Figure 1 : Physical map of .

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Scale: l/4(MMM)0U ^^^^ -I 1 SOKm 0 50 100 Km Fig. No. 2a

TOPOGRAPHY & HABITATS OF CAVE BAT SPECIES IN CENTRAL WESTERN GHATS OF MAHARASHTRA

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Arabian ^00 Sea ^" Hills Slopes

Elevaton m 0-500 500-1500 500-1000 Soils Alluvival,Sec.Lateritic Brown,Lateritic Red,Yellow Rocks Basalt,Lateritic Basalt.Laferitic Basalt.Red Bole Habitats Coastal Wetlands M.Dec.Forest Dry Dec.Forest Sandy Shores S.Evergreen Forest Scrub Forest M.Dec.Forest Evergreen Forest Grasslands Types of Narraow tunnel like Narraow tunnel like Narraow tunnel like Cave habitat Crevice,Crescentic Crevice,Crescentic Crevice, shallow cave,Buddhist cave Crescentic shallow cave, Crescentic Crescentic shallow Cave, Dam tunnei,Bridge, deep cave,Dry log wood,Buddhist cave Buddhist Cave,Dam tunnel. Old construction Dam tunnel,Fort,01d constructi(3 n Fort,Bridge,01d construction MethodologY^ '^Geography: "^ ~ The central part of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra State (Figure 1) is about i40km in length and 90km width-wise including low elevations of the spur area, thus including the area of about 12, 600km". Bhimashankar and Matheran (19° 17'N -latitude & 73" ll'E- longitude, 800- 900m elevation) are the prominent locations of the extreme North of the study area, and (17" 56'N- latitude & 73° 42'E- longitude, 4,500 feet/ 1,372m in elevation) as the Southern most location. The study area includes part of three Districts of Maharashtra state, viz. , Raigad and Satara (Figure 2). The ridge of Sahyadri (Western Ghats of Maharashtra is known by this name) is about 500m to 1,500m above sea level, the peaks vary in elevations and the slopes of the hill-range vary in the graduation. The hills of Sahyadri have terrace sides and broad flat tops (plateau). Most of the high peaks are developed as forts in the era of the Great Marathas. , Toma, Rajgad, Raigad and are some of the noteworthy forts from the study area. The forts have rich freshwater soijrces, which are natural, in form of wells or ponds, as well as artificial sources in/form of tanks on the ground or underground tunnels. The District Raigad comprises the major part of the Konkan (the narrow coastal belt between the Arabean Sea on its Western side and the range of hills of Sahyadri on its Eastern side). The steep scraps of Sahyadri in this region have many passes, regionally termed as Ghats linking the nearby and economically important areas of the adjacent Districts. Varandh Ghat, , Nane Ghat and are the major passes between Raigad and Pune Districts. Pasarani Ghat and Fitz Gerald Ghat or Ambenali Ghat link Pune and Satara Districts via Mahabaleshwar. Many minor passes also exist, which are equally important for local transport. The study area is traversed by many principal rivers and their feeders. Raigad District has 6 river systems (Ulhas drainage, Panvel creek, Patalganga, Bhogawati & Amba drainage and Savitri river system). Patalganga drainage receives tail waters from Khopoli Hydro-Electric works. Kundalika or Roha and Savitri rivers are the principal rivers of Raigad District. Roha supports agricultural activities in the region. Savitri River emerges from the Western Ghats at old Mahabaleshwar, which is the only river, which runs eastern wards from this place. It receives four major tributaries (Ghod, Gandhar, Kal and Nageshri), which form a fan like network throughout the southern part of the District. The newly built Savitri dam at Bajire is the important water source of this region. Mahabaleshwar region of the study area is the southern most part of the study area. It is a famous tourist place and the place for pilgrimage for Hindus. It is the place from where five rivers (Krishna, Koyna, Savitri, Venna and Gayatri) emerge and run western side, exception is Savitri River, as mentioned before. Many minor rivers (Man, venna, Kudali, Urmodi, Vasana, Yerla and Tarali) are also important as a source of water at local level. Dhom-Balkavdi dam in Taluka is constructed recently on the bank of the river Dhom, which is the feeder of river Krishna. The Western Ghats of is similarly rich in rivers, lakes and dams. Bhima is the principal river of the Northern part of the District. It emerges at Bhimashankar and runs towards Eastern side forming its Eastern border. Neera is the river of the Southern part of the District and forms its Southern boundary. The feeders of the river Bhima (Kukadi, Ghod, Indrayani, Mula, Mutha, and Pavna) are important water resources for rural as well as urban areas. Dams like Mulshi, Khadakvasla, Panshet, Valvan, Shirota, Temghar, Neera Devghar, Uskan and lakes like Andhra and Mulshi are important and provide freshwater to the area concerned throughout the year.

Climate The climate of the study area is pleasant through out the year and falls in the heavy rain region. There are three distinct seasons, the summer begins from March and ends in May. Monsoon commences in June due to the South-West monsoon winds, which continues up to September. July is the month of highest rain-fall. October and November is the period of post-monsoon or retreating monsoon. December to February is the cold season. The maximum temperature of the hottest days of summer in May reaches up to average 31.7*' C and the coolest days of the winter averages 9.4" C. The cold winds drop the temperature up to 5° C at high altitude. The rain fall varies little in the study area. The average rain fall of the part of the Western Ghats of Raigad District is 3,000mm, but that of Pune District is 1,150 mm. The Northern extremities of the study area at Matheran and Bhimashankar regions have average rain fall of 5,000^ m. The average rain fall of the Mahabaleshwar region at the extreme Southern end of the study area is 6,000 mm. But as one proceeds to eastern side of the study area, the average rain fall decreases. The average rain fall of the Lonawala region is m and Wai region on South east of study area has 5,00Qrn m.The relative humidity on an average is over 80% during the South-West monsoon season. In the rest of the year it is between 65%-75% in the western region and even less than 40% -50% in the eastern region, in spurs of the Sahyadri.

Geology : The Western Ghats of the study area is the hard black basalt. In the plains and valleys the lava flows occur below a thin blanket of soil of variable thickness. The flows on the hills are deposited horizontally and almost uniform in composition and appearance. On the eastern side the slope of the hills is gradual and widely spread near the plains, but it is steep on the Western side of the Western Ghats. The Deccan plateau in the Raigad region appears step-like, termed Deccan traps and many deep chasms (locally known as Ghal), which are more frequent in the Sothern region of the study area. The traps around Matheran and Raigad plateau attain thickness of nearly 2,500 to 2,800 feet. The beds of laterite are common in the underlying area of traps, caps and peaks of the hills, lofty ridges and the lower regions. The isolated lofty hills of Raigad District are rich in bauxite.

Soil: The soil of the hilly region of the study area is red laterite, the soil of the banks of the major rivers of Raigad and Mahabaleshwar region is red. On the eastern part of the study area of Pune District the slopes show red loamy soil, suitable to rice crop. The soil of the major river bank areas of this district is rich Alluvial appearing fresh yellow to dark brown in color. Forests: Four forest patterns are found in the study area. The plateau of the heavy rain region of Matheran, Bhimashankar and Mahabaleshwar are covered with sub tropical evergreen forest. The slopes of these regions and the hilly region of Maval, Mulshi, Bhor, Velhe and Wai talukas are covered with semi-evergreen forest. The Konkan region shows mixed forest. The low altitude spur area with comparatively low rain region on the eastern side has deciduous forest, which are more prominent in the and Ambegaon Talukas. The vegetation in the evergreen forest is represented by Syzygium, Terminalia, Actinodaphne, Memecylon, Garcinea, Listsea, Nephelium, Sideroxylon, Mallotous and Ficus spp in the region of Bhimashankar and Mahabaleshwar. Impenetrabe thickets of 'Karvi' (Carvia callosa), 'Waiti' (Mackenzia integrifolia, Syn: Strobilanthes perfoliatus) over slopes and those of Pandanus along streams are of common occourance.These forests are, however, not much valuable commercially because of their inaccessibility. The Deciduous forests are further divisible into moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests. The former is found on the slopes of Sahyadri of heavy rain region mostly of the Raigad and few in the Pune Districts. It comprises Ain {Terminalia tomentosa), Hed {Adina cordifolia), Kinjal {Terminalia peniculata), Kalamb {Mitragyana parviflora), Amba {Mangifera indica). Nana {Lagerstraemia lanceolata), Sawar {Bombax malabaricum), Dhaman {Grewia tiliaefolia), Karvi {strobilanthes see), Rametha {Lasiosiphon eriocephalus), Toran {Zizyphus rugosa). Tad {Borassus flabellifer), and pangara {Erythrina indica), Palas {Butea frondosa) etc., and contains some proportion of teak. The dry deciduous type of forest is found in the spurs of the Sahyadri on the eastern part in Pune District. It comprises mainly Teak (Tectona grandis), Dhavda {Anogeissus latifolia), Khair {Acacia catechu). Wad {Ficus bengalensis), Mhowa or Moh (Bassia latifolia), Wavula {Holoptela integrifolia), Karanj {Pongamia glabra). Umber {Ficus glomerata) etc., which form the valuable forests of the region, though the quality of teak is poor. The major forest products are timber, firewood, bamboo and charcoal (now a days the production is reduced), while minor forest products are bidi leaves {Bauhinia racemosa), Hirda {Terminalia chebula), flowers of Palas {Butea frondosa) and Dhaiti and many other plants are used for medicinal purpose and

10 Shikekai (Acacia concinna) and Ritha {Sapindus emarginata) are used for making shampoo. Karvi and Tad are used for making huts or farm house in the heavy rain region.

Methodolgy for study of bats: The primary survey of bats in the study area was done by acquiring information from local people, tribal community of the forest, farmers, school children and forest guards. Appropriate questionnaire was prepared for this purpose. The likely sites of the bat colonies were marked on the map. On the basis of habitat pattern of cave bats, area is dividing like Konkan, Hills, Slopes, & Plains. Konkan range has most diverse habitats from sandy shores to the hills. The undulating hills of Konkan range are interspread with tidal creeks. Hills range includes hills of avearage elevation of lOOCJm, though there peaks which reach even 1650m elevation. This range is known as Ghat in Sahydri. The westerly slopes of these hills are much steeper than easterly slopes. Precipitious cliffs are fairly common on westerly slopes. Several dams and reservoirs located in this range provide water for irrigation and power generation. The monsoon winds strike heavy precipitation on the Hills range. The slopes range has moderately sloping hills of medium elevation. This range is known as Mawal in Sahydri. Several rivers flow eastward in this range. These include major rivers like, Bhima and Krishna. Reservoirs and dams on these rivers are quite common in this range. The easterly slopes of Sahydri in slopes range come under rain shadow. A marked difference in the rainfall can be seen between Hills and Slopes ranges. (Fig.2a) Well planned field visits were arranged for about one and half year of the project(tenn55 The team including PI, research fellow. Field assistant and one or two local field guide worked hard to localize the roosting sites. Other parameters such as temperature of the interior. Relative humidity, general topography of the area etc. was noted down. The population of the small colonies of bats was reported by actual counting. The moderately large colonies were visited at the time of emergence for actual count of bats. Very large colonies ranging from 100 onwards were counted by snap shot method and noting down the total time period required for leaving the diurnal roosting site.

11 The bats were trapped by small forceps, butterfly net and mist net, whichever was suitable on the field. The close ups of each species and related habitat was snapped for record. For confirmation of bat species-morphological taxonomy (Corbet & Hill, 1992; Bates & Harrison, 1997; Ellerman & Morrison- Scott, 1951) was followed. Observations on reproduction cycle of various bat species was maintained, whenever possible. The identification of the species was confirmed with the help of the officials at Zoological Survey of , Western Region, Pune. The prepared samples were submitted to the Museum, ZSI (WRO). Mapping of the colony sites was done for understanding distribution and habitat preference of bats in the study area. (Illustration of photograph No. 1-18. Photograph Shows the Forest and Habitat preferred by cave bat species in^ Central Western Ghats of Maharashtra).

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12 DISTRIBUTION OF CAVE BAT SPECIES IN CENTRAL WESTERN GHATS OF MAHARASHTRA

Species : Rhiniolophus rouxii ^ Rhiniolophus lepidus ^

Distribution Map No. 4 Photo 01

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Photo 02 Illustration of photographs:

1. The study area - the northern part of Western Ghats has hills of about 500M-1500M altitude containing shallow and deep chasms covered with forest. This beautiful area of Western Ghats is drier than Southern part of Western Ghats of peninsular India.

2. Evergreen forest occupies the crest of Western Ghats in the study area. The gallery forest below the crest line also shows this type of forest. The Evergreen forest under the study area mostly have plant species like Syzygium, Terminalia, Actinodaphne, Memecylon, Garcinea, Listsea, Nephelium, Sideroxylon, Mallotous and Ficus spp in the region of Bhimashankar and Mahabaleshwar.

13 Photo 03

Photo 04 Illustration of photographs:

3. Slopes and spurs on the eastern side of Western Ghats in the study area are covered with deciduous forest. The forest area has plant species like Ain {Terminalia tomentosa), Hedu (Adina cordifolia), Kinjal {Terminalia peniculata), Kalamb {Mitragyana parviflora), Amba {Mangifera indicd). Nana {Lagerstraemia lanceolata), Sawar {Bombax malabaricum), Dhaman (Grewia tiliaefolia), Karvi {strobilanthes see), Rametha {Lasiosiphon ehocephalus), Toran {Zizyphus rugosa), and Tad {Borassus flabellifer), and pangara {Erythrina indica), Palas {Butea frondosd) etc... The cave formation in basalt rock is remarkable in the northern part of the study area, but the forest in most of this region is much disturbed due to human interference/

4. The Konkan area of the Western slopes of the study area is characterized by mixed forest. The natural caves and forts are less in number. Cave bat species diversity is apparently redundant in this region of study area.

14 Photo 05

Photo 06 Illustration of photographs:

5. Methodology included indirect source of information from community of rural area. The schools in rural area are one of the most reliable information sources.

6. Use of hygrometer and GPS on field.

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Photo 08 Illustration of photographs:

7. Primary technical source for bat detection by using bat detector on field.

8. Night trapping of bats using mist nets performed in the forest area.

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Photo 10 Illustration of photographs:

9. The narrow tunnel like caves in the basalt rock of Western Ghats in study area shelter small mammals including bats. The field assistant coming out crawling. The butterfly net is useful in such caves for trapping bats.

10. Forceps is useful for trapping bats in the crevices, which are more often found in the open gallery in front of the caves.

17 Photo 11

Photo 12 Illustration of photographs:

11. Shallow crescentic caves are numerous throughout the study area. Small groups of forest species of bats are found in such caves.

12. The deep caves in the rocks of the evergreen and semi evergreen forests serve as the day roosting sites for many species of bats, but most of such caves are disturbed due to human interference.

18 Photo 13

Photo 14 Illustration of photographs:

13. The small Pipistrellus often prefer dry log wood and bark of dead trees in the study area. 14. Many of bat species reported previously from Buddhist caves of Karle, Bhaje, and Bedsar are not recorded form)hese places in the recent study.

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Photo 16 Illustration of photographs:

15. The dam tunnels in the reserve forest area are used as day roosts by gregarious species of bats. Many of the natural caves in the study area are not suitable for such species due to natural as well as man made disturbance.

16. The bridges on the rivers are used as roosting sites specifically by bats of genus Myotis. These bat species also feed on water insects.

20 Photo 17

Photo 18 Illustration of photographs:

17. The water tanks on forts are very important roosting sites for forest species of bats. These tanks conserve high relative humidity in the microhabitat of bats

18. Western Ghats under study area has many centaury old temples of Cjuu Shiva. Such temples have rich perennial water source in the vicinity, providing most suitable annual roosting sites for cave bats.

21 DISTRIBUTION OF CAVE BAT SPECIES IN CENTRAL WESTERN GHATS OF MAHARASHTRA

Species : Rousettus leschenaulti -^

Distribution Map No. 1