2012). We recorded 2969 roadkills (mean = 2.01/km) during the 1473.4 km of road surveys carried out. The overall roadkill rate was 21.2 (± 3.87 SE) individual kills/10 km. Amphibians were most frequent in roadkills (overall roadkill rate of 9.3 ± 2.17 SE kills/10 km, n = 1307), followed by invertebrates and unidentified taxa (7.6 ± 1.81 SE kills/10 km, n = 1066). Roadkill rate was 2.4 times higher in monsoon than summer, with amphibians particularly averaging higher kill rate during monsoon. Frequency of roadkills of various animal groups differed between seasons in different habitats. In both the seasons, most roadkills were recorded mainly in tea, forest, and forest–tea habitats. Relative to length of roads through forest, a disproportionately large number of roadkills of herpetofauna and mammals were recorded in forest habitat. Higher vehicular movements, including tourist traffic, road widening, removal of native plants along roads and construction of sidewalls without breaks obstruct animal movements and may be responsible for roadkills. Designing roads to be more permeable for safe animal movement, particularly where roads pass through forest, and sensitizing highways authorities are essential to reduce animal mortality and make roads more wildlife-friendly in this region.

Range extension of the endangered Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat Latidens salimalii (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in the Anamalai Hills, Tamil Nadu, India

Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat Latidens salimalii is an IUCN Red listed Endangered species known only from a few locations in southern India. Here we report three records of Latidens salimalii from the Valparai plateau and Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu where this species has not been previously recorded. This bat was caught in riparian habitats close to or inside intact tropical wet forest in the Western Ghats.

Mammalian gastrointestinal parasites in rainforest remnants of Anamalai Hills, Western Ghats, India.

Habitat fragmentation is postulated to be a major factor influencing infectious disease dynamics in wildlife populations and may also be responsible, at least in part, for the recent spurt in the emergence, or re-emergence, of infectious diseases in humans. The mechanism behind these relationships are poorly understood due to the lack of insights into the interacting local factors and insufficient baseline data in ecological parasitology of wildlife. Here, we studied the gastrointestinal parasites of nonhuman mammalian hosts living in 10 rainforest patches of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, India. We examined 349 faecal samples of 17 mammalian species and successfully identified 24 gastrointestinal parasite taxa including 1 protozoan, 2 trematode, 3 cestode and 18 nematode taxa. Twenty of these parasites are known parasites of humans. We also found that as much as 73% of all infected samples were infected by multiple parasites. In addition, the smallest and most fragmented forest patches recorded the highest parasite richness; the pattern across fragments, however, seemed to be less straightforward, suggesting potential interplay of local factors.

Distribution, Demography, and Conservation of Lion-tailed Macaques (Macaca silenus) in the Anamalai Hills Landscape, Western Ghats, India

The status of the endemic and endangered lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) has not been properly assessed in several regions of the Western Ghats of southern India. We conducted a study in Parambikulam Forest Reserve in the state of Kerala to determine the distribution, demography, and status of lion-tailed macaques. We laid 5km2 grid cells on the map of the study area (644km2) and made four replicated walks in each grid cell using GPS. We gathered data on lion-tailed macaque group locations, demography, and site covariates including trail length, duration of walk, proportion of evergreen forest, height of tallest trees, and human disturbance index. We also performed occupancy modeling using PRESENCE ver. 3.0. We estimated a minimum of 17 groups of macaques in these hills. Low detection and occupancy probabilities indicated a low density of lion-tailed macaques in the study area. Height of the tallest trees correlated positively whereas human disturbance and proportion of evergreen forest correlated negatively with occupancy in grid cells. We also used data from earlier studies carried out in the surrounding Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Nelliyampathy Hills to discuss the conservation status in the large Anamalai Hills Landscape. This landscape harbors an estimated population of 1108 individuals of lion-tailed macaques, which is about one third of the entire estimated wild population of this species. A conservation plan for this landscape could be used as a model for conservation in other regions of the Western Ghats.

Endoparasites in cattle nearby tribal areas of free-ranging protected areas of Tamil Nadu state.

Fresh dung samples from cattle nearby and tribal areas of free-ranging regions, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Anamalai Tiger Reserve and forest divisions of Sathyamangalam-Erode of Tamil Nadu state were examined for identification of endoparasitic infection. A total of 50 dung samples were collected and examination of samples revealed the presence of eggs of Strongyle, Strongyloides sp., amphistomes, Toxocara sp. and oocysts of Eimeria sp. The risk of parasitic disease transmission from domestic livestock to wild populations was discussed.

A Comparative Analysis on the Socio-economic Welfare of Dependents of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in India

Biodiversity is a valuable and yet poorly understood natural resource, depleting rapidly through human interventions. The economic value of biodiversity in a forest ecosystem includes its direct-use value and indirect-use value for the ecological regulatory services it provides. The Western Ghats is one of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots and forest ecosystem that are protected as the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR). This study was undertaken with the objective of asserting the consumptive and passive use values of the ATR as well as to examine the people’s attitudes towards consumption and sustainable use of natural resources and forest biodiversity. To estimate the direct-use value, the sample respondents, namely, agriculture and forest dependents within the fringe areas and tourist dependents in urban areas, were selected. Education and income were positively related to per capita consumption expenditure and were highly significant. Family size and landholdings had negative influences on both agriculture and forest dependents and tourist dependents. It was concluded that the development of ecotourism will reduce forest dependents and enhance their income through tourism-related occupations by creating more employment and other related income-generating activities besides protecting the valuable natural resources through optimal and sustainable use.

Prey preference of large carnivores in Anamalai Tiger Reserve, India

Prey preferences of large carnivores (tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus) and dhole (Cuon alpinus)) in the tropical forest of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) were evaluated. This was the first study in ATR to estimate the density of prey and the food habits of these large carnivores. The 958-km2 intensive study area was found to have a high mammalian prey density (72.1 animals per square kilometre) with wild boar (20.61 animals per square kilometre) and chital (20.54 animals per square kilometre) being the most common species, followed by nilgiri tahr (13.6 animals per square kilometre). When the density figures were multiplied by the average weight of each prey species, a high biomass density of 14,204 kg km−2 was obtained for the intensive study area. Scat analysis and incidental kill observation were used to determine the dietary composition of these predators. During the study from the period of March 2001 to April 2004, 1,145 tiger scats, 595 leopard scats and 2,074 dhole scats were collected and analysed. Kill data were based on direct observation of 66 tiger kills and 39 leopard kills. Sambar, with a density of 6.54 kg km−2 was the preferred prey for these carnivores. Sambar constitutes 35% of the overall diet of tiger, whereas it constitutes 17% and 25% in leopard and dhole diets, respectively. Chital was utilized less than sambar in the range of about 7%, 11% and 15% by tiger, leopard and dhole, respectively. Predator diet was estimated more accurately by scat analysis, which reveals 30% of smaller prey species in leopard’s diet, which was not observed by kill data. This study reveals that ATR harbours high prey density, and these large carnivores seem mostly dependent on the wild prey rather than on domestic livestock as in some other areas in the subcontinent. These factors make ATR a potential area for long-term conservation of these endangered carnivores.

An economic analysis of willingness to pay (WTP) for conserving the biodiversity

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the impact of eco‐tourism on the socio‐economic characteristics of the native inhabitants and natural resources in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), India. The paper estimates the recreational value and measures the willingness to pay (WTP) of the stakeholders and tourists to conserve the forest eco‐system.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws upon theories and issues of eco‐tourism to examine the economic value of forest ecosystem, including direct and indirect use values of the ecological regulatory services. The 60 sample stakeholders of the study were agricultural and forest dependents and tourist dependents in addition to 60 visitors of ATR spot.FindingsThe travel cost had a significant negative influence on frequency of visits, while education had a positive impact. The agriculture and forest dependents, tourist dependents and tourists were WTP an average amount of Rs 202 (US$4.03), Rs 449 (US$9.55) and Rs 656 (US$14.00)/annum, respectively, towards internalizing eco‐tourism‐related externalities. The option value of conserving the ATR was estimated by contingent valuation method using bidding game technique. Education and number of animal species sighted have positively related to WTP and was highly significant.Social implicationsThe paper addresses the attitude of people towards conservation of the forest biodiversity, as well as increasing the income of the people via eco‐tourism.Originality/valueThe outcome implies that eco‐tourism will reduce the dependency of forest and also create more employment and other tourism‐related income augmenting activities and thus enhancing additional income through tourism related occupations. The paper suggests the establishment of several other eco‐parks in Tamil Nadu for protecting the biodiversity as well as generating additional income and improving the livelihood security of the population.