A threat assessment of Three-striped Palm Squirrel Funambulus palmarum (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) from roadkills in Sigur Plateau, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study was undertaken to assess the threat from road kills for three-striped palm squirrels in the tropical forest of Sigur plateau, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, and Southern India from January 2014 to December 2016. Road kills were recorded along the Udhagamandalam to Masinagudi state highway passing through Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (40 km). Four visits per month were carried out mostly on weekends (Saturday or Sunday). A total of 497 three-striped palm squirrel kills were recorded, with an overall rate of 0.09/km of the roadway. Habitat wise 387 kills were observed in the thorn forest and 110 in dry deciduous forest habitats. Season wise 176 kills were recorded in winter, 156 in summer, 83 post-monsoon, and 82 during the monsoon. The study distinguished the ongoing major threat on the three-striped palm squirrel in the present scenario.
Article Details
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Balasubramanian, P. (1995). Some notes on the fruits, seeds and nectar consumed by Three-striped palm squirrel Funambulus palmarum at Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 95: 256–258.
Barnett, S.A. & I. Prakash (1975). Rodents of Economic Importance in India. Arnold Heinemann, New Delhi, 175pp.
Coffman, C.J., J.D. Nichols & K.H. Pollock (2001). Population dynamics of Microtus pennsylvanicus in corridor-linked patches. Okios 93: 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.930101.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.930101.x
Davies, J.M., T.J. Roper & D.J. Shepherdson (1987). Seasonal distribution of road kills in the European Badger (Meles meles). Journal of Zoology 211: 525–529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1987.tb01550.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1987.tb01550.x
Davis-Born, R. & J.O. Wolff (2000). Age- and sex-specific responses of the Gray-tailed Vole (Microtus canicaudus), to connected and unconnected habitat patches. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78: 864–870. https://doi.org/10.1139/z00-017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/z00-017
Gokula, V. & L. Vijayan (1996). Birds of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. Forktail 12: 107–1 17.
Malhi, C.S. & K. Kaur (1994). Responses of Funambulus pennantii Wroughton (Rodentia, Sciuridae) towards different food additives. Mammalia 59(3): 373–383. https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.1995.59.3.373 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.1995.59.3.373
Malhi, C.S. & K. Khushrupinder (1995). Food preference behavior of the five striped squirrel, Funambulus pennanti Wroughton. Behavioural Processes 34: 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/0376-6357(94)0052-i
Mead, C. (1997). Apathetic bundle of feathers. British Wildlife 8: 229–231.
Mendez-Carvajal, P.G., P.K.D. Mallikarjun, S. K. Pagadala, I. Martín, D. Marsilio-Apostoli & I. Ruiz-Bernard (2016). Brief observations of natural behaviour for Indian Five-striped Squirrel Funambulus pennantii, Telangana, India. Small Mammal Mail 15(1): 15–19.
Menon, V. (2014). Indian Mammals: A Field Guide. Hachatte Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd., 530pp.
Moshe, I. & R. Mayer (1998). Spatio-temporal trends in armadillo diurnal activity and road kills in central Florida.
Nameer, P.O. & S. Molur (2008). Funambullus palmarum In. IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed 6 January 2009.
Oxley, D.J., M.B. Fenton & G.R. Carmody (1974). The effect of roads on populations of small mammals. Journal of Ecology 11:51-59.
Parasara, U.A., B.M. Parasharya & K.L. Mathew (1997). Five-striped squirrel Funambulus pennantii of the Helicoverpa armiguera H.B. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 94: 562–564
Prasad, M.R.N., G.K. Dhaliwal, P. Seth, A.H. Reddi, A.K. Sivashankar & N.K. Uberoi (1966). Biology of reproduction in the Indian Palm Squirrel, Funambulus pennanti (Wroughton). Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 15: 353.
Prater, S.H. (1971). The Book of Indian Animals. Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India, 324pp.
Ramakrishnan, B. & R. Saravanamuthu (2012). Conservation and Management of Elephant Corridors. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing, GmbH & Co. KG Heinrich-Böcking-Str. 6-8 66121, Saarbrücken, Germany, 193pp.
Ramakrishnan, B., G. Kannan, A. Samason, K. Ramkumar & S. Ramasubramaniyan (2014). Nesting of White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) in the Segur Plateau of The Nilgiri North Forest Division. Indian Forester 140(10): 1014–1018.
Reeve, N.J. & M.P. Huijser (1999). Mortality factors affecting wild hedgehogs: a study of records from wildlife rescue centers. Lutra 42: 7–24.
Rotar, J.T. & M. Adamic (1997). Wildlife traffic relations in Slovenia. Problems arising with the construction of motorway network and possibilities of their mitigation, pp. 86–92. In: Canters, K. & A. Piepers (eds.). Proceedings of the International Conference on Habitat Fragmentation, Infrastructure and the Role of Ecological Engineering. Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Road and Hydraulics Engineering Division, Delft, Netherlands.
Samson, A., B. Ramakrishnan, A. Veeramani & P. Ravi (2015). Occupation of Indian Giant Squirrel nests by White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis) in India. Podoces 10(2): 35–36.
Samson, A., B. Ramakrishnan, S. Renuka P. Ravi & S. Ramasubramanian (2014). Bathing behavior and waterhole importance of White-rumped Vulture conservation in the Segur Plateau, Tamil Nadu, southern India. Journal of Applied Science and Research 2(5): 92–99.
Samson, A., B. Ramakrishnan, A. Veeramani, P.S. Kumar, S. Karthick, G. Sivasubramanian, M. Ilakkia, A. Chitheena, J.L. Princy & P. Ravi (2016). Effect of vehicular traffic on wild animals in Sigur Plateau, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(9): 9182–9189. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.1962.8.9.9182-9189 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.1962.8.9.9182-9189
Tabor, R. (1974). Earthworms, crows, vibrations and motorways. New Scientist 62: 482–483.
Thorington, R.W. &R.S.Hoffmann (2005). Family Sciuridae, pp. 754–818. In: Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (2005). Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference (3rd Edition). The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Tiwari, J. (1990). Five striped squirrel Funambulus pennantii (Wroughton) killing birds. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 87: 137.
van Langevelde, F. & C.F. Jaarsma (1997). Habitat fragmentation, the role of minor rural roads (MRRs) and their traversability pp. 171–182. In: Canters, K.J., A. Piepers & D. Hendriks-Heersma (eds.). Proceedings of the International Conference on Habitat Fragmentation, Infrastructure and the Role of Ecological Engineering. Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Road and Hydraulics Engineering Division, Delft, Netherlands.
Weigl, R. (2005). Longevity of mammals in captivity; from the Living Collections of the world A list of mammalian longevity in captivity. Schweizerbart and Borntraeger science publishers, Germany, 214pp.