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K. Rajapandian

Species-specific patterns of habitat association in  tropical forests

The broad objective of the ERC project is to understand the relative importance of processes and factors that govern the composition and dynamics of species-rich communities. The project relies on data sets of 25-50 ha mega-plots of tropical forests e.g., in Sinharaja (Sri Lanka) and Barro Colorado Island (Panama), each comprising several hundred of species and >100000 trees that are monitored and censuses every 5 years. An important part of the project is to quantify the highly complex spatial structures found in these forests

Raja will investigate species-specific patterns of habitat association in selected tropical forests. The degree of associations of species and its different size classes to environmental variables is an important pattern to quantify potential niches. Methods of predictive statistical habitat modelling will be applied to derive maps of habitat quality for particular species and size classes.

Evaluating landscape connectivity for tiger  (Panthera tigris) in the Terai Arc landscape, India

Raja was PhD Student at the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun. He obtained a DAAD sandwich fellowship to spends one year in Leipzig to develop a habitat model for predicting habitat occupancy of tiger and to evaluate landscape connectivity using a spatially-explicit and individual-based approach.

Project in Leipzig

The Indian portion of Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) contains a large proportion of the Level I and Level II Tiger Conservation Units, which underscore global and regional priorities for the preservation of wild tiger. The Terai, in particular, is listed among the globally important 200 ecoregions for its unique large mammal assemblage. As a result of conquest of malaria, establishment of numerous settlements and increase in human population, this landscape has become over the decades highly fragmented and degraded. This has led to the local extinction of species such as one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli) and hog deer (Axis porcinus). Despite its ecological richness and a fast rate of degradation and species extinction, conservation initiatives are far from desired in this landscape, perhaps due to inadequate information and lack of coordinated efforts.

It is well established that the tiger (Panthera tigris), a species with special habitat needs (e.g., large home range, abundant large wild ungulate prey and undisturbed habitats), cannot be saved in small forest fragments. The long term survival of fragmented tiger populations in the TAL is highly depend on the amount of available suitable breeding habitats and the connectivity between these potentially suitable habitats for successful dispersal. Dispersal is a key process for the survival of such spatially structured small and isolated populations. Hence, in order to consider conservation implications and management actions it is important to quantify the amount of suitable habitats in this landscape and estimate the connectivity between the suitable habitats for successful dispersal of tiger.

With the above background, the project of Raja in leipzig is designed to develop spatially explicit models in order to (1) identify suitable habitat patches and (2) evaluate corridors and landscape connectivity in their ability to facilitate successful dispersal of tiger between subpopulations in the fragmented (Indian part of) TAL. This is necessary to ensure the long-term survival of this animal in this complex heterogeneous landscape. His specific objectives are

• To develop habitat suitability models for tiger and its prey species in TAL.

• To develop a spatially explicit individual-based dispersal model in order to evaluate landscape connectivity for tiger.

  • To evaluate the previously identified corridors in respect to their ability to connect habitat patches.

  • To assess the interaction between landscape structure and dispersing individuals among subpopulations.

• To provide conservation and management implications for the long-term survival of tiger and other wildlife species in this landscape.