Wildlife of Pakistan - Otter Specialist Group

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Volume 1: Issue 1: January - March, 2012Mohammad IrshadIslamabadEmail:mirshad51@hotmail.comBiological Controlin the Context of Insect BiodiversityIn the process of providing foodand fiber to humanity, agricultureis putting serious burden on theenvironment. Agriculture has thecomplex relationship with naturalresources and environment. Insectsdominate pest problems and theinjury by these insects may be sosevere that economic yield of acrop may not be possible. Theseare managed by various meansand one is Biological control. Itis direct or indirect manipulationby man of living natural controlagents to increase their attack onpest species. Biological control isself perpetuating, does not showresistance and with minimal adverseside effects. However, to usebiological control agents is a trickypreposition. In biological control, thewhole ecological niche has to beunderstood.Biological control is the use ofparasitoids, predators or pathogensto attack an insect and reduce itsnumber. It control has been moresuccessful against insect pests ofperennial plants, especially thosepests that feed externally on theplant and are more or less sessilein habit. It does not eradicate thetarget pest.Classical example of biologicalcontrol is of the cottony cushionscale by the ladybird beetle. Thescale had critically ruined the citrusindustry in California, USA by 1880.The scale was found to be nativeof Australia and exploration of thehost country showed that Vadalialadybird beetle fed on this scale. Afew beetles were imported in 1888and 1889 and released. The beetlesmultiplied rapidly and controlled thescale. Since then there had been214 cases of complete or partialbiological control in the world. Manyattempts have failed when launchedin the fields even if successful onexperimental scale.There are various agents. Aparasite is an organism that isusually smaller than the host. Theparasite feeds on its host, usuallyweakening it and sometimes killingit. Parasitoids are special kind ofpredators. A parasitoid is parasitic inits immature stages but is free livingas an adult. Predators are free livingorganisms that feed throughout theirlife on other animals. They kill theirprey. Viruses, bacteria, protozoa,fungi, rikettsia and nematodes infectinsects.Lacewing Insect (Chrysoperla sp.)© Mohammad Irshad, NARCThere are several way of itsuse. Introduction, also known asimportation is often consideredthe classical practice in biologicalcontrol. Augmentation is a practicethat includes any activity designed toincrease numbers or effect of existingnatural enemies. Conservation isallowing natural enemy to build upits population in appreciable numberwhen man removes the detrimentaleffects. These are all methods usedin applied biological control.In Pakistan, work on biologicalcontrol started in 1956 whenCommonwealth Institute ofBiological Control (CIBC) wasestablished. The material massexplored in Pakistan is meager.It includes about 550 insect pestspecies and 600 parasitoid, 200predators and 30 pathogens.There are few outstanding examplesof its use. In sugarcane cropreleases of Epiricrania melanoleucaan ectoparsite were undertakenagainst Pyrilla in Mardan andPeshawar during 1975-76. Itbecame widespread and after alot of advocacy the aerial spraywas stopped and the pest is undersufficient control. This resulted insaving of over Rs 20 million per yearin the cost of insecticides at thattime.The interest of mass rearing ofTrichogramma started in sugarcanearound 1983 with success in Sindh.The success achieved in Sindhhelped to spread among the sugarindustry in other areas of the country.Despite of its importance, rearing ofthis parasitoid in Pakistan has notbeen done as should have been. Afew other examples exists in somecrops in the country.About 30 Million Rupees have sofar been spent on basic work ofbiological control of insect pests.Another 30 million may have beenspent on practical biological controlin Pakistan. With this meageramount the achievements are muchgreater. However more efforts areneeded.WILDLIFE OF PAKISTAN35
Volume 1: Issue 1: January - March, 2012Syed Iftikhar AhmadKarachiEmail: syediftikharahmed@yahoo.comWILDLIFE OF PAKISTAN36BARN OWLA Friend of FarmersINTRODUCTIONThe barn owl with nocturnal lifestyle ghostly white appearance,silent flight, terrifying voice andbirds of ill omen are association withruins or churches and near old wellwhere it likes to nest, have earnedit a place in the folk lore of manycultures. In spite of these charactersowls have been thought of a beingvery wise since the time of ancientGreece .The owl was associatedwith Athena, the Greek goddess ofwisdom .In our country verbally it hasdeep effects .There are many idiomsand phrases, which are directlyconcerned with this Creature and itis true that the idioms and phrasesshow a great role as indicates itsimportance. However, the barn owlis best known for its association isbest known for its association withfarmers .whenever crops are grownlarge population of rates and miceattracts the attention of barn owl .Onthis basis this creature is also knownas “Rodent hunting “barn owl.HABITATThis species is an important predatorof agricultural pests .it is commonlyfound on farmland, in marshes,deserts also occupies uses buildingsuch as barns, church, towers andruins. It is often found in or nearhuman habitations.DISTRIBUTIONopen wells provide daytime shelter.Barn owl is scarce in status .CHARACTERS OF BARN OWLBarn owl can not be mistakenbecause of its heart shaped face andlarge disc shape around the eyes .Itis some time called” Monkey facedowl” .The bill are strongly curved asin other owls the eyes usually black,are forward looking .The head largeand round has no eartuffs. The neckis short and moveable edges of theface mask hide large ear openings.The long and slender legs arefeathered ,claws are strongly curvedas in other owls .The wings are longand board with rounded tips andsoft feathers which make very littlenoise in flight .It is 34 cms in length,with wing spans up to 95 cms .Theweight of the owl is 350 g and visionis better.DIET AND BEHAVIOURFood consists of small Mammals,Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishand large insects, but mainlyrodents and shrews which constitutean average of 80% of all prey. Thebarn owl require 3 to 4 mice daily.They swallow their food and likemany other predators regurgitatethe bones and other indigestibleparts in the form of pellets ,Pelletsare black and smooth on the surface,fairly large (3.5 to 8 cms and about3 cms thick ) and rounded at the tip .movement of impact it closes it eyesto protect .Often kills its prey andswallows it whole from head side.REPRODUCTIONThe barn owl is one of the fewbirds whose eggs can be found thewhole year round .As a rule ,theeggs are laid in April or may .Duringfavourable condition i.e. .When foodsupply is an abundant .The breedingperiod may extend from February toNovember .There is usually only oneclutch a year .Each clutch usuallymay contain 4 to 7 eggs ,accordingto available food supply .It does notmake a nest ,but lays the incubation,a shallow hollow may be found inthe soft earths .The female carryingout all the incubation duties while themale fetches food .The incubationperiod is 30 to 40 days.LONGEVITYBarn owls are fairly long lived .Largerspecies probably live even longer a68 years.The barn owl is the world’s mostwidely distributed species ,rangingthrough North ,Central and SouthAmerica ,Britain and WesternEurope to the Black Sea ,Central andSouthern Africa ,Madagascar ,India,Burma, Australia and Tasmania.In Pakistan found in Sindh andPunjab .In Sindh specially in Karachi,particularly in Malir where deepOwl catch most of the prey in theopen field .During hunting they suitquietly on a low perch .Watchingand listening the noise of rodents, onhearing they rapidly rotate their headuntil the sound registers equally inboth ears .They then directly facetheir prey .When the force of thesound is pin pointed, the barn owlglide silently down towards it .At theBarn Owl (Tyto alba)
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