Faunal Diversity of the Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK), Gujarat, India

Jigar D. Joshi¹ , Ketan Tatu² , Darpak Joshi³ , R. D. Kamboj⁴

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Isroset-Journal
Vol.5 , Issue.5 , pp.117-123, Oct-2018

CrossRef-DOI:   https://doi.org/10.26438/ijsrbs/v5i5.117123

Online published on Oct 31, 2018

Copyright © Jigar D. Joshi, Ketan Tatu, Darpak Joshi, R. D. Kamboj . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

View this paper at   Google Scholar | DPI Digital Library

XML View     PDF Download

How to Cite this Paper

1257 Views    322 Downloads    98 Downloads

Abstract :
A study on vertebrate faunal diversity (i.e., diversity of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians) of the Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK), Gujarat, India was conducted from October 2015 to March 2017. The Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK) represents a unique ecosystem with combination of saline desert and a vast seasonal wetland. A large portion of the LRK is under legal protection as the Wild Ass Sanctuary (WAS). Islands (locally called bet) are the unique sub ecosystems in the ecosystem of Little Rann of Kachchh. There are around 74 bets and ‘dhasi’ in the LRK. Owing to their relatively better vegetation status, bet’s also support relatively rich fauna. Western, Eastern, Southern and Northern fringe areas of The Rann also have good habitat diversity and hence, they too have good fauna. A total of 260 species of wild vertebrates (i.e., mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians) were recorded during the present study. They included 26 species of mammals, 210 species of birds, 20 species of reptiles and 4 species of amphibians.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Amphibians, Birds, Faunal Diversity, Fringes, Herpetofauna, Islands (Bet’s), Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK), Mammals, Reptiles

References :
[1]. Hussain, S. A. and Roy, R. “Directory of Indian Wetlands”, WWF-I, New Delhi & AWB, Kaula Lumpur, 1993.
[2]. Merh, S. S. and Patel, P. P. “Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of the Ranns of Kachchh”. M S University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, 1988.
[3]. Babbar, V., B. Pathak, P. Chopra, V. Kaushik, S. Tembe and J. Dave. “Current Ecological Status of Kachchh”. Gujarat Ecology Commission, Vadodara, India, 1994.
[4]. Singh, H. S., B. H. Patel, R. Pravez, V. C. Soni, Nita Shah, Ketan Tatu and Dimple Patel. “Ecological Study of Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kachchh” (A comprehensive study on biodiversity and management issues). Published by Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 1999.
[5]. Parmar, M. J., Chaudhary, J. S., Singh, P. and Pandey, C. N. “Management Plan for Wild Ass Sanctuary”, Gujarat Forest Department, Gujarat, India, 2014.
[6]. Merh, S. S. and Malik, J. J. “Kachchh Peninsula & Rann of Kachchh (A report of the DST Project of Neotectonic & Paleosesmic Studies on Kachchh)”. Department of Geology. M. S. University, Vadodara, pp-41, 1996.
[7]. Joshi Jigar D., Ketan Tatu, Darpak Joshi and R. D. Kamboj. “Comparative account of faunal diversity of four major Islands (Bet’s) in the Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK), Gujarat, India”. International Research Journal of Biological Sciences. Vol. 7(6), pp-9-19, 2018.
[8]. Suthar Ashok M., Ketan S. Tatu and R. D. Kamboj. “Status of Grasses and Sedges used as main natural food plants by Indian Wild Ass in the fringe area of Little Rann of Kachchh (LRK), Gujarat, India”. International Research Journal of Biological Sciences. Vol. 7(5), pp-28-31, 2018.
[9]. Gupta Vishal and Ansari A. A. “Geomorphodynamics & Morpho-Ecological Management in the Little Rann of Kachchh”. P.hD. Thesis Vadodara: The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, 2011.
[10]. Shah, N. V. “Ecology of Wild Ass (Equus hemionus Khur) in Little Rann of Kachchh”. P.hD. Thesis. Vadodara: The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, 1993.
[11]. Urfi, A. J., Monalisa Sen, Kalam, A. and Meganathan, T. “Counting birds in India: Methodologies and trends”. Current Science, vol. 89(12), 2005.
[12]. Sutherland William J. “A Handbook of Ecological Census Techniques”. Second Edition. Published by Cambridge University Press. New York, 2006.
[13]. Shah, N., Pilo, B. and Goyal, S. P. Avifauna of Wild Ass Sanctuary, Gujarat. PAVO, 33, pp-135-144, 1995.
14 Ali, S. “The Book of Indian Birds”. Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford University Press, Mumbai.
15 Grimmett, R. C. Inskipp and T. Inskipp. “Birds of Indian Subcontinent-Pocket Guide”. Oxford University Press. New Delhi, 1998.
16 Menon, V. and Daniel, J. C. “A Field Guide to Indian Mammals”. Publisher-Dorling Kindersley, India, 2003.
17 Singh, H. S. “Mammals in Gujarat”. Gujarat Biodiversity Board and Gujarat Forest Department, Gandhinagar, pp-299, 2013.
18 Menon, V. “Indian Mammals: A Field Guide”. Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd. 2014.
19 Daniel, J. C. “The Book of Indian reptiles”. Bombay Natural History Society. Bombay, 1983.
20 Shah, N., Pilo, B. and Goyal, S. P. “Herpetofauna Diversity in Little Rann of Kachchh and Conservation needs”. Zoos Print. Vol. 7 (11), pp-5, 1992.
21 Naik, Y. M. and Vinod, K. R. “Amphibian Fauna of Gujarat: An Updated Checklist with Key to the Identification of Species”. Journal of Animal Morphology and Physiology. 43 (2), pp - 191-194, 1996.
22 Vyas, R. “The reptiles of Gujarat State: Updated distribution”. Tiger paper 25(1) pp-8-14, 1998.