Finished Project
Assessing the Potential for Reintroducing the Cheetah in India (Phase II)
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the only large mammal to have been declared extinct (1952) in India in recorded history. This project, supported by the Indian government, was initiated with the aim of potentially reintroducing the cheetah to India. The project evaluated potential release sites, assessed the feasibility of successful reintroduction, explained the implementation plan, and briefly outlined the way forward. The landscape of Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary was rated highly on the priority list for considering cheetah reintroduction. The Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and the Shahgarh landscape in Rajasthan were also deemed suitable for introducing cheetahs with habitat management. My responsibilities included evaluating potential sites through potential prey estimation, habitat analysis, and assessing the socioeconomic attitudes of local communities.
March 2011- March 2012
Wildlife Institute of India
Monitoring Tigers, Co-Predators, Prey & their Habitat
From December 2009 to March 2011, I worked as a Research Personnel at the Wildlife Institute of India, participating in the Government of India's Tiger Census Project. This project aimed to comprehensively assess tiger populations, co-predators, prey, and habitat quality across the country's tiger landscapes. As a researcher, my duties included estimating populations of tigers and co-predators in various tiger reserves through camera trap surveys, contributing to radio-telemetry efforts, gathering data on carnivore signs to understand tiger occupancy, conducting line transects to estimate mammal density, and evaluating tiger-inhabited habitats.
Dec 2009- March 2011
Wildlife Institute of India
Effects of varied landscape matrix on bird communities in Purna Wildlife Sanctuary
For my dissertation, I researched the bird communities within the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat. The primary objective of my study was to explore the influence of diverse landscapes on the distribution patterns of various bird guilds. My research delved into the responses of the overall bird communities to alterations in vegetation composition and disturbance levels. After completing my research, I presented my findings at the Young Ecologists Talk and Interact conference in Bangalore in 2009.
October 2008-March 2009
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Gujarat
Butterfly community in Urban Ecosystems
My undergraduate project focused on understanding the distribution of butterflies within the diverse landscape of Anand City. Subsequently, in 2007, I assisted Vidyanagar Nature Club in creating a poster titled 'Butterflies of Gujarat' as educational material, which was provided to schools and other educational institutions free of charge. I presented a paper titled 'Effects of Different Types of Landscape Matrix on Butterfly Diversity in the Vicinity of Anand City, Gujarat' at the International Congress of Environmental Research held in Goa, India. This conference was organized by Birla Institute of Technology and Science – Pilani, Goa.
June 2006- February 2007
N V Patel College of Pure & Applied Sciences, Vallabh Vidyanagar