Periyar Tiger Reserve Research Articles

Prediction of Risk Zones and Wildlife Exposure Assessment in Periyar Tiger Reserve using Machine Learning Approach in Kerala, India

Prediction of Risk Zones and Wildlife Exposure Assessment in Periyar Tiger Reserve using Machine Learning Approach in Kerala, India

Ecological niche modeling to find potential habitats of Vanda thwaitesii, a notified endangered orchid of Western Ghats, India

Conservation planning of a threatened species essentially requires information on its present population and extent of distribution. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) is a suitable machine learning technique to predict potential distribution of a species enabling to identify suitable habitat for conservation action. The present study undertook distribution modeling of Vanda thwaitesii, a notified endangered orchid species of the Indian Western Ghats and Sri Lanka using maxent software. Geographical coordinates of 54 occurrence points at 1 km resolutions gathered during the study were utilized for modeling. A total of 37 variables including bioclimatic, topographical, and seasonal climate subjected to principal component analysis extracted into three components based on temperature and precipitation. Four representative variables from each component in all possible combinations resulted consistent output showing distribution of the species extending from Gavi in Periyar Tiger Reserve of Kerala to Chikkamagalur of Karnataka. Habitat suitability was confined to the cooler regions receiving an average 3,400 mm annual mean precipitation, 22.70C annual mean temperature, and 290 mm summer precipitation. A total of 2,557 km2 in Kerala and Karnataka mostly outside protected forests demonstrated as the highly suitable habitats. Silent Valley National Park, Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar Tiger Reserve, and Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in addition to a few reserve forests hold sufficient area for reinforcement of diversity of V. thwaitesii from vulnerable locations. The present study revealed niche modeling as a useful tool to find suitable habitats for V. thwaitesii in the Western Ghats.

Forest Cover Change Detection using Geospatial Techniques in Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India

The present study evaluates the changes in Forest cover pattern of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India. satellite imageries of different time periods, i.e. Land sat 7 and sentinel-2 were obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resource Observation and Science Data Centre. Land sat 7 was used for the year 2001 and the sentinel-2b are used for the year 2021. The images of study area were classified into six different classes. The results obtained from the forest cover change, shows that Evergreen (15.19 sq.km), moist deciduous (35.107 sq.km), grassland (35.209 sq.km), thickets (13.53 sq.km) had decreased and the semi evergreen (110.5196 sq.km) had increased. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) analysis has been integrated for improving the classification accuracy

GIS Based Planning of Forest Road Alignment in Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India

In hilly places, constructing and building forest roads requires a variety of economic and environmental criteria. To develop a solution that minimize construction, maintenance, and adverse environmental effects, road management must take into account as many alternative alignment options as they can. The idea of this research was to plan the network of forest roads in the Periyar Tiger Reserve's mountainous region using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). These techniques were applied using the study area's slope, aspect, Elevation, NDVI, drainage and susceptibility to landslides datasets. In addition, the road network created using the GIS-MCDA approach was contrasted with the existing road networks. The key elements that affect the road network in the research area were found, and the necessary maps were produced and categorized. The maps were graded using MCDA to determine the weight of both useful aspects as the next step in determining the significance and role of the aforementioned elements in the cost of road building. Second, using the Arc GIS 10.4 weighted overlay analysis tool, a forest potential map for road building was created by overlaying the weighted maps of the influencing elements. Thirdly, the competence of a map was divided into Six categories: very high, high, moderate, low, very low and Restricted roading Suitability. Finally, using a weighted overlay method to combine the road network and road planning potential map, the existing road network was analyzed. The findings of this study indicated that the majority of existing roads were located in high and moderate road Suitability. A small percentage was located in low road Suitability, which can be taken into account for alignment. These results suggested that the design of forest road planning in hilly areas can be more precisely accomplished using the multi-criteria evaluation method. Similar method as used in this study can be applied to other forested sites.

First record of Proceratium Roger, 1863, Zasphinctus Wheeler, 1918, and Vollenhovia Mayr, 1865 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Western Ghats of peninsular India, description of three new species, and implications for Indian biogeography

Three new ant species from the genera Proceratium Roger, 1863, Zasphinctus Wheeler, 1918, and Vollenhovia Mayr, 1865 are described from the Western Ghats of southern India. This is the first report of Proceratium and Zasphinctus from peninsular India and the first record of Vollenhovia from the Western Ghats mountain range proper. Proceratium gibbosum sp. nov. is described from Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, being the first record of the stictum species group from the Indian subcontinent; it differs from other members of the stictum group by the mesonotum bearing a prominent rounded dorsal hump (tumulus) and petiole devoid of ventral tooth. The first record of the genus Zasphinctus Wheeler, 1918 from the Indian region is also presented here, with a description of a new species. Zasphinctus sahyadriensis sp. nov. differs from all known Afrotropical and Asian Zasphinctus by a combination of characters including clypeal area with single median tooth, occipital margin being regular in outline, and head sculpture sparsely punctate. The occurrence of the genus Vollenhovia Mayr, 1865 is confirmed from peninsular India, with the description of the female castes of Vollenhovia keralensis sp. nov. We provide ecological notes on these new taxa. In addition, separate identification keys based on the worker caste are also presented to Indo-Malayan species of Proceratium, Afrotropical-Indomalayan species of Zasphinctus, and Vollenhovia of the Indian subcontinent. The biogeographical implications of the presence of these three genera are also discussed in relation to plate tectonics of the Indian subcontinent.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTION OF FOREST FIRE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN TROPICS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WESTERN GHATS OF KERALA REGION, INDIA

Management of forest fire is one of the top priority activities of forest departments, both in tropics and temperate regions. Extensive amount and intensive efforts are deployed to combat fire. The results of a case study on forest fire prone mapping conducted at Periyar tiger reserve in Western Ghats of Kerala, India, was highlighted, and based on the study, the implementation of fire management strategies were discussed. The fire risk map was validated with the forest fire inventory points of Forest Survey of India. Forest fire is a frequent occurrence in tropical forests, especially in moist deciduous and dry deciduous regions. Though forest fire management is one of the major activities of forest departments, the forest fire mitigation is not 100% successful. The magnitude of forest fire, its frequency, potential location, etc., can be assessed using Geoinformatics techniques, by giving different weightage status to fire controlling factors. A case study was conducted on these lines and control measures were highlighted using different management strategies. The implementation of the desired action plan for sustainable development and conservation of forests can be successful only by getting the full support and confidence of the stakeholders. The stakeholder support for environmental management aspects is possible only by convincing them that they are directly or indirectly getting the benefits by the proposed action. Usually, most of the environmental management activities may lead to nontangible benefits, which is apparently non-visible, hence getting stakeholder support may not be an easy task. Various marketing strategies needs to be used to convince the beneficiaries to implement good conservation practices for the betterment of the local inhabitants.

Wildlife diseases management: a case study from Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India

Article Details: Received: 2020-03-24 | Accepted: 2020-08-24 | Available online: 2021-03-31 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.01.44-46 Wildlife diseases management and wildlife health monitoring in protected areas is a preclude to the management of mega fauna in the protected areas. A case study from Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR), Kerala, India in free ranges animals’ revels that two important diseases like amphistomiasis in Sambar and anthrax in Elephant. They were controlled by effective management interventions by extensive survey to detect the diseased animals. The diagnosis was based on field observations and treatment was done not only for the affected animals but also localizing and treating the source of the pathogens. An elaborate health monitoring protocol was developed in PTRfor management of wildlife diseases. The present study gives a base line data in the wildlife health monitoring in South India . Keywords: Periyar Tiger Reserve, anthrax, amphistomiasis, sambar, wildlife diseases References ARYA, S.N. and BHATIA, D.K. (1992). Incidence of some livestock diseases in Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Animal Research, 26, 41–43. GORTAZER, C., DELGADO, I.D., BARASONA, J.A., VICENTE, J., FUENTE, J.D. and BOADELLA, M. (2014). The wild side of disease control at the wildlife-livestock-human interface: a review. Frontier of Veterinary Science, 1(27). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2014.00027 MAHANTI, P., PANDA, S.M. and PANDAV, B. (2016). Community based protection oriented eco-tourism: A tool for conservation of tigers in Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerela, India. International Research Journal of Environment Sciences, 5(7), 64–69. MARCHESE, C. (2015). Biodiversity hotspots: a shortcut for a more complicated concept. Global Ecology and Conservation, 3, 297–309. MONDAL, S.P. and YAMAGE, M. (2014). A retrospective study on the epidemiology of anthrax, food and mouth disease, haemorrhagic septicemia, peste des petits ruminants and rabies in Bangladesh, 2010–2012. PLos One, 9(8), e104435. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104435 R ADHAKRISHNAN, K.V. and KURUP, M.B. (2010). Ichthyodiversity of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerela, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 2(10), 1192–1198. RAWAT, M., SHARMA, K.N. and JATICAR, P.R. (1990). Presumed anthrax in a camel. Veterinary Record, 127, 411–411. SHARMA, M., JOSHI, V.B., BATTAMK, KATOCH, R.C., SHARMA, A.K. and NAGAL, K.B. (1996). Anthrax in buffaloes in Shivalik Valleys of Himachal Pradesh in India. Buffalo Journal, 12, 109–113. SHARMA, S.K., SINGH, G.R. and PATHAK, R.C. (1992). Epidemiological pattern of livestock diseases affecting pigs in Uttar Pradesh: anthrax and black quarters. Veterinary Research Journal, 6, 17–19. SINHA, S.K. (2012). Indian Bison Bos gaurus in the shiwalik hills-gangetic plains landscapes in India. Current Science, 103(5), 466–467. WOBESER. (1996). Forensic (Medico-legal) necropsy of wildlife. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 32(2), 240–249.

How can spatio-temporal overlap in mammals assist in maximizing biodiversity conservation? A case study of Periyar Tiger Reserve

While global mammalian diversity is collapsing due to increased poaching and habitat loss, evidence-based conservation in protected areas is often regarded as a panacea. Tiger reserves in India set an example, where annual camera trap monitoring is conducted for understanding the trends in the tiger population. However, less is known about other co-predators and their prey species that occur in the same area. The fundamental hindrance being the absence of individual pelage pattern within these species (i.e. unique pattern on the body), as well as the absence of species-specific monitoring. As a result, there is a demand in techniques that can avail maximum biodiversity information from the existing monitoring protocols. Here, we conducted camera trapping in Periyar Tiger Reserve to evaluate spatiotemporal overlaps within different carnivores, and between prey-predators. Camera trapping was conducted at high resolution (2 km2) for 30 days at 253 locations that yielded 6092 photographs of 18 mammals. Their temporal overlap was estimated using ‘overlap’ R package, while the spatial association was estimated using ‘co-occur’ package. Three large-ranging top predators (tiger, leopard and dhole) were found to have activity peaks segregated temporally. Relationship of these predators with their prey species highlighted the role of body sizes, where largest predator (tiger) had higher overlap with large-bodied prey (gaur and sambar), while small-bodied predator (leopard and dhole) overlapped small-bodied prey (barking deer and wild pig). Results highlight the importance of large-sized prey in conserving the tiger densities of this region. However, selectively conserving only large-bodied prey can have repercussions on other sympatric carnivores, who require different body-sized prey species. Our results have implications for all protected areas in the tropical developing countries, which are mostly smaller in area with species-centered conservation agenda. We highlight the importance of considering species-specific carrying capacity of all co-predators in the region, to optimally conserve the prey-base through habitat restoration, so as to maximize biodiversity conservation within a limited area.

Transform of Vegetation after Interventions in the Marshy Grassland (Vayal) Habitats of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India

Transform of Vegetation after Interventions in the Marshy Grassland (Vayal) Habitats of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India

New Population Records and Ecology of <i>Humboldtia bourdillonii</i> (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) - A Critically Endangered Tree of Southern Western Ghats, Kerala

Two new populations of Humboldtia bourdillonii Prain, an endemic tree of southern Western Ghats, Kerala, were recorded from Kulamavu forest, Idukki district,Kerala. The earlier populations reported are from Arjunankotta-Poonkavanam forests in Periyar Tiger Reserve of Peermede plateau. The population structure including number of mature individuals, gbh, age class along with major associates and seedling bank of the populations were analyzed as part of population ecology and subsequent in situ conservation of the species.

Myrmoteras scabrum Moffett, 1985 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), A Rare ant of Western Ghats of India

Myrmoteras scabrum Moffett, 1985 is located again in Western Ghats. The species was described based upon a single specimen collected from Cannanore District of Western Ghats by Moffett (Bull Mus Comp Zool 151(1):1–53, 1985) Only the second known specimen of this species from Thanikuddy region of Periyar Tiger reserve is discovered here. Auto-montage images of the species are provided herewith along with notes on its biology.

An assessment of water yield ecosystem services in Periyar Tiger Reserve, Southern Western Ghats of India

ABSTRACT Protected area water yield calculation and mapping are of great importance to the conservation planning and resource management. A water yield model based on InVEST was employed to estimate water yield in Periyar Tiger Reserve, a representative in the Southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India. The analysis included land use/land cover, average annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, soil depth at various elevation, and plants available water content. The estimated water yield of PTR was 2.33E+09 m3 y-1 with 67% from Periyar river watershed and 33% from Pamba river watershed. A comparison of water-yielding capacity to the forest ecosystems with different vegetations indicates that there is a decreasing trend from evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, to grassland-savanna, moist deciduous forest and plantations. It is estimated 37% of evergreen and 24% of semi-evergreen share the major portion of the total water yield, 63.5% of PTR. This study reveals the significance of ecosystem services of the protected area and the importance to conserve and required efficient management.

Notes on the extended distribution of Humboldtia bourdillonii (Fabales: Fabaceae), an Endangered tree legume in the Western Ghats, India

Humboldtia bourdillonii is an Endangered tree legume; considered endemic to its type locality in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Idukki District of Kerala State. A new population of this highly threatened endemic species is located in the Vagamon Hills of Kottayam District which is about 70km away from its original locality. The newly located population is drastically affected by the severe floods and landslides that occurred in Kerala state during August 2018. Urgent conservation measures are needed to protect the population from further loss.

SCREENING OF ACTINOMYCETES ISOLATED FROM NATURAL ECOSYSTEM (PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE, KERALA) FOR LIPASE INHIBITORY ACTIVITIES

Objectives: The present study was undertaken to screen pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity of crude extracts of actinomycetes species isolated from the soil sediments of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala. The identified lipase inhibitory activity was partially purified, and the selected isolate was identified by 16S rRNA sequencing.
 Methods: The preliminary screening for the extracellular lipase inhibitory activities of actinomycetes isolates was performed by inoculating the culture to the test tubes containing inoculation media in submerged condition. The lipase inhibitory activities were again evaluated based on secondary screening on the production media and the strain which produced consistent highest lipase inhibitory activity was selected for further studies. The crude extract from the selected strain was subjected to solvent extraction and partially purified by plain silica gel column (mesh size 100–200 μm; column 300 mm×18 mm) and eluted with different solvents in the increasing order of polarity and all the solvent fractions were checked for lipase inhibitory activity.
 Results: Based on the secondary screening on the production of media, DDE6 strain showed highest lipase inhibitory activity (96.2%) and was selected for further studies. The dichloromethane extract showed the highest lipase inhibitory activity (96.38%) when compared to other solvents. The partial 16S rRNA sequence analysis of DDE6 isolate confirmed the strain as Curtobacterium oceanosedimentum. 
 Conclusion: Many research publications have reported the isolation of Curtobacterium species and its type strains. However, this is the first time to report its potential to produce lipase inhibitor metabolite under submerged fermentation conditions. Further, studies are needed to be conducted to characterize the active principle of lipase inhibition as well as to elucidate the structure of the extracted compound.

Community structure and ant species diversity across select sites of Western Ghats, India

Information available on species composition, richness and diversity of ant communities of Western Ghats is limited. Recognizing this, the study (2010−2013) was undertaken to evaluate richness and diversity of ants in eight sites of Western Ghats, India, with added notes on how it varies on elevation gradient. Spanning across broad altitudinal and latitudinal gradient, selected sites differed greatly for various micro-habitat variables. Using standard collection protocols and employing five collection techniques, 173 species belonging to 65 genera in 10 subfamilies were collected including twenty species published as new to science and two genera and six species reported for the first time from India. Varying among sites, species richness was recorded lowest (S = 29) at Manalar and highest (S = 116) at Periyar Tiger Reserve. With little but significant variations among sites, the Shannon-Wiener's species diversity index (H′) was recorded highest (H′ = 2.60) at Periyar Tiger Reserve and lowest (H′ = 2.11) at Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary connoting that sites with lower richness were not necessarily less diverse. Beta diversity (β-diversity) was lowest (19%) between contiguous sites like Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary and Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary and highest between site Manalar and Periyar Tiger Reserve at 68% suggesting that ant species composition distinctly varied in these sites. Our results indicated that only few species were adapted to full spectrum of environmental variation along altitudinal gradient studied and both species richness and diversity peaked at mid-elevations as against higher elevations wherein it underwent rapid decline. Such behavior is presumably due to favorable ecological conditions at middle altitudes. Our findings rank high as they not only provide baseline data against which futuristic faunal changes could be assessed with respect to perturbations in a biodiversity hotspot but they also could be used to designate ecological sensitivities to various regions of Western Ghats for future conservation programs.

Employing Measurers of Spatial Distribution of Carbon Storage in Periyar Tiger Reserve, Southern Western Ghats, India

Carbon stock distribution in the protected areas (PAs) of India is rarely studied, although they constitute 21.34% of the geographical area under forest cover. A quantitative assessment of ecosystem service is used here to evaluate the PAs of India in terms of storage and spatial distribution of carbon stocks. The area selected for the study was Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR), in the Southern Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Carbon storage on a land parcel largely depends on the amount of five carbon pools: aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, dead wood, litter, and soil organic matter. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model uses land cover types and data on the stocks in the five carbon pools to estimate the amount of carbon stored in a landscape. The InVEST model is multiservice and has a modular design that provides an effective tool for exploring the likely outcomes of alternative management and climate scenarios and for evaluating trade-offs among sectors and services. The results showed that the average carbon (C) stock in the study area was 76 t/ha, and a sum of 15.43 million tons were stored in PTR. The multiservice, modular design of the ecosystem service analysis provides decision-makers an effective tool for evaluating and managing natural resources.

Metagenomic Exploration of Microbial Signatures on Periyar River Sediments from the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats.

ABSTRACTWe report here targeted deep-sequencing metagenomic data that reveal a high level of diversity in the microbiota residing in the sediment of the Periyar River in a reserve forest of the Western Ghats. Of the 4,674 operational taxonomic units discovered, the dominant phyla represented were Proteobacteria (33.12%), Actinobacteria (14.58%), Acidobacteria (12.81%), and Bacteroidetes (9.89%).

Habitat monitoring and conservation prioritisation of protected areas in Western Ghats, Kerala, India.

Spatially explicit approach is essential to prioritise the ecosystems for biodiversity conservation. In the present study, the conservation status of 20 protected areas of the Western Ghats of Kerala, India, was analysed based on long-term changes in forests (1975-1985-1995-2005-2013), landscape level changes in fragmentation and forest fires (2005-2015). This study has shown that a significant forest loss occurred in protected areas before declaration. Idukki is one of the major protected areas which showed a drastic reduction (18.83%) in its forest cover. During 1985-1995, Periyar tiger reserve had lost 24.19km2 core 3 forest area followed by Peppara (18.54km2), Parambikulam (17.93km2), Chimmony (17.71km2), Peechi-Vazhani (12.31km2) and Neyyar (11.67km2). An area of 71.33km2 of the protected area was affected by fires in 2014. Overall protected area-wise decadal analysis indicates Periyar has the highest number of fire incidences followed by Wayanad, Kurinjimala, Silent Valley and Eravikulam. Disturbances in the form of fires and fragmentation still exist and may have significant conservation threat to flora and fauna. Among protected areas, many are having a probability to go under threat or dynamic stage. Chinnar, Thattekkad and Kurinjimala sanctuaries are representing high levels of vulnerability, or they are near to decline stage. Habitat level monitoring of the anthropogenic disturbances can be efficiently useful for the strategic conservation planning. The present study has provided geospatial database on spatial patterns of deforestation, fragmentation and forest fires in protected areas of Kerala. Conservation prioritization approach based on these parameters will be useful for the strategic planning in the state of Kerala.

The risk analysis of potential forest fires in a wildlife sanctuary in the western ghats (Southwest Indian Peninsula) using geospatial techniques

Introduction: Forest fires are potential threats to most of the wildlife sanctuaries in the world. Such areas for conservation of precious wildlife in parts of the Western Ghats in India are no exception. The present study area representing the Periyar Tiger Reserve forms a part of the Western Ghats, where during the past decade more than 200 wildfires have been recorded. Objective: The present study is designed to demarcate the fire risk zones applying principles of geospatial techniques. Materials and Methods: The technique integrates Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System. Parameters such as land cover type, surface slope, aspect, proximity to settlements, closeness to roads, and elevation have been considered. A Modified Fire Risk Index method has been used for preparing the risk zone map. Results: The prepared map shows five fire risk zones such as very high, high, moderate, low, and very low. About 27.38% of the study area, according to this study falls within the high and very high risk zones. The final result of the study is validated with the MODIS active fire (hotspot) data, which shows very good reliability. Conclusion: This study based on geospatial technology is very useful to the local authorities for identifying in advance the fire risk zones for prevention and management of forest fires in future.

Recent records and distribution of the Indian Brown Mongoose Herpestes fuscus Gray, 1837 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Herpestidae) from the southern Western Ghats, India

We are reporting four new records of Brown Mongoose Herpestes fuscus Gray, 1837 from four protected areas in Western Ghats including Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar Tiger Reserve and Pampadum Shola National Park and one new site record outside a protected area from Pambanar Tea plantation in Idukki dt. situated in Kerala part of southern Western Ghats. An updated distribution map of Brown Mongoose in Western Ghats is presented here.