Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Habitat Suitability Analysis of Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus leucogaster) in Part of Western Himalaya, India

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Himalayan musk deer (Moschus leucogaster) is considered endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is under Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, because of its illicit hunting for musk as well as habitat loss. The present study aims to study the summer range habitat suitability of this important Himalayan ungulate in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) of Western Himalaya, India. The study integrated ground presence point locations of the species with satellite data-derived variables in a binomial multiple logistic regression (BMLR) model to analyse its suitability status in KWS. Moist temperate forest (323.38 km2) was found to be the dominant vegetation type, followed by sub-alpine forest (128.24 km2) and alpine pasture (119.51 km2) in KWS. It was found that 7.39% (72.04 km2) of the study area is highly suitable, followed by 14.73% (143.68 km2), 13.43% (131.02 km2) and 64.44% (628.46 km2) area as suitable, moderately suitable and least suitable, respectively, for the species. The results also revealed that 71.59% (51.57 km2) of the highly suitable habitat occurs in sub-alpine forest, 18.41% (13.26 km2) in alpine pasture and 5.63% (4.06 km2) in alpine scrub. It was found that the vegetation type/land use was the most significant variable for habitat suitability assessment of the Himalayan musk deer in KWS. The BMLR model could successfully predict the potential summer range habitat of the species (Relative Operating Characteristics curve = 0.85). The findings of this study could be of immense use in the management of this Wildlife Sanctuary for better protection and conservation of the Himalayan musk deer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bio, A. M., De Becker, P., De Bie, E., Huybrechts, W., & Wassen, M. (2002). Prediction of plant species distribution in lowland river valleys in Belgium: Modelling species response to site conditions. Biodiversity and Conservation, 11(12), 2189–2216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M., Lewis, H. G., & Gunn, S. R. (2000). Linear spectral mixture models and support vector machines for remote sensing. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 38(5), 2346–2360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Champion, H. G., & Seth, S. K. (1968). A revised survey of the forest types of India. Delhi: Government of India Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, W. R., Schmitz, R. A., & Bogenschutz, T. R. (1999). Site selection and nest success of ring-necked pheasants as a function of location in Iowa landscapes. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 63(3), 976–989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, M. J. (1986). The distribution, status and conservation of the Himalayan musk deer Moschus chrysogaster. Biological Conservation, 35(4), 347–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, M.J.B. (1985). Aspects of the ecology of Himalayan Musk Deer. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K., p 280.

  • Groves, C. P., Yingxiang, W., & Grubb, P. (1995). Taxonomy of musk-deer, Genus Moschus (Moschidae, Mammalia). Acta Theriologica Sinica, 15(3), 181–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grubb, P. (2005). Artiodactyla. In D. E. Wilson & D. M. Reeder (Eds.), Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference ((3rdrd ed) ed., pp. 637–722). Baltimore, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guisan, A., & Thuiller, W. (2005). Predicting species distribution: Offering more than simple habitat models. Ecology Letters, 8(9), 993–1009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guisan, A., & Zimmermann, N. E. (2000). Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology. Ecological Modelling, 135(2–3), 147–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Habib, B., Dar, T. A., Khan, J. A., & Kushwaha, S. P. S. (2010). Evaluation of habitat suitability models for four sympatric ungulate species in Pathri Rao watershed adopting geo-statistical modelling. Current Science, 99(4), 500–506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henckel, L., Bradter, U., Jönsson, M., Isaac, N. J., & Snäll, T. (2020). Assessing the usefulness of citizen science data for habitat suitability modelling: Opportunistic reporting versus sampling based on a systematic protocol. Diversity and Distributions. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imam, E., Kushwaha, S. P. S., & Singh, A. (2009). Evaluation of suitable tiger habitat in Chandoli National Park, India, using multiple logistic regression. Ecological Modelling, 220(24), 3621–3629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, R. (1979). Aboriginal hunting in West Nepal with reference to musk deer Moschus moschiferus moschiferus and snow leopard Panthera uncia. Biological Conservation, 16(1), 63–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kattel, B., & Alldredge, A. W. (1991). Capturing and handling of the Himalayan musk deer. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 19(4), 397–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kattel, B. J. (1990). Ecology and conservation of the Himalayan Musk deer in Nepal. Yokohama, Japan: International Congress of Ecology Wildlife Conservation Symposium.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, A. A., Qureshi, B. D., & Awan, M. S. (2006). Impact of musk trade on the decline in Himalayan musk deer Moschus chrysogaster population in Neelum Valley. Pakistan. Current Science, 91(5), 696–699.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, R., Nandy, S., Agarwal, R., & Kushwaha, S. P. S. (2014). Forest cover dynamics analysis and prediction modeling using logistic regression model. Ecological Indicators, 45, 444–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kushwaha, S. P. S., Khan, A., Habib, B., Quadri, A., & Singh, A. (2004). Evaluation of sambar and muntjak habitats using geostatistical modelling. Current Science, 86(10), 1390–1400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macartney, C. (1983). The deer with a fatal scent. Unasylva, 35, 18–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manel, S., Dias, J. M., & Ormerod, S. J. (1999). Comparing discriminant analysis, neural networks and logistic regression for predicting species distributions: A case study with a Himalayan river bird. Ecological Modelling, 120(2–3), 337–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nandy, S., Kushwaha, S. P. S., & Dadhwal, V. K. (2011). Forest degradation assessment in the upper catchment of the river Tons using remote sensing and GIS. Ecological Indicators, 11(2), 509–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nandy, S., Kushwaha, S. P. S., & Gaur, P. (2012). Identification of swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli duvauceli Cuvier) potential habitat in Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve, Uttarakhand. India using multi-criteria analysis. Environmental Management, 49(4), 902–914.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandy, S., Kushwaha, S. P. S., & Mukhopadhyay, S. (2007). Monitoring the Chilla-Motichur wildlife corridor using geospatial tools. Journal for Nature Conservation, 15(4), 237–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nandy, S., Kushwaha, S.P.S., & Srinet, R. (2019). Wildlife habitat evaluation in mountainous landscapes. In R.R. Navalgund, A. Senthil Kumar and S. Nandy (Eds.), Remote Sensing of Northwest Himalayan Ecosystems (pp.341–352).Singapore: Springer.

  • Nandy, S., Singh, C., Das, K. K., Kingma, N. C., & Kushwaha, S. P. S. (2015). Environmental vulnerability assessment of eco-development zone of Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India. Ecological indicators, 57, 182–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navalgund, R. R., Kumar, A. S., & Nandy, S. (2019). Remote sensing of Northwest Himalayan ecosystems. Singapore: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nekhay, O., Arriaza, M., & Guzmán-Álvarez, J. R. (2009). Spatial analysis of the suitability of olive plantations for wildlife habitat restoration. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 65(1), 49–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira, J. M. C., & Itami, R. M. (1991). GIS-based habitat modeling using logistic multiple regression- A study of the Mt. Graham red squirrel. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 57(11), 1475–1486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qamar, Q., Anwar, M., & Minhas, R. A. (2008). Distribution and Population Status of Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus chrysogaster) in the Machiara National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan Journal of Zoology, 40, 159–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qureshi, B. D., Anwar, M., Hussain, I., & Beg, M. A. (2013). Habitat utilization of Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) in the musk deer National Park Guraiz, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. The Journal of Animal and Plant Science, 23(5), 1366–1369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qureshi, B. D., Awan, M. S., Khan, A. A., Dar, N. I., & Dar, M. E. U. I. (2004). Distribution of Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) in Neelum valley, district Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Journal of Biological Sciences, 4(2), 258–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawat, G. S., & Rodgers, W. A. (1988). The alpine meadows of Uttar Pradesh: an ecological review. In P. Singh & P. S. Pathak (Eds.), Rangeland resources and management (pp. 119–137). Jhansi: Range management society of India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sathyakumar, S. (1994). Habitat ecology of ungulates in Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary, Western Himalaya. Ph.D. Thesis, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, India.

  • Schaller, G. B. (1977). Mountain monarchs. Wild Sheep and Goats of the Himalaya: University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schamberger, M., & Krohn, W. B. (1982). Status of the habitat evaluation procedures. Trans North American Wildlife Natural Resource Conference, 47, 154–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, A., & Kushwaha, S. P. S. (2011). Refining logistic regression models for wildlife habitat suitability modeling—a case study with muntjak and goral in the Central Himalayas. India. Ecological Modelling, 222(8), 1354–1366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syed, Z., & Ilyas, O. (2015). Habitat preference and feeding ecology of alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand. India. Animal Production Science, 56(6), 978–987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Timmins, R.J. & Duckworth, J.W. 2015. Moschus leucogaster . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T13901A61977764. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T13901A61977764.en. Downloaded on 27 December 2019.

  • Vinod, T. R., & Sathyakumar, S. (1999). Ecology and conservation of mountain ungulates in Great Himalayan National Park. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun: Western Himalaya.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zarri, A. A., Rahmani, A. R., Singh, A., & Kushwaha, S. P. S. (2008). Habitat suitability assessment for the endangered Nilgiri Laughingthrush: a multiple logistic regression approach. Current Science, 94(11), 1487–1494.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Y., Meng, X., Feng, J., Yang, Q., Feng, Z., Xia, L., et al. (2004). Review of the distribution, status and conservation of musk deer in China. Folia Zoologica, 53(2), 129–140.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank the Director, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, for the encouragement and support for this study. The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge Mr. Akash Kumar Verma, former Deputy Conservator of Forests, and staff of Kedarnath Wildlife Division, Government of Uttarakhand, for field support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Space, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Indian Space Research Organisation, Government of India, Dehradun, 248001, India

    Subrata Nandy & S. P. S. Kushwaha

  2. Forest Department, Government of Uttarakhand, Dehradun, India

    M. Neethu Lakshmi

Authors
  1. Subrata Nandy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Neethu Lakshmi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. P. S. Kushwaha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Subrata Nandy.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nandy, S., Neethu Lakshmi, M. & Kushwaha, S.P.S. Habitat Suitability Analysis of Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus leucogaster) in Part of Western Himalaya, India. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 48, 1523–1533 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-020-01175-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-020-01175-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation