Impacts of Ecotourism on Bat Habitats in Caves of Kanger Valley National Park, India

Jayant Biswas, Shivam Shrotriya, Yogita Rajput and Saugata Sasmal

Abstract:

The roosting microchiropterans mostly prefer caves and are highly sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. The caves of the Kanger Valley National Park, is becoming day by day the most crowd puller spot for Central India and due to which it often overruled all the laws of ecotourism. In the present study, two microchiropteran species were found to roost together in the caves of the Kanger Valley National Park, India with distinct microhabitats. Rhinolophus rouxii was found in the twilight to dark zone of the cave while Hipposideros cineraceus was found to occupy the more stable zones of the cave and was highly sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance. The population sizes of the bats roosting inside the two major caves have been estimated and compared with the earlier available records and this provides evidence of a decline in abundance. Further, the gestation/reproductive phase of these bat populations was also found to coincide with the period during which the caves remain under the highest anthropogenic pressure. In the present study several aspects which could threatened the existences of the cave bats have been noted and proper strategy to re-establish their populations have been discussed by maintaining more or less the tourist pressure intact in the caves.

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Citation:Biswas, J., Shrotriya, S., Rajput, Y., & Sasmal, S. (2011). Impacts of Ecotourism on Bat Habitats in Caves of Kanger Valley National Park, India. Research Journal of Environmental Sciences, 5(9), 752–762. doi:10.3923/rjes.2011.752.762

Dandak: a mammalian dominated cave ecosystem of India

Jayant Biswas and Shivam Shrotriya

Abstract:

Perpetual darkness, high humidity with almost constant geophysical factors are some of the abiotic factors which make the cave ecosystem unique. For any species a high degree of adaptation is always needed to thrive in such an ecosystem. Mammals in general have never adapted to cave life but they can play a major role in the cave ecosystem. Structurally, the Dandak cave has two distinct chambers that are completely different from each other in several geophysical factors. Thus both the cave chambers offer two distinct types of ecological niche. In the present study we found that both chambers of this cave were dominated by mammals all year round. Additionally, the group of mammals using the outer chamber completely differs from the group using the inner one. Possible geophysical factors responsible for such differences are discussed.

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Citation:Biswas, J., & Shrotriya, S. (2011). Dandak: a mammalian dominated cave ecosystem of India. Subterranean Biology, 8, 1–7.