Mammal occurrence in rainforest fragments of the Valparai Plateau and Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India (2005-06)

Study Extent

The data contains detections of mammals and hornbills (and few incidental records of other species) made along line transect surveys and opportunistic surveys in the Valparai Plateau and Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. Further details of the Study Area and methods are available in Sridhar et al. (2008), but methods are briefly described below. Five rainforest patches were chosen within IGWLS and four privately-owned rainforest fragments in the Valparai plateau. Fifteen line transects, ranging in length from 1 to 3 km were laid across the nine sites, with the three largest sites having 2–4 transects each. The total distance covered by all transects was 32.02 km. Each transect was walked five times between September 2005 and April 2006 following standard distance sampling protocol.

Sampling

Two observers walked each transect at 0.75–1 km/h. For each detection, we recorded species, group size and perpendicular distance (measured using a rangefinder) from the transect. For animals which occurred in groups, perpendicular distances were measured to group centres. Apart from detections on transects, attempts were made to obtain group sizes of mammal species whenever incidentally detected. All transects were walked between 0630 and 1000 h. Indirect evidence (scat, tracks) on transects and incidental sightings (direct and indirect) of mammals were also recorded. Further details in Sridhar et al. (2008).

Quality Control

Raw data were screened for gaps (filled with NA where applicable), and verbatim identification was matched to correct scientific name of the taxon in worksheets. Geographic location was chosen as the approximate midpoint of line transects (based on known start and end points and description of route) or, in the case of opportunistic surveys, approximately based on name of locality or place with a coordinate uncertainty in metres assigned to it. Individual counts were based on number counted in the field (as recorded, in the case of sightings) or was taken to be 1 if no count was/could be made in the field or if it was based on calls (vocalisation) or indirect signs (tracks, faeces). Notes and other details were concatenated into occurrenceRemarks field.

Method steps

1. Methods are as described in Sridhar et al. (2008).

The data contains occurrences of mammals (Class: Mammalia), hornbills (Class: Aves, Family Bucerotidae) and few incidental records of other species including reptiles.

1. Chordata
   common name: Vertebrates rank: phylum
2. Bucerotidae
   common name: Hornbills rank: family

Study Area: Valparai Plateau and Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India Geographic Coverage: 1. Location/Study Area: Valparai Plateau, Tamil Nadu, India; Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India 2. GPS coordinates: Valparai Plateau (10°15'- 10°22'N, 76°52' - 76°59'E); Anamalai Tiger Reserve (10°12' - 10°35'N, 76°49' - 77°24'E)