Rhino & Tiger Conservation Fund

"This project will monitor the recovery of the tiger and its prey base in Manas National Park.

This would be done by a) estimating tiger population densities in the Park using photographic captures and recaptures, b) estimating the densities of key large mammal herbivores that constitute prey species of the tiger in the Park using line transect sampling, and c) sustaining the monitoring and research program on vegetation dynamics in the Park to inform habitat management...Specifically, the Recipient will: (1) carry out camera trapping in six blocks of the Park over three camera trapping sessions (1.5 to 2.0 months per session) using 30-40 camera trap locations per block; (2) construct capture histories for each adult tiger and analyze these histories using CAPTURE to estimate abundance; (3) carry out line transect sampling to estimate tiger prey densities using 2 km long transects in all three ranges located in areas where camera traps are located; (4) analyze the count and distance data obtained from the transect sampling using the program DISTANCE; (5) install over 120 permanent vegetation quadrats of 30 m X 30 m size each spread across the entire landscape of the park and assess these plots for woody plant species; (6) conduct a one-time soil sampling in each plant quadrat and assess soil physical and chemical parameters; and (7) utilize the vegetation data to (a) develop a supervised land cover classification using high resolution satellite imagery, (b) characterize the distribution of plant species and diversity across the MNP landscape, and (c) develop a spatially explicit model of the environmental determinants of vegetation type and vegetation change in a GIS framework.