Status of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca silenus</Emphasis> in the Kudremukh Forest Complex,Karnataka, India

We assessed the population status of endangered lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) in the rain forests of Kudremukh Forest complex (Kudremukh National Park, Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary and Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary), Western Ghats, Karnataka in January 2007. We performed a census of 20 groups in Kudremukh NP, 4 groups in Someshwara WS, and 6 groups in Mookambika WS. We estimated the population size as ca. 451 individuals in the 3 parks. The forests of Kudremukh NP and Someshwara WS are continuous, and the present finding of 24 groups in a single continuous forest confirms the existence of another significant population of lion-tailed macaques.     

Assessment of spatial and habitat use overlap between Himalayan tahr and livestock in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary,India

Livestock grazing and associated habitat degradation are considered as major reasons for declining populations of wild ungulates. In the Himalaya, livestock grazing has been practiced for centuries. We studied the spatial and habitat use overlap between the Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) and domestic migratory livestock (Capra aegagrus hircus and Ovis aries) in the subalpine and alpine areas of the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand, India, from April 2003 to March 2004 to investigate if there was an impact of livestock grazing on the habitat use of tahr in this area. Habitat parameters such as altitude, aspect, slope, and vegetation cover used by the tahr and livestock were quantified and compared. Minimal spatial overlap was observed. Tahr demonstrated preference for higher altitude and steeper terrain and occupied rocky terrain with comparatively less grass, shrub, and tree cover, while livestock occupied lower slope categories with low rock cover and more shrub and tree cover. Livestock used altitude, slope, and aspect categories in proportion to their availability. However, the difference in use of altitude and slope was not significant, and an increase in the population of the tahr over the years in the study area was concomitant to the decrease in the livestock use of the area, which raises doubts as to whether this minimal habitat overlap is an outcome of spatial displacement or exclusion of the tahr from certain habitats.     

Habitat shift and time budget of the Tibetan argali: the influence of livestock grazing

Livestock production is the primary source of livelihood and income in most of the high steppe and alpine regions of the Indian Trans-Himalaya. In some areas, especially those established or proposed for biodiversity conservation, recent increases in populations of domestic livestock, primarily sheep and goats, have raised concern about domestic animals competitively excluding wild herbivores from the rangelands. We evaluated the influence of domestic sheep and goat grazing on the habitat use and time budget of the endangered Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh, India. We asked if the domestic sheep and goat grazing and collateral human activities relegate the argali to sub-optimal habitats, and alter their foraging time budgets. Data were collected on habitat use and time budget of a population of c. 50 argalis before and after c. 2,000 sheep and goats moved onto their winter pasture in the Tsabra catchment of the aforementioned reserve. Following the introduction of domestic sheep and goats, argalis continued to use the same catchment but shifted to steeper habitats, closer to cliffs, with lower vegetation cover, thus abandoning previously used plant communities with denser cover. Argalis’ active time spent foraging also decreased by 10% in response to the presence of livestock. These results suggest a clear disturbance effect of livestock on argalis, and indicate a potential for competition, conceivably a significant disadvantage for argalis in winter when forage availability is minimal.     

Identifying habitat linkages to maintain connectivity for corridor dwellers in a fragmented landscape

Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation typically precedes conservation planning; maintaining remaining linkages among core habitat areas can thus become a key conservation objective. Identifying linkages for dispersal and ensuring those linkages have long-term protection and management are challenging tasks for wildlife managers. These tasks can be especially daunting for smaller species with low mobility, termed corridor dwellers, which must maintain sustainable populations within corridors. Between May 2007 and June 2009, we collected occurrence locations for a corridor dweller, the Palm Springs pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris bangsii), from museums, previous research, and our own field sampling. We used those data to model their suitable niche space and then identify suitable linkages between proposed conservation areas. We used a partitioned Mahalanobis D² statistic to create a spatially explicit niche model describing the distribution of a suitable niche space, and we validated the model statistically, with live trapping and with burrowing owl (Athene cunnicularia) diets. Our model identified soil characteristics, topographic ruggedness, and vegetation as variables delimiting Palm Springs pocket mouse habitat; sand content of the soils was an especially important characteristic. Our historic distribution model identified 120,000–90,000 ha as historically potential Palm Springs pocket mouse habitat; roughly 39% of that has been lost to more recent development. Most of the remaining suitable habitat occurred in the northwestern portion of the valley. We modeled habitat within core reserves as well as within proposed linkages between those reserves as having high similarity to known occupied habitats. Live trapping in areas with high (≥0.95) Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values resulted in captures at 66% of those locations and, along with burrowing owl diets, refined a qualitative model as to what constituted a suitable Palm Springs pocket mouse corridor. While most corridor analyses have focused on mobile species which may traverse corridors in hours, days, or weeks, linkages for corridor dwellers must include habitat for sustaining multi-generational populations. This requires evaluating whether continuous suitable habitat exists within proposed corridors. Our research demonstrates how niche modeling can provide a landscape-scale view of the distribution of suitable habitat to evaluate conservation objectives for connectivity. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Locating elephant corridors between Saadani National Park and the Wami‐Mbiki Wildlife Management Area,Tanzania

Although more than 40% of Tanzania mainland is managed for nature conservation, protected areas are increasingly becoming isolated because of rapid habitat degradation in the matrix in between. Knowledge on corridors connecting the protected areas is urgently needed. We assessed the area between Saadani National Park and Wami‐Mbiki Wildlife Management Area, combining interviews about wildlife occurrences from 20 villages in the area with least‐cost landscape modelling with African elephants (Loxodonta africana) as the focal species. The interviews suggested that, in contrast to earlier assumptions, migration of elephants or the presence of one or more independent elephant populations still exists in the unprotected area between Saadani and Wami‐Mbiki. A combination of the interview results and multiple least‐cost models showed three corridors in the area. The corridor along the Wami river is the most important one, the area between Miono and Mandera was identified as an impeding zone. Management decisions on the wildlife corridors to be protected will require further in‐depth research in the three specified corridor zones. Apart from providing insights into elephant movement ecology, the approach may be useful for localizing corridors elsewhere in eastern Africa.     

Impact of livestock grazing on biodiversity and giant panda habitat

Livestock grazing occurs in many protected areas for wildlife and has become a threat to wildlife worldwide. Livestock grazing within protected areas causes negative effects to rare wildlife (e.g., giant panda [Ailuropoda melanoleuca]) and their habitat. We used the 2,000-km² Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, southwestern China, to document the effects of livestock on the giant panda and its habitat. We monitored arrow bamboo (Bashania fangiana), wildlife sign (i.e., feces and tracks), and characteristics of plant communities in intact habitat (IH; limited livestock grazing) and disturbed habitat (DH; with grazing disturbance) to assess the effects of livestock grazing and the responses of giant pandas and sympatric species across spatial and temporal scales. Bamboo coverage and the height and basal diameter of bamboo in IH were greater than those in DH, whereas the number of herbaceous species and herbaceous coverage in IH were lower than those in DH. Wildlife signs in IH were greater than those in DH; specifically, giant panda and red panda (Ailurus fulgens) signs were greater, whereas signs of sambar (Rusa unicolor) and tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) in IH were similar to those in DH. Livestock grazing reduced bamboo, which may threaten the long-term survival of the giant panda. Our results have implications for understanding and management of livestock grazing in the Wolong National Nature Reserve and elsewhere. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.     

A graph theoretic approach for modelling tiger corridor network in Central India-Eastern Ghats landscape complex,India

Wildlife habitat corridors are components of landscapes, which facilitate the movement of organisms and processes between areas of intact habitat, and thus provide landscape corridor as well as serve as an ideal component to study and understand physiological ecology. Corridors are thus regions within a given landscape that generally comprise native vegetation, and connect otherwise fragmented, disconnected, non-contiguous wildlife habitat patches in the landscape. The purpose of designing corridors as a conservation strategy is primarily to counter, and to the extent possible, mitigate the impacts of habitat fragmentation and loss on the biodiversity of the landscape, as well as support continuance of land use for essential local and global economic activities in the region of reference.In this paper, we use game theory and graph theory to model and design a wildlife corridor in the Central India – Eastern Ghats landscape complex, with tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) as the focal species. We construct a graph using the habitat patches supporting wild tiger populations in the landscape complex as vertices and the possible paths between these vertices as edges. A cost matrix is constructed to indicate the cost incurred by the tiger for passage between the habitat patches in the landscape (based on Shelford's Law of Tolerance), by modelling a two-person Prisoner's Dilemma game. A minimum spanning tree is then obtained by employing Kruskal's algorithm, which would suggest a feasible tiger corridor network for the tiger population within the landscape complex. Additionally, analysis of the graph is done using various centrality measures, in order to identify and focus on potentially important habitat patches, and their potential community structure. Correlation analysis is performed on the centrality indices to draw out interesting trends in the network.     

Road edge effect on the abundance of the lizard <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gallotia galloti</Emphasis> (Sauria: Lacertidae) in two Canary Islands forests

Transportation infrastructure is a main cause of environmental change in forest landscapes worldwide. In the Canary Islands, a dense road system fragment the native Canarian pine and laurel forests causing potential changes in population densities of endemic lacertid lizards (genus Gallotia). Our aim was to assess road edge effects on relative abundance patterns of the endemic Gallotia galloti in both forests. We also explored the species–habitat relationships in this road-fragmentation context. We found that lizard relative density in relation to road edges differed between forests. Lizards were more abundant along edges and leeward interior, but virtually absent from the interior of the windward laurel forest. In the pine forest, lizards were present at three distances from edge, with a net decrease in abundance from edge to interior. These patterns may be explained partly by differences in vegetation structure regarding road proximity in each forest that potentially affect the helio- and thigmothermic character of G. galloti, and thus its habitat use. A general suggestion of this study is that road margins create corridors that may be used by native lizards for dispersal through inhospitable forest matrix. The high road density in Tenerife may have negative implications for the conservation of the genetic variability of G. galloti. At the island scale, increased communication between lizard populations through road corridors might increase homogenization of the gene pool. Ecological processes in which this lizard plays important roles may also experience changes along road edges.     

Opportunities of habitat connectivity for tiger (Panthera tigris) between Kanha and Pench National Parks in Madhya Pradesh, India

The Tiger (Panthera tigris) population in India has undergone a sharp decline during the last few years. Of the number of factors attributed to this decline, habitat fragmentation has been the most worrisome. Wildlife corridors have long been a subject of discussion amongst wildlife biologists and conservationists with contrasting schools of thought arguing their merits and demerits. However, it is largely believed that wildlife corridors can help minimize genetic isolation, offset fragmentation problems, improve animal dispersal, restore ecological processes and reduce man animal conflict. This study attempted to evaluate the possibilities of identifying a suitable wildlife corridor between two very important wildlife areas of central India--the Kanha National Park and the Pench National Park--with tiger as the focal species. Geographic Information System (GIS) centric Least Cost Path modeling was used to identify likely routes for movement of tigers. Habitat suitability, perennial water bodies, road density, railway tracks, human settlement density and total forest edge were considered as key variables influencing tiger movement across the Kanha-Pench landscape. Each of these variables was weighted in terms of relative importance through an expert consultation process. Using different importance scenarios, three alternate corridor routes were generated of which one was identified as the most promising for tiger dispersal. Weak links--where cover and habitat conditions are currently sub-optimal--were flagged on the corridor route. Interventions aimed at augmenting the identified corridor route have been suggested using accepted wildlife corridor design principles. The involvement of local communities through initiatives such as ecotourism has been stressed as a crucial long term strategy for conservation of the Kanha-Pench wildlife corridor. The results of the study indicate that restoration of the identified wildlife corridors between the two protected areas is technically feasible.     

Evaluating Landscape Options for Corridor Restoration between Giant Panda Reserves

The establishment of corridors can offset the negative effects of habitat fragmentation by connecting isolated habitat patches. However, the practical value of corridor planning is minimal if corridor identification is not based on reliable quantitative information about species-environment relationships. An example of this need for quantitative information is planning for giant panda conservation. Although the species has been the focus of intense conservation efforts for decades, most corridor projects remain hypothetical due to the lack of reliable quantitative researches at an appropriate spatial scale. In this paper, we evaluated a framework for giant panda forest corridor planning. We linked our field survey data with satellite imagery, and conducted species occupancy modelling to examine the habitat use of giant panda within the potential corridor area. We then conducted least-cost and circuit models to identify potential paths of dispersal across the landscape, and compared the predicted cost under current conditions and alternative conservation management options considered during corridor planning. We found that due to giant panda''s association with areas of low elevation and flat terrain, human infrastructures in the same area have resulted in corridor fragmentation. We then identified areas with high potential to function as movement corridors, and our analysis of alternative conservation scenarios showed that both forest/bamboo restoration and automobile tunnel construction would significantly improve the effectiveness of corridor, while residence relocation would not significantly improve corridor effectiveness in comparison with the current condition. The framework has general value in any conservation activities that anticipate improving habitat connectivity in human modified landscapes. Specifically, our study suggested that, in this landscape, automobile tunnels are the best means to remove current barriers to giant panda movements caused by anthropogenic interferences.     

Does one size fit all? A multispecies approach to regional landscape corridor planning

Aim

The practical value of the single‐species approach to conserve biodiversity could be minimal or negligible when sympatric species are limited by factors that are not relevant to the proposed umbrella species. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated as follows: (1) habitat suitability and potential movement corridors of a single umbrella species, giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca); (2) habitat suitability of sympatric mammals; and (3) the potential effectiveness of the single‐species corridor planning to preserve suitable habitat and its connectivity of other focal species.

Location

Qinling Mountains, central part of China (15,000 km²).

Methods

We collected species distribution, environmental and anthropogenic data and conducted species occupancy modelling for giant panda and six other sympatric species (i.e., takin Budorcas taxicolor, tufted deer Elaphodus cephalophus, Chinese goral Naemorhedus griseus, Reeve's muntjac Muntiacus reevesi, leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis and yellow‐throated marten Martes flavigula). We then conducted circuit models to identify potential corridors for each species and evaluated the effectiveness of giant panda corridors to restore the habitat connectivity for these sympatric mammals.

Results

Occupancy modelling revealed that each species had a unique set of environmental variables associated with its distribution in the Qinling Mountains. We found that giant panda and all other focal species had some degree of fragmentation to their suitable habitat that required restoring habitat connectivity. Among the eight potential giant panda corridors, conservation efforts to reduce anthropogenic impacts would significantly improve the effectiveness of six corridors, while the other two corridors would require altering the vegetation. Five proposed giant panda corridors had remarkable overlap with corridors proposed for other species. We suggest two giant panda corridors as a priority due to their potential to maximize the benefits to both giant panda and a broader suite of mammals.

Main conclusions

Corridor planning in this region of China will likely continue using the single‐species policy, but our results highlight that not all potential giant panda corridors have equal effectiveness for other wildlife species. When offered multiple alternative actions, conservation planners can prioritize corridor development based on a multispecies perspective without loss of connectivity for the priority species. This approach has strong implications to the conservation of wildlife communities in China, and elsewhere, where conservation plans developed for a single‐species garner most available funding and institutional support.

     

Plant diversity in managed sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.) forests of Gorakhpur, India: species composition, regeneration and conservation

The sal (Shorea robusta) forest vegetation of Sohagibarawa Wildlife Sanctuary, Gorakhpur, India was analysed to assess plant diversity, regeneration pattern and the status of species conservation. A total of 208 plant species representing 165 genera and 72 families were recorded. Species richness, mean density and basal area of individuals in the observed forest were compared with those of other sal-dominated forests of India. The sal forest was rich in Papilionaceae (23 species), which contributed maximally to the total number of individuals of <30 cm girth. After sal, density was maximal for a leguminous shrub, Moghania chappar. In addition to the usual recruitment by seed, a number of species also showed non-seed regeneration through storage roots, sprouts or ramet proliferation. The individuals regenerating as sprouts from underground stem or storage organs contributed significantly to the sum total of individuals/ha. As much as 45.5% of the total individuals were of ramet origin and shared 10.6% of the total species richness of the forest. In stands facing moderate to low disturbance, thickets of dense entangled mass of vegetation, predominantly composed of thorny lianas, were identified that usually contained less common and rare species like Rauwolfia serpentina, Desmodium latifolium, Crotalaria alata and Gloriosa superba in addition to the frequent ones. These thickets help to conserve the special habitat conditions and provide protection for natural regeneration of several infrequent and rare plant species and thus contribute towards the maintenance and in situ conservation of overall diversity of recurrently disturbed forest vegetation.     

小相岭山系大熊猫廊道规划

廊道能有效地增加栖息地斑块间的大熊猫种群交流,降低种群灭绝的风险。小相岭山系是现存大熊猫种群数量最少的山系之一。通过MAXENT(Maximum Entropy)分析,发现小相岭山系存在7个相对隔离的栖息地斑块,栖息地破碎化严重。为了增加小相岭山系大熊猫种群交流,利用最小代价路径原理和电流理论,从保护管理角度出发,在该区域划定了9条连接大熊猫栖息地斑块的廊道。其中紫马-麻麻地廊道连接该区域面积最大、大熊猫痕迹点最多的两个栖息地斑块,生态意义重大,建议优先建设该廊道。此外,研究划定的多个廊道彼此邻近,甚至存在一定程度的重叠。将这些极其邻近或者重叠的廊道合并,并提出"廊道群"的概念。廊道群是两个或两个以上极其相邻的廊道构成的网状结构,廊道群作为景观上的网状结构,能同时连接多个栖息地斑块,更有效地增加多个栖息地斑块间的种群交流。由于农田的挤压,部分廊道难以达到大熊猫廊道的最低宽度需求(2230 m),制约了其生态效应的发挥,建议在以后的保护工作中探索农田区域的栖息地恢复方式。     

Prey Animals of Tiger (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Panthera tigris tigris</Emphasis>) in Dudhwa Landscape,Terai Region,North India

Livestock depredation by carnivores cause substantial human carnivore conflict and subsequently decreased support for carnivore conservation. Thus, understanding carnivore diet with respect to wild prey availability has major implications to determine the reasons behind livestock depredation. A study was conducted to investigate food habits and prey use of tiger at four study sites (Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, Pilibhit Forest Division and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary) in Dudhwa landscape, Terai Region, North India for further understanding of prey–predator relationship and partial impact of wild prey availability on livestock depredation by tiger through scat analysis. Scat analysis shows that the tigers depend mostly on medium sized prey throughout the study area (74.11, 73.58, 71.79, 47.62%). In Dudhwa National Park and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, predation was attempted subsequently on wider prey variety of eleven and nine different available prey species where livestock depredation were only 3.77 and 5.36% respectively. While, in absence of wider prey variety, large sized livestock (21.91, 16.55%) and nilgai (24.41, 5.57%) contributed much higher in tiger diet in Pilibhit Forest Division and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary respectively. Our study suggested that availability of prey variety has an important role in reduced livestock depredation. Medium sized preys were mostly contributing in tiger diet and seems to be a significant parameter for sustaining tiger population where abundance of large sized prey is rare. Conservation of medium sized preys is important but along with natural restoration of the population of large sized prey species like sambar and swamp deer is essential in order to reduce livestock depredation.     

Population size estimation of an Asian elephant population in eastern Cambodia through non-invasive mark-recapture sampling

The Asian elephant is a flagship species for conservation in tropical Asia, but reliable population estimates are available only from a few populations. This is because the species can be elusive and occurs at low densities in dense habitat over a large part of its range. Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary in the Eastern Plains, Cambodia, which is part of one of the largest protected area complexes in South-East Asia, is one such habitat that had not been systematically censused for elephants. We, therefore, used fecal-DNA based capture-mark-recapture sampling to estimate the population size for establishing a monitoring baseline. Five sampling sessions targeted all areas in and adjacent to Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary believed to be used by elephants. Fresh dung was collected as the source of DNA and genotyping was carried out based on nine microsatellite loci. The 224 samples collected yielded 78 unique genotypes. Using model averaging of closed population capture-mark-recapture models, the elephant population in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary was estimated to number 136 ± 18 (SE) individuals. Our results suggest that eastern Cambodia supports a regionally important Asian elephant population.     

A landscape-level assessment of Asian elephant habitat,its population and elephant–human conflict in the Anamalai hill ranges of southern Western Ghats,India

Spatial information at the landscape scale is extremely important for conservation planning, especially in the case of long-ranging vertebrates. The biodiversity-rich Anamalai hill ranges in the Western Ghats of southern India hold a viable population for the long-term conservation of the Asian elephant. Through rapid but extensive field surveys we mapped elephant habitat, corridors, vegetation and land-use patterns, estimated the elephant population density and structure, and assessed elephant–human conflict across this landscape. GIS and remote sensing analyses indicate that elephants are distributed among three blocks over a total area of about 4600 km². Approximately 92% remains contiguous because of four corridors; however, under 4000 km² of this area may be effectively used by elephants. Nine landscape elements were identified, including five natural vegetation types, of which tropical moist deciduous forest is dominant. Population density assessed through the dung count method using line transects covering 275 km of walk across the effective elephant habitat of the landscape yielded a mean density of 1.1 (95% CI = 0.99–1.2) elephant/km². Population structure from direct sighting of elephants showed that adult male elephants constitute just 2.9% and adult females 42.3% of the population with the rest being sub-adults (27.4%), juveniles (16%) and calves (11.4%). Sex ratios show an increasing skew toward females from juvenile (1:1.8) to sub-adult (1:2.4) and adult (1:14.7) indicating higher mortality of sub-adult and adult males that is most likely due to historical poaching for ivory. A rapid questionnaire survey and secondary data on elephant–human conflict from forest department records reveals that villages in and around the forest divisions on the eastern side of landscape experience higher levels of elephant–human conflict than those on the western side; this seems to relate to a greater degree of habitat fragmentation and percentage farmers cultivating annual crops in the east. We provide several recommendations that could help maintain population viability and reduce elephant–human conflict of the Anamalai elephant landscape.     

Effects of long‐term grazing management on sand dune vegetation of high conservation interest

Question: Can long‐term grazing management maintain and restore species‐rich sand dune plant communities within a sand dune site of high conservation interest? Location: Newborough Warren, North Wales, UK. Methods: Vegetation changes that occurred between 1987 and 2003, subsequent to grazing by domestic livestock being introduced to the site after decades with little or no stock grazing, were analysed using data collected from permanent monitoring quadrats over a 16‐year period. Results: At the plant community level, grazing brought about a shift from a tall‐grass dominated, species‐poor community to a more species‐rich community in the dry dunes, but did not change community type in dune slacks. However, at the species level, grazing enhanced the abundance of some desired perennial, annual and biennial species, graminoids and bryophytes in both habitat types. The increased frequency of positive indicator species for habitat condition suggests that grazing was beneficial for species of conservation interest. Ellenberg nitrogen (N) values decreased after grazing in dry habitats but showed no long‐term change independent of grazing, suggesting no increase in site fertility over the study period. Surprisingly, light (L) values also decreased in the dry dunes after grazing. Conclusions: Long‐term grazing management can play an important role for the conservation of dune communities and associated species. Because of its positive effects on species diversity, plant communities and habitat condition in sand dunes, livestock grazing is recommended for conservation management.     

Livestock management in Natura 2000: A case study in a Quercus pyrenaica neglected coppice forest

Due to the European Habitats Directive, Quercus pyrenaica habitat has been protected within the Natura 2000 network for biodiversity conservation. Many of these habitats have been widely managed as coppice forest with silvopastoral use throughout Spain. Currently, in many of these oak coppices fuelwood extraction is neglected and grazing is the main use. Management plans required in the Directive should consider all these circumstances and offer an integrated approach to ensure a favourable conservation status of these habitats. We propose a three phase methodology to assess the ability of the habitat to support a given livestock density annually and seasonally, and to evaluate some of the physical impacts of grazing animals on the physical structure and development of the habitat. We applied the methodology to a neglected coppice forest that supports livestock at different periods. Results show that there is a possible compatibility between annual livestock food requirements and pasture production. Current grazing periods seem to fit the seasonal pasture productivity. Negative impacts were assessed on oak shrubland stands due to intense browsing and on low polewood owing to the high density of broken trees. On more developed stands, positive livestock impact was due to the control of the regrowth of coppice shoots. Acorn absence is a result of the previous coppice management. This negative impact may endanger long-term viability of Q. pyrenaica in the study area. We propose a process of conversion into high forest through a sequence of thinning to start sexual regeneration. In this proposal, livestock have an important role to ensure biodiversity, control the regrowth of coppice shoots and thinning low polewood stands.     

Edge effects reduce the nesting success of Acadian Flycatchers in a moderately fragmented forest

ABSTRACT.   Forest fragmentation can create negative edge effects that reduce the reproductive success of birds nesting near the forest/nonforest interface, and threaten bird populations deeper in remnant forest habitats. Negative edge effects may be more pronounced in landscapes that are moderately fragmented, particularly where agriculture is the primary land-use fragmenting forests. Information about the extent and strength of edge effects at a site can help guide conservation actions, and determine their effectiveness. We examined edge effects for birds breeding in a nearly contiguous forest fragmented by relatively narrow agricultural corridors in Illinois (USA). We measured rates of nest predation and brood parasitism for Acadian Flycatchers ( Empidonax virescens ) over a continuum of distances from the edge of an agricultural inholding. Nest predation and brood parasitism were highest near the edge and decreased with increasing distance from the edge. Given the cumulative effects of nest predation and brood parasitism on reproductive success, we determined that forest within 600 m of the inholding was sink habitat. We found, however, that deeper forest interior areas currently serve as source habitat, and that conversion of the entire 205 ha agricultural corridor to forest would add 1350 ha of source habitat for Acadian Flycatchers. Such results provide support for a local conservation strategy of forest consolidation and establish baseline measures necessary to determine the relative effectiveness of any subsequent reforestation efforts.     

Kitam Bird Sanctuary,the only low elevation protected area of Sikkim: A conservation hotspot for butterflies in the Eastern Himalaya

The lowland areas of the Himalayan region are subjected to immense anthropogenic pressure because of least representation in the protected area network. Kitam Bird Sanctuary is the only representative protected area that occurs below 1000 m in Sikkim state of India (a part of globally significant biodiversity hotspot of Himalayas) and serves as the refuge for various species of flora and fauna. Here we studied butterfly diversity and community composition in Kitam Bird Sanctuary (a small protected area of 6 km² geographical area) following point count method spread across predetermined transects. Altogether 1674 butterflies belonging to 111 species and six families were recorded after completion of 240 point counts. Among these, 18 species are federally protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972) of India. Most of the butterflies were forest specialist in terms of habitat preference, whereas based on host plant specificity, the butterfly community was mostly dominated by generalist feeder (Oligophagous II and Polyphagous). Butterfly community parameters showed a strong correlation with habitat variables. While Kitam Bird Sanctuary is primarily designated for conservation of lowland birds, the high diversity of butterflies both in terms of taxonomic richness and trait composition suggests that the sanctuary harbors an ideal habitat for butterflies of the tropical region and invites conservation attention.