Distribution and Habitat Use by Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in a Coffee-Dominated Landscape of Southern India

Krishnan, Vinod and Kumar, Mavatur Ananda and Raghunathan, Ganesh and Vijayakrishnan, Sreedhar (2019) Distribution and Habitat Use by Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in a Coffee-Dominated Landscape of Southern India. Tropical Conservation Science, 12. pp. 1-12.

[img]
Preview
Text
2019-Tropical-Conservation-Science-SVijayakrishnan.pdf

Download (1MB) | Preview
ContributionNameEmail
Abstract: Understanding the impacts of land-use mosaics on elephant distribution and the patterns of habitat use is essential for their conservation in modified landscapes. We carried out a study in 205 villages, covering 610 km2 of plantation–agriculture–forest mosaic of Hassan–Madikeri divisions in southern India, an area of intense human–elephant interactions. We monitored elephant movements, crop damage incidents, and human casualties on a daily basis for a 2-year period (2015–2017) to understand the patterns of elephant distribution across the landscape and habitat-use patterns, resulting in 1,117 GPS locations across six major habitats. Elephants were distributed across the landscape in the first year, but a high concentration of locations were noticed toward northern part of the study area during the second year, owing to clear felling of trees and installation of barriers around coffee plantations, causing an overall shift in their distribution. Investigations into habitat use by elephants revealed that during the day, elephants preferred monoculture refuges of acacia, eucalyptus, and so on, and forest fragments, avoiding reservoir, coffee, roads, and habitations. At night, agricultural lands were used more frequently while moving between refuges compared with forest fragments and habitations. Seasonally, forest fragments and agriculture were used significantly more during dry and wet, respectively. Across years, use of monoculture refuges and coffee increased with a corresponding decrease in the use of forest fragments and agriculture. In areas devoid of forest habitats, retention of monoculture refuges which provide shelter for elephants and facilitating free movement through open habitats may help minimize human–elephant conflict and promote coexistence in such land-use mosaics.
Item Type: Journal Paper
Additional Information: Copyright belongs to the Publisher
Keywords: Asian Elephant, Agriculture, Coffee, Forest Fragment, Land-use Matrix, Monoculture Refuges
Subjects: Programmes > Animal Behaviour and Cognition
School of Natural and Engineering Sciences > Animal Behaviour
School of Natural and Engineering Sciences > Animal Studies
Doctoral Programme > PhD Scholar Publications
Divisions: Schools > Natural Sciences and Engineering
Date Deposited: 12 Mar 2019 05:58
Last Modified: 11 Aug 2021 09:03
Official URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1940...
Related URLs:
    Funders: UNSPECIFIED
    Projects: UNSPECIFIED
    DOI:
    URI: http://eprints.nias.res.in/id/eprint/1769

    Actions (login required)

    View Item View Item