Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2016 | 8(13): 9537–9561

 

 

 

 

Faunal diversity of Satara District, Maharashtra, India

Amit Sayyed

Wildlife Protection and Research Society, 40, Rajaspura Peth, Satara, Maharashtra 415002, India

amitsayyedsatara@gmail.com

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.3162.8.13.9537-9561 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8E565297-1A9D-49F9-81EE-F982FAC1BE87

 

Editor: C. Srinivasulu, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India Date of publication: 26 November 2016 (online & print)

Manuscript details: Ms # 3162 | Received 01 April 2016 | Final received 05 November 2016 | Finally accepted 07 November 2016

Citation: Sayyed, A. (2016). Faunal diversity of Satara District, Maharashtra, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(13): 9537–9561; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.3162.8.13.9537-9561

Copyright: © Sayyed 2016. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

Funding: This work was supported by Wildlife Protection and Research Society.

Conflict of Interest: The author declares no competing interests.

Author Details: Amit Sayyed is head of research department at Wildlife Protection and Research Society. He works on faunal diversity, ecology, taxonomy, distribution and evolution of Reptiles and Amphibians.

Acknowledgements: I am sincerely thankful to the following persons and Institutions for their kind support for making this data on biodiversity possible - Dr. Hemant Ghate (Retired Professor, Department of Zoology, Modern College, Pune), Dr. Anil Mahabal (Retd. Scientist, Zoological Survey of India, Pune), Dr. Neelesh Dahanukar (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune), Dr. Anand Padhye (Department of Zoology, Abasaheb Garware College, Pune), Mr. Pradeep Kumkar (Modern college of Arts, Science and Commerce, Shivajinagar, Pune), Mr. Nikhil Modak (Department of Biodiversity, Abasaheb Garware College, Karve Road, Pune), Dr. Varad Giri (National Centre For Biological Sciences, Bangalore), Dr. Manju Siliwal (Wildlife Information & Liaison Development Society, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu), Mr. Shrikant Jadhav (Scientist, Zoological Survey of India, Pune), Mr. Anilkumar Khaire (Zoo Incharge, Akurdi, Pune), Mr. Subhash Shelke (Deputy Conservator of Forests, Satara), Mr. M.N. Pawar (Asst. Conservator of Forests, Satara), Mr. T.J. Gayakwad and Mr. K.R. Potdar (Range Forest Officers, Satara), Mr. V.S. Chorge (Round Forest Officer, Satara), Mr. S.P. Shinde, Mr. G.M. Bhosale, Mr. R. I. Inamdar, Mr. D.D. Gayakwad, Mr. P.D. Padwal, Forest Guards of Satara Dist. I am also thankful to the Principal and Science Department of L.B.S College, Satara who allowed me to use the Science Lab for my scientific work. Dr. Satish Pande, and Mr. Rajkumar Pawar, for helping me on the study of birds. Dr. Milind Bhakare for helping me on the study of butterflies, Mr. Vivek Sharma for the support; my wife Anjum Sayyed and my other family members for their moral support. I am grateful to Mr. Aman Adsul, Atul Rajmane, Pratibha Shinde, Abhijit Nale, Rohit Katke, Akshay Bhagwat, Vinay Chavan, Jitendra Patole, Nikhil Mutha and Rahul Thombre the members of Wildlife Protection and Research Society of Satara, Maharashtra for helping me in field work.

 

 

Abstract: Satara District of Maharashtra State is a part of northern Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau biogeographic zones. The data on various faunal groups was collected from the extensive study carried out during the period between 2007 and 2010, covering different parts of the district. The present study reports faunal diversity of the district with 677 species under 150 families belonging to 11 different groups. Overall, the district has substantial faunal diversity. Out of the total species, 94 are recorded as endemic species, 35 species are listed as threatened under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and 38 species are listed in the different schedules of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 (as amended up to 2013). The information on geographical distribution pattern of mammalian species in the district is also provided.

 

Keywords: Faunal diversity, Satara, Maharashtra.

 

 

Introduction

 

Biodiversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources and the ecological complexes of which they are part. The enumeration of life forms helps to adapt conservation strategies (Glowka et al. 1994). With this idea an attempt was made to enumerate and update the faunal diversity in Satara District, Maharashtra State, India. Satara District forms a part of the northern Western Ghats and the Deccan Plateau biogeographical zones. Earlier studies on fauna of various national parks, wildlife sanctuaries of northern Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau, pertaining to various faunal groups including urban areas from Maharashtra and state fauna as a whole are available (Kunte 1974; Gole 1998, 2001; Jagtap 1998; Pande 2005; Anonymous 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006a,b, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014), but there is no comprehensive account of faunal diversity of Satara District. Therefore, an attempt has been made to present the comprehensive account of some faunal diversity of Satara District.

Satara District is the western limit of the Deccan tableland and it lies between 16050’–18010’N & 73045’–75003’E with an area of 10,484km2. The district is divided into 11 talukas, namely: Satara, Koregaon, Jawli, Wai, Mahabaleshwer, Patan, Karad, Phaltan, Khataw, Maan and Khandala. The Sahyadri range (Western Ghats) runs from north to south along the western edge of the district and Mahadev Hills (northern Western Ghats), which are off-shoots of Shyadris, run eastwards and sends several minor ranges in southeast and southward directions across the district in Deccan area (Rao 1963). Western part of the district is under Western Ghats mountain province (5B) of Western Ghats biogeographic zone, whereas, the rest of the district lies is in Central Plateau Province (6D) of Deccan Plateau biogeographic zone (Pande 2005).

The entire land of the district encompasses major river systems between Sahyadri range, Mahadev Hills and its minor hill ranges. There are four river basins in the district; Yerla on south, Maan on southeast, Nira on north, whereas Krishna being the largest drainage system with many tributaries such as Kundali, Urmodi, Tarli and Koyna covers the entire land of the district. The whole of the district falls within the Deccan trap area with greater portion covered by the basaltic lava rocks, tapped with laterite. Trappean country is characterized by rich and fertile black soil. The average annual rainfall ranges from 2,000–5,500 mm and above in western region, whereas the southward and eastern parts receive the average annual rainfall between 500–800 mm. The type of the forest is mainly based on the climatic factors particularly rainfall, temperature and altitude. Tropical semi-evergreen forest is seen on high Sahyadri ranges, moist deciduous forest on slopes of the Sahyadris and dry deciduous mixed with shrubs and grasses in the remaining parts of the district (Rao 1963).

The present study deals with the inventory of some faunal groups pertaining to Satara District, Maharashtra, India. Conservation status, endemicity, distribution pattern of mammals in the district, comparison of faunal diversity between the district and the state of Maharashtra are also discussed in this communication.

Study area

 

The study on some faunal elements of Satara District was conducted in the following nine areas covering various habitats (Fig. 1), namely: (1) Vasota Fort (17040’N & 73042’E): it lies in the deep forested areas on the back waters of Koyna catchment in the Sahyadri ranges at a height of 1,120m; (2) Mahabaleshwar (17058’N & 73043’E): it is a vast area and a hill station located in the Sahyadris with an average elevation of 1,353m. It receives heavy rainfall and covered with semi-evergreen forest. It is bounded by steep valleys on all sides. Krishna, Koyna and other rivers originate from this place; (3) Koyna (17027’N & 73050′E): it is a wildlife sanctuary situated along the Koyna backwaters covering an area of 423.55sq.km covered mostly with dense forest; (4) Kass (17045’N & 73056’E): it is a hilly rocky plateau in Sahyadri ranges and has a perennial lake. It is a water source to Satara City, now declared as a World Heritage Site; (5) Chalkewadi (17047’N & 73083’E): it is a hilly rocky plateau. Numerous wind mills have been placed here; (6) Satara City (17042’N & 74002’E): city and a district head quarters surrounded by hills with sparse forest tracts, forts and agricultural land; (7) Patan (17015’N & 74012’E): it is located on the Karad-Kumbharli road at the junction of the Koyna and Yerla rivers and has an average elevation of 582m; (8) Phaltan (18000’N & 74029’E): it is a small town and a taluka place with agricultural fields around; and (9) Mayni (17025’N & 74030’E): it is situated in the Khataw Taluka and has a perennial lake.

 

Methods

 

A team from the wildlife protection and research society, Satara undertook faunal studies in nine different areas between January 2007 and December 2010 covering summer, rainy and winter seasons. For making observations and recording the data, various equipments including digital camera, binoculars 7x10, torch lights, GPS, stereo binocular microscope (LABOMEDSM-2), vernier caliper, etc. were used in the field. Identification of various taxa was carried out by using available literature - mammals (Alfred et al. 2006), birds (Ali & Ripley 1987; Rasmussen & Anderton 2005), reptiles (Smith 1935; Tikader & Sharma 1992; Daniel 2002; Whitaker & Captain 2008), amphibians (Chanda 2002), fishes (Talwar & Jhingran 1991; Jayaram 2010,), scorpions (Tikader & Bastawade 1983), butterflies (Kunte 2000; Kehimkar 2008), and for the comparison of fauna of Maharashtra with the present study the following literature was used - mammals (Pradhan & Talmale 2012a), birds (Mahabal et al. 2012), reptiles (Dasgupta et al. 2012), amphibians (Padhye & Ghate 2012), fishes (Karmakar et al. 2012), scorpions (Bastawade 2012), butterflies (Sharma 2012), dragonflies (Kulkarni et al. 2012), ants (Sheela & Chattopadhyay 2012), and centipede (Yadav 2012). Further to fortify, consulted experts and compared our study with the experts and the collections at Zoological Survey of India, WRC, Pune; Department of Zoology, Modern College and Garware College, Pune, Maharashtra. The checklists of various faunal groups, presented as Appendices 1–11, are based on personal and team-based observations. The species included in this paper is to the best of my knowledge and any species that have been left out is only due to the reason that it was not encountered during the present study.

Results and Discussion

 

The study resulted in the identification and enumeration of 677 species under 150 families spread over 11 faunal groups (Table 1). The table also indicates total number of Indian endemic species at a glance. Appendices 1–11 give details of total number of species recorded from each faunal group along with their order and family-wise classification, common name, endemicty status and conservation status (wherever applicable).

Further, the Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 shows the comparison between the total number of species observed in each vertebrate group and some invertebrate groups, respectively from Satara District and those already recorded from state of Maharashtra particularly the mammals (Pradhan & Talmale 2012a), birds (Mahabal et al. 2012), reptiles (Dasgupta et al. 2012), amphibians (Padhye & Ghate 2012), fishes (Karmakar et al. 2012), scorpions (Bastawade 2012), butterflies (Sharma 2012), dragonflies (Kulkarni et al. 2012), ants (Sheela and Chattopadhyay 2012) and centipedes (Yadav 2012). Figures 2 and 3 indicate that fauna such as butterflies (71.4%), reptiles (65.0%) and amphibians (50.9%) is well represented in the district followed by fishes (41.2%) and birds (37.4%). Rest of the faunal groups are poorly represented in the district as compared to the state.

Indian endemic species from vertebrate and some invertebrate groups have been plotted in Fig. 4. It indicates that endemicity of avian and reptilian species is higher than other faunal groups; this could probably be due to the fact that the western part of the Satara District falls under Western Ghats mountain province.

A comparative account of conservation status (as per IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) for all the vertebrate groups has been summarized in Table 2. It indicates that 35 species from different vertebrate groups are listed under threatened categories, like - Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable. Similarly, various species from all the vertebrate groups and butterflies included under various schedules of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as amended upto 2013; IWPA) are listed in Table 3. It shows that a total of 23 and 15 species are listed under SchedulesI and II, from various faunal groups except the amphibians and the fishes. In general, there is need to conserve and protect all these species on priority basis.

The Appendix 1, Table 2 and 3 indicates that out of 32 mammalian species recorded in the district, 21 species (65.6%) are listed under Schedule I and II of IWPA and 10 species (31.3%) are listed in threatened categories of the Red List. These species need to be conserved.

Animals like the Gray Langur Semnopithecus hypoleucos, Indian Hare Lepus nigricollis, Indian Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii were sighted abundantly all over the district (covering both the northern Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau) followed by Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Asian Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus and Indian Jackal Canis aureus (Table 4). Mammals like Sahayadri Forest Rat Rattus satarae, Sloth Bear Melurus ursinus and Four-horned Antelope Tetracerus quadricornis were more or less restricted to Western Ghats mountain province of the district. Leopard Panthera pardus andJungle Cat Felis chaus were noticed frequently to certain extent in the Western and middle part of the district. The Tiger Panthera tigris tigris was seen occasionally at Vasota Fort and Koyna area.

Endemic and threatened species, like Indian Wolf Canis lupus pallipes, Tiger Panthera tigris tigris, Sahyadri Forest Rat Rattus satarae, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon Columba elphinstonii, Leith’s Softshell TurtleNilssonia leithii, Humayun’s Wrinkled Frog Nyctibatrachus humayuni and Short-legged FrogIndirana barchytarsus warrants serious attention for protection and conservation.

 

 

 

Threats and Conservation Measures

 

As elsewhere, the fauna of Satara District is under threat due to various anthropogenic activities like expansion of windmills, mining, removal and erosion of soil, forest fire, deforestation, uncensored tourism and construction activities in Kaas, Panchgani-Mahableshwar belt and unethical practices on wildlife. There is need of strict implementation of various conservation oriented steps for the areas to help ecosystem in recovering from such human activities and so th at damage of the faunal elements can be minimized. The involvement of the locals in citizen-science will be a key to achieve conservation.

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