Large ungulates in tropical forests are among the most threatened taxa
of mammals. Excessive hunting, degradation of and encroachments on their
natural habitats by humans have contributed to drastic reductions in
wild ungulate populations in recent decades. As such, reliable
assessments of ungulate-habitat relationships and the spatial dynamics
of their populations are urgently needed to provide a scientific basis
for conservation efforts. However, such rigorous assessments are
methodologically complex and logistically difficult, and consequently
many commonly used ungulate population survey methods do not address key
problems. As a result of such deficiencies, key parameters related to
population distribution, abundance, habitat ecology and management of
tropical forest ungulates remain poorly understood.
This book addresses this critical knowledge gap by examining how
population abundance patterns in five threatened species of large
ungulates vary across space in the tropical forests of the
Nagarahole-Bandipur reserves in southwestern India. It also explains the
development and application of an innovative methodology - spatially
explicit line transect sampling - based on an advanced hierarchical
modelling under the Bayesian inferential framework, which overcomes
common methodological deficiencies in current ungulate surveys. The
methods and results presented provide valuable reference material for
researchers and professionals involved in studying and managing wild
ungulate populations around the globe.
