Browsing by Subject "Diet analysis"
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Item Diet Analysis of Barking Deer (Muntiacus Vaginalis, Boddaert 1785) in Nagarjun Forest of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park,Nepal(Department of Zoology, 2022) Gurung, KasturiThe composition and selection of food by ungulates is a fundamental element to understand their dietary habits. This study aimed to assess the winter diet composition, niche breadth, and preference of forage plants for Barking Deer in the Nagarjun Forest of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal in 2019. The line transect method along with quadrat sampling was used for the collection of Barking Deer pellets and reference plant species. Micro-histological technique was used to prepare micro-photographs of reference food plants and deer pellets in the laboratory. A total of 1500 fragments of 50 fecal samples were analyzed to identify undigested plant parts in the pellet of Barking Deer. Diet composition was expressed in terms of percentage of occurrence, Levin’s niche breadth was calculated for the evaluation of the degree of food selectivity and browse to grass ratio to determine whether the Barking Deer adopts browsing or grazing strategy. Food preference of Barking Deer was evaluated by using Ivlev’s Electivity Index and statistical tool, Chi-square test was used for data analysis. Barking Deer consumed 26 plant species. Of these, 18 species belonged to browse, four species to grass, two species to fruits, and two other species to fern and herb. The contribution of browse species was higher in the overall diet (61.13%), followed by fruits (16.66%), grasses (10.87%), and others (1.87%). Smilaxaspera (10.33%), Litsea chartacea (7.87%), Schima wallichii (5.4%), Prunus cerasoides (5.13%), etc. were the other major browse plants in the diet. Choerospondiasaxillaris (15.86%) formed the largest proportion of all the food species and was the important fruit for Barking Deer. The important grass species present in the diet were Imperata cylindrica (4.13%) and Carex sp. (3.2%). The Browse to grass ratio in the Barking Deer diet was 5.62 showing a strong preference towards the browse plants. The niche breadth of the food plants consumed by Barking Deer was found to be 0.512 indicating its generalist nature of feeding, consuming a variety of species. Choerospondias axillaris (IEI = 0.5), Litsea chartacea (IEI = 0.51), Prunus cerasoides (IEI =0.5) and Smilax aspera (IEI = 0.51) were four plant species found to be strongly preferred. Castanopsis indica, (IEI = 0.07),Myrica esculenta (IEI = 0.05) and Berberis asiatica (IEI = 0.04) were found to be used in proportion to availability whereas Rhododendron arboreum (IEI = -0.58), Pinus roxburghii (IEI = -0.7), Lithocarpus elegans (IEI = -0.6), etc. were some other avoided food plants. Researches on nutritive value of important dietary species and their niche overlap with other herbivore competitors are recommended. xvItem Roost Selection and Diet Analysis of Leschenault's Rousette Bat (Rousettus Leschenaulitii Desmarest, 1820) in Bhimad Area Tanahu, Nepal.(Department of Zoology, 2021) Thapa, SangitaBats are mammals belonging to the order Chiropteran the second largest to the order among 26 mammalian groups. Bats are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight with their forelimbs adapted as wings. The main objectives of this study were to identify cohabitant bat species with Rousettus leschenaultii at the study cave, determine population and evaluate factors influencing roosting refugia, enumerate diets of Rousettus leschenaultii at the study area Bhimad, Tanahun Nepal. Possible roosting sites were surveyed and mist netting was used to capture bat and observed directly. Morphometric measurements, taxonomic characters, were used to identify species. High resolution photographs were taken to estimate the population. The height of roost site, distance of roosting sites of bats inside Chamero cave was measured using measuring tape (Pythagoras theorem). The seeds of potential food of fruiting plants, mostly ripe fruits were collected. Plastic sheets of 1-1m size were placed randomly in six different locations inside the cave to collect fecal matters of bats. Total 156 fecal samples were collected from the Chamero cave twice in a month.The correlation between population and height of roost refugia, distance of roost refugia from cave entrance were analyzed using correlation in R-studio. Also, regression analysis was performed to analyze relation between bat population and physical factors. The collected samples of guano were analyzed using collected potential food items. The family wise composition of diet items were analyzed using MS Excel 2010. A total four roosting sites were identified with eight species of bats. The height of roosting refugia and bat population was found to be moderately correlated (r=0.55) whereas, distance of roosting refugia from cave entrance and bat population was found to be in a weak correlation (r=0.44). Among four roosting sites Bhalu cave has the highest diversity of bat species with being longest cave. The bat species were found to be roosting in the highest refugia inside Chamero cave. The distance of roosting refugia from cave entrance don’t have any effect on roosting refugia. Thirty three plant species were collected as potential diets from 20 families. A total of 11 species of fruiting plant were identified as diet of Rousettus. Among these twenty five percent were found to be cultivated fruits and 75% were found to be wild fruits. This study on the diversity and habitat of bats can help understand the ecological interaction. This can enhance knowledge of locals especially farmers about importance of bats.Item Species Diversity and Diet Analysis of Insectivorous Bat in Daunne Hill Range, Central Nepal(Department of Zoology, 2023) Poudel, DikshyaAvailable with full text