Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
The mammalian communities in coffee plantations around a protected area in the Western Ghats, India
Author(s)
Bali, A.; Kumar, A.; Krishnaswamy, J.
Published
2007
Publisher
Biological Conservation
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.06.017
Abstract
Forest reserves are increasingly becoming isolated, embedded in a matrix of various kinds of human land-use. Coffee plantations form the dominant matrix around many forest reserves in the tropics. In such a situation, the species richness and abundance of animals in coffee plantations can be expected to be determined by their proximity to the forest reserve and characteristics of the local vegetation. We tested this hypothesis with data on mammals (excluding bats, murids and insectivores) collected from 15 coffee plantations around the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats mountain ranges in India, between December 2005 and May 2006. We estimated mammal species richness and abundance from indirect evidence in belt transects and track plots, and from sightings during night surveys. We sampled the vegetation of the plantations from 36 plots of 5 m × 5 m, in each estate. Twenty-eight species of mammals were recorded from 15 plantations. The number of species recorded in individual estates ranged from 5 to 19, with an average of 11.8. Distance from the Sanctuary was the most important factor that negatively influenced species richness, and the abundance of many species. Local vegetation characteristics influenced only the abundance of some small species. Coffee plantations can be a buffer around forest reserves and improve connectivity between them. However, increasing conversion of native shade into silver oak and hunting are two issues that must be addressed if coffee plantations are to form high-quality matrix around forest reserves in the Western Ghats.
Keywords
abundance estimation, agroforestry, community structure, conservation management, forest management, mammal, plantation, protected area, species richness, Asia, Eurasia, India, South Asia, Western Ghats, Animalia, Grevillea robusta, Mammalia, Muridae, biodiversity hotspot, buffer, conservation, matrix, silver oak
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB10668