Elevational range and timing of breeding in the birds of Ladakh: the effects of body mass, status and diet

We studied the effects of body mass, status (resident or migratory) and diet on the breeding elevation range and timing of reproduction of the birds in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh, northwestern India. Most of breeding birds of Ladakh are Palearctic or breed at high elevations in the mountains. There is a small proportion of Oriental species, and no bird is endemic to this region. We found that heavier birds tended to start their egg-laying earlier than lighter ones. Since body mass is related to the length of incubation and nesting periods, it would appear that one result of this phenomenon is that the time of peak demand for food for most birds coincides with peak food abundance in summer. Status affected the elevation of the breeding range, with resident birds tending to breed at higher elevations than summer visitors. Residents and summer breeders also differed significantly in their diet composition, with the former feeding mainly on plants and seeds, and the latter feeding on molluscs, insects and worms

Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea home range and habitat use during the non-breeding season in Assam, India

India is an important non-breeding ground for migratory waterfowl in the Central Asian Flyway. Millions of birds visit wedands across the country, yet information on their distribution, abundance, and use of resources is rudimentary at best. Limited information suggests that populations of several species of migratory ducks are declining due to encroachment of wedand habitats largely by agriculture and industry. The development of conservation strategies is stymied by a lack of ecological information on these species. We conducted a preliminary assessment of the home range and habitat use of Ruddy Shelduck Tadornaferruginea in the northeast Indian state of Assam. Seven Ruddy Shelducks were fitted with solar-powered Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite transmitters, and were tracked on a daily basis during the winter of 2009-2010. Locations from all seven were used to describe habitat use, while locations from four were used to quantify their home range, as the other three had too few locations (<30) for home range estimation. A Brownian Bridge Movement Model (BBMM), used to estimate home ranges, found that the Ruddy Shelduck had an average core use area (i.e. the contour defining 50% of positions) of 40 km 2 (range = 22-87 km2) and an average home range (95% contour) of 610 km2 (range = 222-1,550 km2). Resource Selection Functions (RSF), used to describe habitat use, showed that the birds frequented riverine wetlands more than expected, occurred on grasslands and shrublands in proportion to their availability, and avoided woods and cropland habitats. The core use areas for three individuals (75%) were on the Brahmaputra River, indicating their preference for riverine habitats. Management and protection of riverine habitats and nearby grasslands may benefit conservation efforts for the Ruddy Shelduck and waterfowl species that share these habitats during the non-breeding seaso

Carnivore-caused livestock mortality in Trans-Himalaya

The loss of livestock to wild predators is an important livelihood concern among Trans-Himalayan pastoralists. Because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region, few studies have been carried out to quantify livestock depredation by wild predators. In the present study, we assessed the intensity of livestock depredation by snow leopard Uncia uncia, Tibetan wolf Canis lupus chanku, and Eurasian lynx Lynx l. isabellina in three villages, namely Gya, Rumtse, and Sasoma, within the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh, India. The three villages reported losses of 295 animals to these carnivores during a period of 2.5 years ending in early 2003, which represents an annual loss rate of 2.9% of their livestock holdings. The Tibetan wolf was the most important predator, accounting for 60% of the total livestock loss because of predation, followed by snow leopard (38%) and lynx (2%). Domestic goat was the major victim (32%), followed by sheep (30%), yak (15%), and horse (13%). Wolves killed horses significantly more and goats less than would be expected from their relative abundance. Snow leopards also killed horses significantly more than expected, whereas they killed other livestock types in proportion to their abundance. The three villages combined incurred an estimated annual monetary loss of approximately $USD 12,120 amounting to approximately$USD 190/household/y. This relatively high total annual loss occurred primarily because of depredation of the most valuable livestock types such as yak and horse. Conservation actions should initially attempt to target decrease of predation on these large and valuable livestock specie

Distributional congruence of mammalian herbivores in the Trans-Himalayan Mountains

Large-scale distribution and diversity patterns of mammalian herbivores, especially less charismatic species in alpine environments remain little understood. We studied distributional congruence of mammalian herbivores in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh to see if the distributions of less prominent and smaller herbivores can be determined from those of larger and more prominent herbivores like ungulates. Using a similarity index, we assessed shared distributions of species in 20x20 km2 grid-cells in an area of about 80,000 km2. We used the Unweighted Pair-Group Method with Arithmetic Average (UPGMA) to classify mammalian herbivores into groups with similar distributions. We then used the G-test of independence to look for statistical significance of the groups obtained. We identified six groups of mammalian herbivores with distributions more similar than expected at random. The largest group was composed of nine species whereas the other large group comprised six species. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), used to relate the groups with environmental features, showed that the largest group occurred in higher and flatter areas, while the other large group occurred in lower and steeper areas. Large herbivores like ungulates can be used as surrogate for less prominent small herbivores while identifying areas for latter’s protection in the inaccessible mountainous regions of the Trans-Himalay

Biomass and diversity of dry alpine plant communities along altitudinal gradients in the Himalayas

A non-linear relationship between phytodiversity and altitude has widely been reported, but the relationship between phytomass and altitude remains little understood.We examined the phytomass and diversity of vascular plants along altitudinal gradients on the dry alpine rangelands of Ladakh, western Himalaya. We used generalized linear and generalized additivemodels to assess the relationship between these vegetation parameters and altitude. We found a humpshaped relationship between aboveground phytomass and altitude.Wesuspect that this is engendered by low rainfall and trampling/excessive grazing at lower slopes by domestic livestock, and low temperature and low nutrient levels at higher slopes.Wealso found a unimodal relationship between plant species-richness and altitude at a singlemountain as well as at the scale of entire Ladakh. The species-richness at the single mountain peaked between 5,000 and 5,200 m, while it peaked between 3,500 and 4,000 m at entire Ladakh level

A strategy for conservation of the Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata in Ladakh

Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata is endemic to the Tibetan plateau. During the early twentieth century, it was distributed over a range of c. 20,000 km 2 in Ladakh, India. Although its conservation status is believed to be secure, our surveys initiated in 2000 found that the gazelle's population in Ladakh has undergone a precipitous decline. Today, c. fifty individuals sur­vive precariously in an area of c. 100 km 2 in eastern Ladakh. Population de­clines have also been reported from Tibet, which remains its stronghold. Local extinction of the gazelle in Ladakh is imminent unless active population and habitat management are undertaken. Management measures, however, are stymied by the lack of understanding of the gazelle's ecology and the causes for its decline. Our recent studies in Ladakh establish that past hunt­ing, particularly in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian war in 1962, and contin­ued disturbance and habitat degradation associated with excessive livestock grazing are the main anthropogenic factors that caused the gazelle's decline. Our studies have also generated an understanding of the important biotic and abiotic habitat correlates of the gazelle's distribution, and the land use and socio-economy of pastoral communities that share the gazelle's range. We re­view these findings, and based on our research results, outline a species re­covery strategy for the Tibetan gazell