scholarly journals A Preliminary Survey of Birds in Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India

Author(s):  
Talat Parveen ◽  
Orus Ilyas

A preliminary survey of bird species and habitat in the Karmajhiri Range, Pench Tiger Reserve was conducted during March 2014 - May 2014. The aim of this study was assessment of avian population by addressing some ecological status such as faunal type, phenological traits, trophic status, occurence and protection status of birds species. 221 species of birds were recorded from study area. Out of 26 order in India 16 order of birds were presented in and around Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) which comprises 61 families. PTR provides habitat for three critically endangered species, namely White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis Gmelin, 1788), Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus Scopoli, 1786) and Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus Scopoli, 1786). Regarding species protected by Berne convention 34 species are listed in Appendix 2 (strickly protected fauna) and only one are represented in Appendix 3 (Protected fauna) House Sparrow (Passer domesticus Linnaeus, 1758). Based on the AEWA (African-Europian Migratory Waterbird Agreement) bird list, 18 bird species are noted in the study area. The dominance of Oriental faunal type provide information on the relationship of the surveyed avifauna to the biogeographical zones. We were recorded 28 biome restricted bird species.  This assessment also supports and justifies its classification as an Important Bird Area “IBA” because of the importance and abundance of avian species. Its provide shelter and hosts to birds. To conserve birds species in tropical deciduous forest in PTR, it will be necessary to preserve large areas of contiguous forest and monitor the effect of Habitat fragmentation and other development activities in and around forest area will have impact on their foraging, breeding and subsequently their population. These scientific findings will help to evaluate the effectiveness of legislation and policies for bird protection and will under in future conservation action for birds and their habitats.

Oryx ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Serra ◽  
J. A. Lindsell ◽  
L. Peske ◽  
J. Fritz ◽  
C. G. R. Bowden ◽  
...  

AbstractThe poor survival rate of immature northern bald ibisesGeronticus eremitaduring their first years spent outside the natal site is driving the last known wild colony of the migratory eastern population to extinction. To inform emergency conservation action for this Critically Endangered species we investigated the distribution range and behaviour of immature birds in passage and wintering areas, and the threats to which they are subject. We integrated recent satellite telemetry data with visual observations spanning 130 years. We assessed threats across the range, using satellite tracking and field surveys. Our results show that during the years before they return to the natal site in Syria, immature northern bald ibises reside away from the recently identified adult wintering site in the central Ethiopian highlands. They occur mainly across the northernmost 70–80% of the adult migratory range. Historical records suggest that immature birds spend more time along the western Arabian Peninsula now than in the past. This range shift exposes them for longer periods to threats, such as hunting and electrocution on power lines, which are absent from the wintering site used by adult birds. We suggest that other threatened and declining bird species sharing the same flyway probably face the same threats during migration.


2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb E. Gordon ◽  
Juan Francisco Ornelas

Biogeographical endemism and habitat restriction are two easily measured quantities that can be used as indicators of species' ecological restrictions. We analysed and compared these two types of information from available literature sources in an attempt to identify all bird species critically dependent on tropical deciduous forests of western Mexico and Central America. Based on patterns of biogeographical restriction, we identified 42 endemics, 33 disjunct endemics, 59 corridor species and 3 seasonal endemics associated with tropical deciduous forest (TDF) in this region. Based on patterns of habitat use in these species, we classified them as 50 tropical deciduous forest-restricted species and 82 apparent habitat generalist species. No habitat use information was available within the TDF belt for five of the biogeographically restricted species. We found a high proportion of apparent habitat generalists (60%) among biogeographically restricted species. We discuss three specific scenarios in which species critically dependent on TDF may nonetheless appear generalized in their patterns of habitat use. These species are termed “cryptic habitat specialists.” The proportion of apparent habitat generalists is highly variable among biogeographical regions and habitat types. Thus, global biodiversity conservation prioritizations that rely on habitat restriction as an indicator of ecological sensitivity may underestimate conservation needs within bioregions that contain high proportions of cryptic habitat specialists.


Oryx ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Grainger ◽  
Dusit Ngoprasert ◽  
Philip J.K. McGowan ◽  
Tommaso Savini

AbstractSome of the species that are believed to have the highest probability of extinction are also amongst the most poorly known, and this makes it extremely difficult to decide how to spend scarce resources. Assessments of conservation status made on the basis of loss or degradation of habitat and lack of records may provide compelling indications of a decline in geographical range and population size, but they do not help identify where conservation action might be best targeted. Methods for assessing the probability of extinction and for modelling species’ distributions exist, but their data requirements often exceed the information that is available for some of the most urgent conservation cases. Here we use all available information (localities, expert information, climate and landcover) about a high-priority Vietnamese bird species (Edwards's pheasant Lophura edwardsi) to assess objectively the probability of its persistence, and where surveys or other conservation action should be targeted. It is clear that the species is on the threshold of extinction and there is an urgent need to survey Bach Ma National Park (including the extension) and to consider surveying Ke Go Nature Reserve. This approach has potential to help identify where conservation action should be targeted for other Critically Endangered species for which there is an extreme scarcity of information.


2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. SEITZ

Modernization of agriculture, economic development and population increase after the end of the Thirty Years' War caused authorities in many parts of Germany to decree the eradication of so-called pest animals, including the House Sparrow. Farmers were given targets, and had to deliver the heads of sparrows in proportion to the size of their farms or pay fines. At the end of the eighteenth century German ornithologists argued against the eradication of the sparrows. During the mid-nineteenth century, C. L. Gloger, the pioneer of bird protection in Germany, emphasized the value of the House Sparrow in controlling insect plagues. Many decrees were abolished because either they had not been obeyed, or had resulted in people protecting sparrows so that they always had enough for their “deliveries”. Surprisingly, various ornithologists, including Ernst Hartert and the most famous German bird conservationist Freiherr Berlepsch, joined in the war against sparrows at the beginning of the twentieth century, because sparrows were regarded as competitors of more useful bird species. After the Second World War, sparrows were poisoned in large numbers. Persecution of sparrows ended in Germany in the 1970s. The long period of persecution had a significant but not long-lasting impact on House Sparrow populations, and therefore cannot be regarded as a factor in the recent decline of this species in urban and rural areas of western and central Europe.


2005 ◽  
Vol 360 (1454) ◽  
pp. 269-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D Gregory ◽  
Arco van Strien ◽  
Petr Vorisek ◽  
Adriaan W Gmelig Meyling ◽  
David G Noble ◽  
...  

The global pledge to deliver ‘a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010’ is echoed in a number of regional and national level targets. There is broad consensus, however, that in the absence of conservation action, biodiversity will continue to be lost at a rate unprecedented in the recent era. Remarkably, we lack a basic system to measure progress towards these targets and, in particular, we lack standard measures of biodiversity and procedures to construct and assess summary statistics. Here, we develop a simple classification of biodiversity indicators to assist their development and clarify purpose. We use European birds, as example taxa, to show how robust indicators can be constructed and how they can be interpreted. We have developed statistical methods to calculate supranational, multi-species indices using population data from national annual breeding bird surveys in Europe. Skilled volunteers using standardized field methods undertake data collection where methods and survey designs differ slightly across countries. Survey plots tend to be widely distributed at a national level, covering many bird species and habitats with reasonable representation. National species' indices are calculated using log-linear regression, which allows for plot turnover. Supranational species' indices are constructed by combining the national species' indices weighted by national population sizes of each species. Supranational, multi-species indicators are calculated by averaging the resulting indices. We show that common farmland birds in Europe have declined steeply over the last two decades, whereas woodland birds have not. Evidence elsewhere shows that the main driver of farmland bird declines is increased agricultural intensification. We argue that the farmland bird indicator is a useful surrogate for trends in other elements of biodiversity in this habitat.


2003 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolores R. Piperno ◽  
John G. Jones

AbstractA phytolith record from Monte Oscuro, a crater lake located 10 m above sea level on the Pacific coastal plain of Panama, shows that during the Late Pleistocene the lake bed was dry and savanna-like vegetation expanded at the expense of tropical deciduous forest, the modern potential vegetation. A significant reduction of precipitation below current levels was almost certainly required to effect the changes observed. Core sediment characteristics indicate that permanent inundation of the Monte Oscuro basin with water occurred at about 10,500 14C yr B.P. Pollen and phytolith records show that deciduous tropical forest expanded into the lake’s watershed during the early Holocene. Significant burning of the vegetation and increases of weedy plants at ca. 7500 to 7000 14C yr B.P. indicate disturbance, which most likely resulted from early human occupation of the seasonal tropical forest near Monte Oscuro and the development of slash-and-burn methods of cultivation.


1995 ◽  
Vol 198 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Walsberg ◽  
B Wolf

Determination of animal power consumption by indirect calorimetry relies upon accurate estimation of the thermal equivalent of oxygen consumed or carbon dioxide produced. This estimate is typically based upon measurement or assumption of the respiratory quotient (RQ), the ratio of CO2 produced to O2 consumed. This ratio is used to indicate the mixture of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins in the metabolic substrate. In this analysis, we report the RQ for two bird species, Passer domesticus and Auriparus flaviceps, under several dietary and fasting regimes. RQ commonly differed substantially from those typically assumed in studies of energy metabolism and often included values below those explainable by current knowledge. Errors that could result from these unexpected RQ values can be large and could present the primary limit to the accuracy of power consumption estimates based upon measurement of carbon dioxide production.


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