An overview of Asian Elephants in the Western Ghats, southern India: implications for the conservation of Western Ghats ecology

Baskaran, Nagarajan

doi:10.11609/jott.o3634.4854-70

Cited by 31 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…We found a high agreement between predicted movement frequency from the resistant kernel model and observed elephant density (Baskaran, ). Our prediction of population connectivity matches the actual pattern of elephant occurrence in the landscape with high levels of concordance, and tends to confirm that the resistance map upon which the connectivity predictions were based reliably reflects the effect of landscape features on elephant movement.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…Elephants are unlikely to choose their movements based on their immediate surroundings only. However, at the landscape level, their density is higher in relatively more productive (Baskaran, ) or less disturbed areas (Jathanna et al ., ), which is consistent with the assumption that presence in less than optimal habitats has a cost to the animal. The resistance of elevation, slope, human habitation density (Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To validate the kernel map and the underlying resistance surface, we compared its values to average elephant density in eight PAs (Baskaran, ) representing 3614 km 2 . The values of the kernel map and of the elephant density map were divided by their respective range to rescale between 0 and 1.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) forms the link between the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats of India, two major geographic ranges of peninsular India, and holds the key to survival for the largest remaining populations of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus (Baskaran, ) and the Bengal tiger Panthera tigris (Jhala et al ., ). Increasing pressures for development and infrastructure expansion, coupled with inadequate planning, pose urgent threats to the ecological integrity and connectivity of this region (Puyravaud & Davidar, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used spatially explicit synoptic methods (e.g. Cushman, Lewis & Landguth, ) to predict population connectivity across this resistance model and validated the resulting connectivity predictions with observed elephant densities (Baskaran, ) and assessed the degree of agreement with corridors identified by experts (Davidar, ; Menon et al ., ). This enabled us to generate a more reliable and spatially complete assessment of the elephant population connectivity in the NBR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predicting landscape connectivity for the Asian elephant in its largest remaining subpopulation

Puyravaud¹,

Cushman

Davidar

et al. 2016

Anim Conserv

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Landscape connectivity between protected areas is crucial for the conservation of megafauna. But often, corridor identification relies on expert knowledge that is subjective and not spatially synoptic. Landscape analysis allows generalization of expert knowledge when satellite tracking or genetic data are not available. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in southern India supports the largest wild populations of the endangered Asian elephant Elephas maximus. Current understanding of connectivity in this region is based on corridors identified by experts, which are not empirically validated and incongruent with each other. To more rigorously assess population connectivity for the Asian elephant, we evaluated a combination of three resistance layers and three dispersal abilities. The resistance models were based on the combined contributions of land cover, topographical slope, elevation, roads and buildings. A spatially explicit connectivity modeling tool predicted optimal movement corridors as a function of factorial least-cost routes across the resistance maps. A resistant kernel approach produced maps of the expected frequency of elephant movement through each cell to define core areas. We conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine the influence of resistance and dispersal. We selected the resistance surface and dispersal ability that produced the highest correlation with observed elephant densities. We evaluated the optimality of expert corridors by using a path randomization method. Eleven out of 24 expert corridors had connectivity values significantly higher than expected by chance, while only two corridors were spatially congruent between expert teams. Areas with the highest connectivity corresponded well with priority areas identified by conservationists and elephant density predicted by the resistant kernel connectivity model correlated significantly with surveys (Spearman's q = 0.85, n = 500, P 0.001). The results provide the first rigorous, spatially synoptic and empirically validated evaluation of the connectivity of the elephant population across the reserve.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predicting landscape connectivity for the Asian elephant in its largest remaining subpopulation

Puyravaud¹,

Cushman

Davidar

et al. 2016

Anim Conserv

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Factors determining the seasonal habitat use of Asian elephants in the Western Ghats of India

et al. 2023

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Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are globally endangered, and their populations persist in several meta‐populations within fragmented landscapes across their distribution. Developing landscape‐level management plans for elephants requires reliable information on the pattern and determinants of their distribution across relevant spatial and temporal scales. The Brahmagiri‐Nilgiri‐Eastern Ghats Landscape (Nilgiri landscape) of peninsular India supports the largest breeding population of Asian elephants globally. The Wayanad Plateau, a wet forest tract in the dry forest‐dominated Nilgiri landscape, witnessed extensive forest fragmentation recently and evolved as a forest‐agriculture matrix. We predicted that habitat use by elephants in the Wayanad Plateau would be high during summer because of the availability of numerous perennial streams and associated swamps that retain water and soil moisture for plant growth over the dry season. We also hypothesized that elephants would use areas with greater forest cover that are removed from human settlements. We used an occupancy‐based approach that accounts for detection probability to understand factors influencing habitat use by elephants in summer (low rainfall, high temperature) and post‐monsoon (largely rainless winter conditions but with abundant forage and water) in 2019 and 2020. As expected, the intensity of habitat use was higher during the summer than during the post‐monsoon season. Elephants used habitats near perennial water sources and with greater forest cover, avoiding areas with high human disturbances. We emphasize the importance of areas that provide key resources for elephants during resource scarcity and the need to prevent habitat degradation for long‐term persistence of elephants and mitigation of human–elephant conflict.

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Characterizing Major Wildlife Habitats in West Bengal

Mandal,

Das Chatterjee

2023

GIScience and Geo-Environmental Modelling

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An overview of Asian Elephants in the Western Ghats, southern India: implications for the conservation of Western Ghats ecology

Cited by 31 publications

References 24 publications

Predicting landscape connectivity for the Asian elephant in its largest remaining subpopulation

Predicting landscape connectivity for the Asian elephant in its largest remaining subpopulation

Factors determining the seasonal habitat use of Asian elephants in the Western Ghats of India

Characterizing Major Wildlife Habitats in West Bengal

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