Women Agricultural Labourers in Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu, South India (A Comparative Study Between Wet & Dry Taluks)

Abstract :

A study was conducted using visual encounter survey method from January to December 1995 to examine the distribution pattern of agamid lizards in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary (IGWLS), Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel Sanctuary (SGGSS) and Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) of the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Eleven out of 14 species reported from this hill range were observed during this study, and the notable missing species was Otocryptis beddomii. The tropical thorn (TTF) and dry deciduous (TDD), forests and shola and montane grassland (SMG) were represented with a few, and tropical moist deciduous (TMD) and wet evergreen (TWE) forests with higher number of species. The TTF was dominated by Calotes versicolor and Psammophilus dorsalis, whereas SMG by Salea spp. Lower altitude (< 300 m) was dominated by only two species viz.,C. versicolor and P. dorsalis (together contributing 89%). Sitana ponticeriana and Salea spp. had narrow distributional range with the former species restricted to <600 m, and the latter to >1700 m above sea level (asl). Encounter rate of lizards was the highest in KMTR (3.5/hour) and lowest in NBR (1.4/hour), which decreased considerably from dry (TTF) to wet (SMG) forest types (3.3 to 0.7/hour). Highest species diversity was observed in NBR (H’ = 1.68), TMD (H’=1.73) and in altitude 601 – 900 m MSL (H’=1.79), and the lowest in SGGSS (H’=1.14), SMG (H’= 0.86) and < 300 m (H’=1.0). Agamid communities appear to be different at various spatial levels as they obtained lower overlap indices. It appears that in the Western Ghats, the distribution of agamid lizards is influenced by factors such as vegetation, altitude and climatic conditions.