Assessment of the Mammalian Diversity in MHNP, Islamabad

Abstract

Exploring mammalian diversity is a prerequisite to understand health of an ecosystem and plays a pivotal role in conservation planning. For this purpose, a study availing sign surveys and camera trapping was conducted in the Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad, Pakistan. The sign surveys were carried out from November 2017 to February 2018, while camera trapping lasted from 18th of February to 11th of March 2018. This was the first study of its kind in 38 years since the area was notified as a national park. The study involved 30 motion-triggered infrared digital trail cameras deployed (each for 13 trap nights) across the study area in different potential sites making a total of 364 trap nights and covering 30 grids of 1 km2 each, with a minimum distance of 500 m between each camera station. The camera traps captured eighteen species of mammals, representing thirteen families, that included red fox, Indian porcupine, wild boar, masked civet, golden jackal, rhesus macaque, common leopard, leopard cat, barking deer, Indian civet and Indian hare. Jungle cat, grey mongoose, Indian pangolin, yellow throated marten, hedgehog, Rat (genus rattus) and Himalayan Black rat each were captured at only one station. Highest photo-capture events (229) were recorded for red fox, though wild boar generated highest number of photos (3537). Mammalian species accounted for 28.91 % of total photo captures. Human, birds, livestock and domestic animals accounted for 42.80%, 5.64%, 13.54% and 4.11%, respectively, while 4.9% photos were false triggered. The Relative Abundance Index (RAI) was the highest for Red Fox (36.64), moderate for Indian porcupine (17.12), wild boar (14.72), rhesus macaque (10.08) and masked civet (9.44). Whereas golden jackal, barking deer, Indian civet, common leopard, leopard cat, jungle cat and yellow throated marten had the lowest abundance. Species Richness was estimated using five estimators namely; ICE, ACE, Chao1, Chao2 and Jack1. Chao2 gave the highest estimate of 38.3, ICE gave 28.32, Jack1 gave 24.77, ACE gave 19.09 and Chao1 gave estimate of 18.5 (approximately the same as the observed no of species). The current study recorded 18 mammalian species, including some rare and threatened ones such as common leopard and Indian pangolin and other rare species like leopard cat and jungle cat, which were not reported for very long from the area. In contrast to past instigations which were largely based on expert judgements, anecdotes animal spoors, current study provides definitive detections of several iconic species. Though a shear amount of photo belonged to humans and livestock (55%) or non-target species (16%), photo capture of mammalian species (29%) was adequate to recognize species. Presence of large predators like common leopard without serious conflicts is a significant finding, which could be correlated to availability of natural prey (wild board, barking deer), adaptable nature of the cat, and extreme protection efforts initiated by the IWMB staff recently. Seasonal surveys are recommended to better capture species diversity and movements in the area. The study reports great ecological potential of the area in the form of species richness, as well as an immense challenge in the form huge human and livestock movement in core areas of the park. The results shall inform management strategy adopted by the IWMB so that human substance, recreational and ecological needs are balanced.