Boctor of $Litlo^Qpl)P in WILDLIFE SCIENCE
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STATUS, DISTRIBUTION AND SOME ASPECTS OF ECOLOGY OF CHEER PHEASANT Catreus wallichii IN HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA ABSTRACT THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Boctor of $litlo^Qpl)P IN WILDLIFE SCIENCE BY JUNID NAZEER SHAH DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE SCIENCES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2004 3 ! B is H T ABSTRACT The pheasants have been associated with the mankind since times immoral. They are known as game birds as they are hunted for sport as well as pot. They constitute most distinctive family of bird of the Himalayas and have most fascinating, spectacular and gorgeously plumaged birds of the world. The family phasianidae comprises of a group of 49 species of generally non-migratory and terrestrially adapted birds of moderately large size of which 17 species are found in India. There are seven species of pheasants found in Himachal Pradesh out of which two species have been put under threat category. There is lack of detailed ecological information on Cheer pheasant in Himachal pradesh. The study was taken to look at the status, distribution and some aspects of ecology of the Cheer pheasant. The study was conducted in Majathal-Harsang Wildlife Sanctuary of of 39 km2 area. The sanctuary lies to northwest of Shimla in the catchment of River Sutlej, situated in the districts of Shimla and Solan. The basic vegetation in the study area was classified as Chir pine Pinus roxburghii and Ban Oak Quercus lecotrichophora categories. The habitat was categorized into seven-habitat categories - a) Dense pine, b) Open pine, c) Oak. d) Scrub, e) Grassland, f] Degraded, g) Cultivation. The study was conducted for three seasons for two constitutive years, while call counts were done for three constitutive years. To find the status of Cheer pheasant, call counts were done at the cheer calling sites in the sanctuary. The mean density of cheer over the years was 5.612 ± 0.453 calling positions per square kilometer. The mean calling density in year 1999 was 3.289 ± 0.730 calling positions per square kilometer, while in year 2000 it was 4.448 i 0.560 calling positions per square kilometer and in year 2001 it was 5.162 ± 0.453 calling positions per square kilometer. The mean density index varied significantly across the years (F= 14.547, df =2, p < 0.01, One-way ANOVA). The mean density index in the month of April was 2.551 ± 0.808 calling positions per square kilometer, while in the month of May it was 8.241 ± 0.590 calling positions per square kilometer and in the month of June it was 4.034 ± 0.749 calling positions per square kilometer. The mean calling positions varied significantly across the months (F= 17.082, df = 2, p <0.01, One-way ANOVA). Six cheer sites were monitored for three years. Six new cheer sites were found in and around the protected area. One cheer site, Matrech was situated in the jurisdiction of Bilaspur district. There were no significant differences in the density indices at these new sites (F= 1.39, df = 5, p = 0.246, One-way ANOVA). The calling frequency at dawn varied from 44 to 75 % in the year 2000, while it varied from 22 % to 77 % in the year 2001. The calling frequency varied significantly across the months in year 2000 (F= 10.16, df = 2, p<0.05. One-way ANOVA) and also varied significantly in year 2001 (F= 30.81, df = 2, p <0.05, One-way ANOVA). At dusk, the calling frequency varied from 32 to 90 % in year 2000 and in it year 2001 it varied from 22 to 75 %. The calling frequency varied significantly across the months in year 2000 (F= 47.78, df = 2, p , 0.05, One-way ANOVA) and it also varied significantly across the months on the year 2001 (F=23.48, df = 2, One-way ANOVA). The birds were more vocal in the month of May in both the years and same at dawn as well as dusk. The mean duration of calling at dawn in year 2000 was 5.08 minutes (± S. E. 0.32). In the month of April, it was 2.12 minutes (± S.E. 0.24) while in the month of May it was 8.42 minutes (± S.E. 1.01) and in the month of June it was 2.15 minutes (± S.E. 0.32). The mean duration of calling varied across the months (F= 21.830, df =2, p <0.05, One way ANOVA). The mean duration of calling at dawn in year 2001 was 6.15 minutes (± S.E. 0.22). The mean duration of calling in at dawn in the month of April was 2.37 minutes (± S.E. 0.41), while the duration of calling in the month of May was 7.56 minutes (± S.E. 0.32) and in the month of June it was 6.35 minutes (± S.E. 0.36). The mean duration of calling varied across the months (F= 19.28, df = 2, p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA). The mean duration of calling at dusk in year 2000 was 4.16 minutes (± S.E. 0.20). The mean calling duration in the month of April was 3.12 minutes (± S.E. 0.35) while in the month of May it was 6.47 minutes (± S.E. 0.32) and the mean calling duration in the month of June was 1.07 minutes (± S.E. 0.20). The mean duration of calling at dusk varied significantly across the months (F=32.84, df = 2, p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA). The mean calling duration at dusk in the year 2001 was 3.10 minutes (± S.E. 0.16). The mean duration of calling in the month of April was 1.44 minutes (± S.E. 0.32) while in the month of May it was 4.30 (± S.E. 0.27 (and in the month of June it was 2.53 minutes (± S.E. 0.16). The mean duration of the calling varied significantly across the months (F = 9.62, df = 2, p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA). The duration of calling was longest in the month of May in both the years. The mean number of calls at dawn in year 2000 was 29.19 calls per calling day (± S.E. 1.65). The mean number of calls in the month of April was 21.07 calls per calling day (± S.E. 2.80) while in the month of May it was 44.2 calls per calling day (± S.E. 2.05) and in the month of June was 11.49 calls per calling day (± S.E. 1.94). The mean number of calls varied significantly across the months (F = 59.34, df- 2, p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA). In year 2001, at dawn, the mean number of calls was 32.60 calls per calling day (± S.E. 1.28). The mean number of calls in the month of April was 10.57 (± S.E. 1.28) per calling day, while in the month of May it was 43.68 (± S.E. 1.47) calls per calling day and in the month of June it was 33.32 (± S.E. 1.99) calls per calling day. The number of calls varied significantly across the months (F = 82.01, df = 2, p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA). The number of calls was maximum in the month of May in both the years. The mean numbers of calls at dusk in year 2000 were 18.09 (± S.E. 1.05) calls per calling day. The mean number of calls in the April was 13.35 calls (± S.E. 1.88) per calling day while in the month of May it was 29.14 calls (± S.E. 0.89) and in the month of June it was 4.37 (± S.E. 0.89) calls per calling day. The mean number of calls varied significantly across the months (F = 106.76, df = 2, p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA). In year 2001 the mean number of calls was 23.74 calls (± S.E. 1.30) per calling day. The mean number of calls in the month of April was 10.55 calls (± S.E. 2.04) per calling day, while in the month of May mean number of calls were 34.70 (± S.E. 1.67) per calling day and in June mean number of calls was 22.68 (± S.E. 2.17) calls per calling day. The mean number of calls varied significantly across the months (F = 38.41, df = 2, p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA). The mean number of calls was highest in the month of May in both the years. Sightings of Cheer pheasant in different habitat types was used to work out the habitat use pattern of this species in the area. At each bird plot both landscape and microhabitat variables were collected. To determine which particular habitat had been utilized by Cheer pheasant more or less than expected in proportion to its availability, Bonferoni 95% confidence intervals were used. Overall Cheer utilized open-pine , scrub and grassland were utilized more then the expected while oak, degraded and cultivation were utilized less then the expected. The seasonal sightings of cheer differed in different habitats. Scrub and grassland were utilized more then the expected in the post-breeding season, while dense-pine, oak, degraded and cultivation was utilized less then the excepted in this season. In winter season, dense-pine and open-pine was utilized more then the expected, while oak, cultivation and degraded were utilized less then the expected.