@article {125196, title = {Prioritizing India{\textquoteright}s landscapes for biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being}, journal = {NATURE SUSTAINABILITY }, year = {2023}, month = {02/2023}, abstract = {

Biodiversity conservation and human well-being are tightly interlinked. Yet, mismatches in the scale at which these two priority issues are planned and implemented have exacerbated biodiversity loss, erosion of ecosystem services and declining human quality of life. India houses the second largest human population on the planet, while \< 5\% of the country{\textquoteright}s land area is effectively protected for conservation. This warrants landscape-level conservation planning through a judicious mix of land-sharing and land-sparing approaches combined with the co-production of ecosystem services. Through a multifaceted assessment, we prioritize spatial extents of land parcels that, in the face of anthropogenic threats, can safeguard conservation landscapes across India{\textquoteright}s biogeographic zones. We found that only a fraction (similar to 15\%) of the priority areas identified here are encompassed under India{\textquoteright}s extant Protected Area network, and furthermore, that several landscapes of high importance were omitted from all previous global-scale assessments. We then examined the spatial congruence of priority areas with administrative units earmarked for economic development by the Indian government and propose management zoning through state-driven and participatory approaches. Our spatially explicit insights can help meet the twin goals of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in India and other countries across the Global South.

Biodiversity conservation is critical for promoting ecosystem services and human well-being, but current conservation efforts fail to protect most high priority zones. A mix of land-sparing and land-sharing is needed to safeguard critical ecosystems in India and across the Global South.

}, doi = {10.1038/s41893-023-01063-2}, author = {Srivathsa, Arjun and Vasudev, Divya and Nair, Tanaya and Chakrabarti, Stotra and Chanchani, Pranav and DeFries, Ruth and Deomurari, Arpit and Dutta, Sutirtha and Ghose, Dipankar and Goswami, Varun R. and Nayak, Rajat and Neelakantan, Amrita and Thatte, Prachi and Vaidyanathan, Srinivas and Verma, Madhu and Krishnaswamy, Jagdish and Sankaran, Mahesh and Ramakrishnan, Uma} } @article {99113, title = {High frequency of an otherwise rare phenotype in a small and isolated tiger population.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {118}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Sep 28}, abstract = {

Most endangered species exist today in small populations, many of which are isolated. Evolution in such populations is largely governed by genetic drift. Empirical evidence for drift affecting striking phenotypes based on substantial genetic data are rare. Approximately 37\% of tigers () in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (in eastern India) are pseudomelanistic, characterized by wide, merged stripes. Camera trap data across the tiger range revealed the presence of pseudomelanistic tigers only in Similipal. We investigated the genetic basis for pseudomelanism and examined the role of drift in driving this phenotype{\textquoteright}s frequency. Whole-genome data and pedigree-based association analyses from captive tigers revealed that pseudomelanism cosegregates with a conserved and functionally important coding alteration in (), a gene responsible for similar traits in other felid species. Noninvasive sampling of tigers revealed a high frequency of the Taqpep p.H454Y mutation in Similipal (12 individuals, allele frequency = 0.58) and absence from all other tiger populations (395 individuals). Population genetic analyses confirmed few (minimal number) tigers in Similipal, and its genetic isolation, with poor geneflow. Pairwise F (0.33) at the mutation site was high but not an outlier. Similipal tigers had low diversity at 81 single nucleotide polymorphisms (mean heterozygosity = 0.28, SD = 0.27). Simulations were consistent with founding events and drift as possible drivers for the observed stark difference of allele frequency. Our results highlight the role of stochastic processes in the evolution of rare phenotypes. We highlight an unusual evolutionary trajectory in a small and isolated population of an endangered species.

}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.2025273118}, author = {Sagar, Vinay and Kaelin, Christopher B and Natesh, Meghana and Reddy, P Anuradha and Mohapatra, Rajesh K and Chhattani, Himanshu and Thatte, Prachi and Vaidyanathan, Srinivas and Biswas, Suvankar and Bhatt, Supriya and Paul, Shashi and Jhala, Yadavendradev V and Verma, Mayank M and Pandav, Bivash and Mondol, Samrat and Barsh, Gregory S and Swain, Debabrata and Ramakrishnan, Uma} } @article {79865, title = {Navigating paved paradise: Evaluating landscape permeability to movement for large mammals in two conservation priority landscapes in India}, journal = {BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION}, volume = {247}, year = {2020}, month = {7/2020}, abstract = {

Human land use and activity results in the loss of habitat and biodiversity, and alters how animals move through landscapes. Spatially explicit information on where animal movement is affected at large spatial scales is crucial for prioritizing conservation efforts. We evaluated landscape permeability to movement in two conservation priority landscapes in India, the Western Ghats (WG) and Central India (CI). Using an agent-based model we simulated movement and dispersal of five wide-ranging species in WG (elephant, gaur, leopard, sambar and sloth bear) and four in CI (gaur, leopard, sambar and sloth bear). For each species we compared movement in the presence and absence of land-use land-cover, infrastructure and human population to identify areas where movement is impeded and reduced due to high-resistance features; unrestricted due to relatively low-resistance features; and increased and channelled due to surrounding high-resistance areas. In both landscapes, median movement was reduced. Human land-use, human population and high linear infrastructure density contribute the highest to impeded movement for all species. Natural areas constitute only 20-55\% and 50-70\% of unrestricted, increased and channelled movement areas in WG and CI respectively. This suggests that a large percentage of the landscape crucial for maintaining movement is not completely permeable. Such areas are often neglected in conservation planning. Our spatially explicit results help identify and prioritize areas where restoration or mitigation should be planned to improve permeability to movement for large mammals. Our approach can be used for other landscapes where data on large mammal movement is lacking.

}, doi = {10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108613}, author = {Jayadevan, Anisha and Nayak, Rajat and Karanth, Krithi K. and Krishnaswamy, Jagdish and DeFries, Ruth and Karanth, K. Ullas and Vaidyanathan, Srinivas} } @article {17319, title = {Leopard in a tea-cup: A study of leopard habitat-use and human-leopard interactions in north-eastern India.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {12}, year = {2017}, month = {2017}, pages = {e0177013}, abstract = {

There is increasing evidence of the importance of multi-use landscapes for the conservation of large carnivores. However, when carnivore ranges overlap with high density of humans, there are often serious conservation challenges. This is especially true in countries like India where loss of peoples{\textquoteright} lives and property to large wildlife are not uncommon. The leopard (Panthera pardus) is a large felid that is widespread in India, often sharing landscapes with high human densities. In order to understand the ecology of leopards in a human use landscape and the nature of human-leopard interactions, we studied (i) the spatial and temporal distribution and the characteristics of leopard attacks on people, (ii) the spatial variability in the pattern of habitat use by the leopard, and (iii) the spatial relationship between attack locations and habitat use by leopards. The study site, located in northern West Bengal, India, is a densely populated mixed-use landscape of 630 km2, comprising of forests, tea plantations, agriculture fields, and human settlements. A total of 171 leopard attacks on humans were reported between January 2009 and March 2016, most of which occurred within the tea-gardens. None of the attacks was fatal. We found significant spatial clustering of locations of leopard attacks on humans. However, most of the attacks were restricted to certain tea estates and occurred mostly between January and May. Analysis of habitat use by leopards showed that the probability of use of areas with more ground vegetation cover was high while that of areas with high density of buildings was low. However, locations of leopard attacks on people did not coincide with areas that showed a higher probability of use by leopards. This indicates that an increased use of an area by leopards, by itself, does not necessarily imply an increase in attacks on people. The spatial and temporal clustering of attack locations allowed us to use this information to prioritize areas to focus mitigation activities in order reduce negative encounters between people and leopards in this landscape which has had a long history of conflict.

}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0177013}, author = {Kshettry, Aritra and Vaidyanathan, Srinivas and Athreya, Vidya} }