2006-7 annual report - Nature Conservation Foundation

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Ecology and conservation of the lion-tailed macaque in Karnataka state The lion-tailed macaque is a highly-endangered primate that is facing imminent local extinction or sharp declines in many protected areas over its distributional range in the Western Ghats mountains. An important population in this species is the newly-discovered Sirsi-Honnavara population, which might mark the northernmost point of its distribution. This study aims to understand the ranging and feeding ecology of this population and plans to initiate conservation measures to protect its habitat and its last constituent groups. Distribution, abundance and conservation status of the slender loris in the Eastern and Western Ghats, India This study aims to examine the geographical range limits of the two Indian slender loris subspecies, the Mysore and the Malabar slender loris, their population densities, and factors affecting their abundance in the Eastern and Western Ghats mountains. The results of the study will not only provide essential data to assess the conservation status of the species and formulate management strategies for its survival, but will also present a broader perspective of differences in landscape and faunal assemblages in the Eastern and the Western Ghats. Distribution and conservation of the purple-faced langur, the toque macaque and the slender loris in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is global biodiversity hotspot, where over 90% of the primates are endemic and threatened. We have implemented a collaborative primate conservation programme in Sri Lanka that is focusing on population surveys and demographic patterns of its least-known taxa and conservation-oriented studies of its highly threatened taxa. As a first phase of this study, we conducted a pilot study in Sri Lanka in order to identify key areas of primate conservation in Sri Lanka, assess the logistics of launching such a conservation programme and to strengthen collaborative links with Sri Lankan scientists. This pilot study provided a conservation action plan that outlined areas where primate conservation efforts should be focused in Sri Lanka. In the second phase of our study, we hope to conduct a comprehensive distribution survey of all the primate species in the country so that information may be obtained on primate abundance and distribution in Sri Lanka, and facilitate the implementation of a well-defined, collaborative conservation programme for its endangered primate taxa in the near future. Ecology, behaviour and conservation of macaques in northeastern India We have recently developed a research programme to investigate the demography, behavioural ecology and conservation status of a highly-endangered primate community, consisting of four macaque species – the Assamese macaque, the pigtailed macaque, the rhesus macaque and the stumptailed macaque, together with the hoolock gibbon and the capped langur – in several fragments of low-lying tropical rainforests of the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam. This project has just completed its first phase during which we have explored the occurrence, distribution and status of primate communities in 43 Reserve Forests and Proposed Reserve Forests in eastern Assam. We have also conducted several 46 annual report GPS training programmes for forest personnel in Digboi and Doomdooma Forest Divisions, Assam. We have recently described a primate from Arunachal Pradesh, the Arunachal macaque (with the scientific name Macaca munzala), which is a species new to science. In 2005, we initiated a long-term project to explore its demography, behavioural ecology and conservation status in the Tawang and West Kameng districts of western Arunachal Pradesh. In this connection, we have also completed a preliminary survey for the Arunachal macaque in the districts of Upper Subansiri and West Siang in central Arunachal Pradesh.
Molecular genetics of the Arunachal and bonnet macaques and the sinica group of Macaca This collaborative project, initiated in January 2006, has been exploring the molecular phylogeny of the sinica group of the genus Macaca, consisting of five species, in general and those of the bonnet macaque and the newly-discovered Arunachal macaque, in particular. Specific nucleotide sequences from the nuclear genome and mitochondrial DNA have been amplified, sequenced and compared across these species in order to determine the exact phylogenetic position of the Arunachal macaque and the bonnet macaque within the genus. We are also evaluating the sub-specific status of the bonnet macaque using a molecular taxonomic approach and exploring the molecular population genetics of the species over its entire distribution range in peninsular India. Ecology, behaviour and conservation of macaques in northeastern India We have recently developed a research programme to investigate the demography, behavioural ecology and conservation status of a highly-endangered primate community, consisting of four macaque species – the Assamese macaque, the pigtailed macaque, the rhesus macaque and the stumptailed macaque, together with the hoolock gibbon and the capped langur – in several fragments of low-lying tropical rainforests of the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam. This project has just completed its first phase during which we have explored the occurrence, distribution and status of primate communities in 43 Reserve Forests and Proposed Reserve Forests in eastern Assam. We have also conducted several Team GPS training programmes for forest personnel in Digboi and Doomdooma Forest Divisions, Assam. We have recently described a primate from Arunachal Pradesh, the Arunachal macaque (with the scientific name Macaca munzala), which is a species new to science. In 2005, we initiated a long-term project to explore its demography, behavioural ecology and conservation status in the Tawang and West Kameng districts of western Arunachal Pradesh. In this connection, we have also completed a preliminary survey for the Arunachal macaque in the districts of Upper Subansiri and West Siang in central Arunachal Pradesh. • Anindya Sinha, Nature Conservation Foundation and National Institute of Advanced Studies • Sindhu Radhakrishna, National Institute of Advanced Studies • Rishi Kumar, National Institute of Advanced Studies • Mayukh Chatterjee, National Institute of Advanced Studies • Narayan Sharma, Nature Conservation Foundation and National Institute of Advanced Studies • Debapriyo Chakraborty, Nature Conservation Foundation and National Institute of Advanced Studies • H N Kumara, National Institute of Advanced Studies • Uttara Mendiratta, Postgraduate Program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, Bangalore • Kakoli Mukhopadhyay, Kolkata Collaborations and Partnerships with Institutions and Individuals • Kishor G. Bhat, School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, NIAS, Bangalore • Prabhakar Vaidya, School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, NIAS, Bangalore • Rajesh Kasturirangan, School of Humanities, NIAS, Bangalore • Uma Ramakrishnan, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore • Charles Santiapillai, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka • S. Wijeyamohan, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka • Michael Alan Huffman, Primate Research Institute, Inuyama, Japan i j annual report 47
Page 1: 2006-7 annual report nature conserv
Page 5: i CONTENTS j Foreword 1 Doctoral Pr
Page 8 and 9: 2 annual report
Page 10 and 11: P from top: A herd of bharal; child
Page 12 and 13: Conservation education in the India
Page 14 and 15: Livestock insurance programme Under
Page 16 and 17: • Resource Ecology Group, Wagenin
Page 18 and 19: P from left: Wreathed Hornbills in
Page 20 and 21: Table 1. Long-term monitoring (1998
Page 22 and 23: and January 2007 in 40 of the initi
Page 24 and 25: ter survey in Namdapha. In contrast
Page 26 and 27: ments and suggested improvements. A
Page 28 and 29: in determining levels of hunting, w
Page 30 and 31: P from left: An Elaeocarpus munroni
Page 32 and 33: now in the process of being protect
Page 34 and 35: Survival of mammal populations in r
Page 36 and 37: nant plantation crop on the Valpara
Page 38 and 39: Team • Principal personnel: Divya
Page 40 and 41: P from top: Gaur in Bandipur Nation
Page 42 and 43: through the year. As predicted ther
Page 44 and 45: A forest in weed: Impact of Lantana
Page 46 and 47: P from top: Green turtle in Agatti
Page 48 and 49: ecological processes and the impact
Page 50 and 51: • Principal scientists: Rohan Art
Page 54 and 55: 48 annual report
Page 56 and 57: i FEMDIG j Friday morning discussio
Page 58 and 59: 13. Namgail, T., Bhatnagar, Y. V. &
Page 60 and 61: Peer-reviewed publications 1. Arthu
Page 62: i FINANCIAL STATEMENT j Sources of
Page 65 and 66: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS j Individual Sup

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