Publications
- Popular Article2014Call of the birdsThe Hindu in School, 31 Dec
- Popular Article2014Fancy sea fanThe Hindu in School, 24 December
- Popular Article2014A Hydra-headed plantThe Hindu in School, 26 November
- Popular Article2014Land of the golden mountainsENVIRONDownload
PDF, 4.6 MB
Talks about rediscovering a valley after nearly eight decades and its wildlife and people.
- Journal Article2014Photographic records of the Ratel Mellivora capensis from the southern Indian state of KarnatakaSmall Carnivore Conservation, 50, 42-44.
Understanding about the occurrence and distribution of the Ratel Mellivora capensis from the Indian subcontinent is hindered by the animal’s elusive nature. The first photographic evidence of Ratel for the southern Indian state of Karnataka comprises 41 camera-trap records from Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. During January–March 2014, Ratels were detected in the sanctuary’s different forest types broadly in proportion to camera-trapping effort therein. A wider occupancy survey, using a range of methods including camera-trapping, would help obtain a better understanding of the distribution of this cryptic species in Karnataka and neighbouring regions.
- Poster2014Living with Leopards-Educational PosterPoster produced in collaboration with Anamalai Tiger Conservation Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society and Mumbaikars for SGNPDownload
PDF, 10.1 MB
Educational poster for people residing in landscapes with leopards highlighting measures one can take and what one must avoid in order to minimize conflict, besides explaining basic leopard behavior and causes of conflicts.
- Poster2014சிறுத்தையும் நாமும்Poster produced in collaboration with Anamalai Tiger Conservation Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society and Mumbaikars for SGNPDownload
PDF, 9.95 MB
சிறுத்தை-மனிதன் எதிர்கொள்ளலைப் பற்றிய விளக்கச் சுவரிதழ்
- Poster2014சிறுத்தையை அறிந்துகொள்வோம்Poster produced in collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society.Download
PDF, 2.28 MB
சிறுத்தை-மனிதன் எதிர்கொள்ளலைப் பற்றிய விளக்கச் சுவரிதழ்.
- Book2014Nature Without BordersOrient Blackswan
Nature Without Borders explores the ways in which conservation of biodiversity can coexist with human actions and interests through a series of different essays. While wildlife conservation in India has traditionally depended on fencing off fragments of areas and habitats and guarding them against human encroachment, such an approach is limited in value, given that formally designated Protected Areas occupy a very small proportion of territory and that nature and natural processes transcend human boundaries and cannot be contained within the borders of nature reserves. Effective conservation, therefore, cannot ever depend on limiting or excluding human activity when habitats and environments themselves have porous boundaries.
Recent research, moreover, shows that effective conservation efforts can occur beyond the borders of Protected Areas and within human settlements. This eclectic collection of essays explores this more inclusive form of conservation through case studies that focus on different species, different environments (whether urban or rural), and different social and political constituencies from local farming or fishing communities to the educated middle class to corporate interests and the state. The essays range from overfishing along the Indian shoreline to the fate of the Gangetic river dolphin and from Sarus Cranes in the rice fields of Uttar Pradesh to the enigmatic snow leopard in the Himalayas. They explore the pastures of the Deccan plateau and the plantations of the Western Ghats as well as the lakes of Bengaluru and urban forests in Delhi. In sum, they offer readers insight into the scope of inclusive conservation that adapts its principles and practices to human activity across a diversity of environments and contexts.
This book will be of interests to students and scholars of ecology and environmental studies, environmental history and sociology. It will also be of interest to nature and conservation specialists and activists as well as policy makers and planners.
- Popular Article2014At a crossroadsThe Hindu in School, 10 September
- Popular Article2014The Constant GardnerCurrent Conservation, Issue 8.2, http://www.currentconservation.org/?q=articles/feature&n=297
- Journal Article2014The cashmere connection, biodiversity, and climate: response to Von Wehrden, et al
- Journal Article2014Vigorous dynamics underlie a stable population of the endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia in Tost Mountains, South Gobi, MongoliaPLoS ONE 9(7): e101319. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0101319
- Book Chapter2014Conservation without fences: Project Snow LeopardRangarajan, M., Madhusudhan, MD & Shahabuddin, G. (Eds) Nature Without Borders. Orient Blackswan Pvt. Ltd. Publishers, Hyderabad, India.
- Popular Article2014Mermaid's second lifeDown to Earth, September issue, http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/mermaids-second-life
- Book Chapter2014Nature Without Borders: An IntroductionPages 1-40 in Rangarajan, M., Madhusudan, M. D., & Shahabuddin, G. (eds.) Nature Without Borders. Orient Blackswan.
- Popular Article2014How corals lose their colourThe Hindu in School, 5 November
- Popular Article2014How corals got their colourThe Hindu in School, 29 October
- Book Chapter2014Sarus Cranes, cultivators, and conservationIn: Nature Without Borders (Eds. M Rangarajan, M D Madhusudan, G Shahabuddin), Orient Blackswan Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad and New Delhi.
- Journal Article2014Tracing the geographic origin of traded leopardbody parts in the Indian subcontinent withDNA-based assignment testsConservation Biology, 2014, DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12393Download
PDF, 973 KB
Illicit trade in wildlife products is rapidly decimating many species across the globe. Such trade is often underestimated for wide-ranging species until it is too late for the survival of their remaining populations. Policing this trade could be vastly improved if one could reliably determine geographic origins of illegal wildlife products and identify areas where greater enforcement is needed. Using DNA-based assignment tests (i.e., samples are assigned to geographic locations), we addressed these factors for leopards (Panthera pardus) on the Indian subcontinent. We created geography-specific allele frequencies from a genetic reference database of 173 leopards across India to infer geographic origins of DNA samples from 40 seized leopard skins. Sensitivity analyses of samples of known geographic origins and assignments of seized skins demonstrated robust assignments for Indian leopards. We found that confiscated pelts seized in small numbers were not necessarily from local leopards. The geographic footprint of large seizures appeared to be bigger than the cumulative footprint of several smaller seizures, indicating widespread leopard poaching across the subcontinent. Our seized samples had male-biased sex ratios, especially the large seizures. From multiple seized sample assignments, we identified central India as a poaching hotspot for leopards. The techniques we applied can be used to identify origins of seized illegal wildlife products and trade routes at the subcontinent scale and beyond.
