Diversity and ecology of mammals of Bahawalnagar, South Punjab, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17393200Keywords:
Bahawalnagar, abundance, ecology, mammals, diversityAbstract
Pakistan has 195 species of mammals and diverse habitats, with three zoogeographical realms: Palearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian. Approximately two-thirds of the area is mountainous, and abrupt altitude changes result in variations in diversity over short distances. The key objectives of this study are to examine the diversity, distribution, and ecological status of mammalian species in Bahawalnagar, Punjab, Pakistan. Data collection was done twice every month throughout the day and night for one year using the Linear Count Method. The research identified 21 mammalian species from district Bahawalpur. The diversity indices show that the area has a high and rich diversity, as the Dominance Index is 0.1605, Simpson Index is 0.8395, Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) is 2.124, the evenness (E) is 0.3982 and the richness index (R) is 2.648, and in the study area. During the survey, the highest relative abundance (abbreviated as RA = 0.26261) of Mus musculus is documented from Bahawalnagar. The lowest relative abundance (RA = 0.00105) is noted in three species (i.e. Vulpes bengalensis, Viverricula indica and Antilope cervicapra) in the natural habitats of Bahawalnagar. These three species are rarely seen in the study area. It is documented that Rattus rattus, Herpestes edwardsii, Millardia meltada and Canis aureus also have high relative abundances as 0.21008, 0.15756, 0.10504 and 0.07773 respectively.
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