New record of the Endangered Black-bellied Tern, Sterna acuticauda J.E. Gray 1831, from Tungabhadra River at Siruguppa, Bellary, Karnataka, India

Black-bellied Tern, Sterna acuticauda J.E. Gray, 1831, is an Endangered species currently restricted to a few patches along the major rivers and lakes in the Indian subcontinent. I report it from Tungabhadra River at Siruguppa for the first time. Five individuals in breeding plumage were observed at a 6 km stretch of river, sampled using line transect method. Previous records, with this new locality, suggest that the population of Black-bellied Tern could be fragmented. This new site could be a promising breeding ground for the species; nevertheless, it is under threat owing to uncontrolled sand mining

Data for PLOS paper.xls

<p>Crop raiding by wild herbivores close to an area of protected wildlife is a serious problem that can potentially undermine conservation efforts. Since there is orders of magnitude difference between farmers’ perception of damage and the compensation given by the government, an objective and realistic estimate of damage was found essential. We employed four different approaches to estimate the extent of and patterns in crop damage by wild herbivores along the western boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the state of Maharashtra, central India. These approaches highlight different aspects of the problem but converge on an estimated damage of over 50% for the fields adjacent to the forest, gradually reducing in intensity with distance. We found that the visual damage assessment method currently employed by the government for paying compensation to farmers was uncorrelated to and grossly underestimated actual damage. The findings necessitate a radical rethinking of policies to assess, mitigate as well as compensate for crop damage caused by protected wildlife species.</p

Extended distribution of endemic Travancore Murainagrass Ischaemum travancorense Stapf ex C.E.C. Fisch. (Poaceae) to central India

Ischaemum travancorense Stapf ex C.E.C. Fisch., an endemic species, earlier known only from the Western Ghats of Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa is reported here for the first time from central India. </div

Extended distribution of endemic Travancore Murainagrass Ischaemum travancorense Stapf ex C.E.C. Fisch. (Poaceae) to central India

Ischaemum travancorense Stapf ex C.E.C. Fisch., an endemic species, earlier known only from the Western Ghats of Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa is reported here for the first time from central India. </div

Assessment of Crop Damage by Protected Wild Mammalian Herbivores on the Western Boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Central India.

Crop raiding by wild herbivores close to an area of protected wildlife is a serious problem that can potentially undermine conservation efforts. Since there is orders of magnitude difference between farmers' perception of damage and the compensation given by the government, an objective and realistic estimate of damage was found essential. We employed four different approaches to estimate the extent of and patterns in crop damage by wild herbivores along the western boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the state of Maharashtra, central India. These approaches highlight different aspects of the problem but converge on an estimated damage of over 50% for the fields adjacent to the forest, gradually reducing in intensity with distance. We found that the visual damage assessment method currently employed by the government for paying compensation to farmers was uncorrelated to and grossly underestimated actual damage. The findings necessitate a radical rethinking of policies to assess, mitigate as well as compensate for crop damage caused by protected wildlife species

Temporal overlap of methods.

<p>Temporal overlap of methods.</p

Comparison of visually estimated loss and actual deficit in grain yield at harvest as compared to fenced control plots (both expressed in percentage).

<p>A: Rice (r = 0.062, p = 0.73, n = 32), B: Chickpea (r = 0.022, p = 0.86, n = 63), C: Wheat (r = -0.0519, p = 0.75, n = 39). All trends remained non-significant even after removing outliers. Apart from lack of correlation, note the orders of magnitude difference in scales. Cumulative visual assessment was dramatically lower than yield deficit.</p

Experimental design for artificial herbivory of wheat, soybean and chickpea.

<p>Experimental design for artificial herbivory of wheat, soybean and chickpea.</p

Comparison of grain yield at harvest in fenced and non-fenced plots for 4 crops in two seasons.

<p>A: rice, B: soybean, C: chickpea, D: wheat. Soybean in 2013–14 and chickpea in 2014–15 failed due to reasons other than herbivory.</p

Regrowth after artificial herbivory in soybean at different ages.

<p>A: regenerated height, B: number of branches, C: number of pods and D: number of seeds 20 days (n = 87) and 45 days (n = 107) with control (n = 108). Regrowth after artificial herbivory at different heights in pre-flowering stage in soybean. E: regenerated height, F: number of branches, G: number of pods, H: number of seeds in plants cut at 5 (n = 125), 10 (n = 128), 15 (n = 100), 20 (n = 74) with control (n = 108).</p