Jerdon’s Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 180520032

Rediscovering the Jerdon’s Courser: an attempt to locate the cryptic and critically endangered species

 

(1).Map the current landcover and landuse of the Jerdon’s courser habitat using high resolution satellite imageries.Estimate Jerdon’s Courser habitat suitability using ecological niche modelling tools and in combination with objective 1 prioritize areas for field survey.Habitat criteria for mapping will be large scrub density (300-700 per ha and < 2m tall) and the density for small bushes will be <1000 per ha following Jeganathan et al 2004. High resolution imagery (Sentinel-2 multispectral with 10m resolution; Cartosat-1, 2.5m resolution panchromatic imagery) will be used to sample Jerdon’s courser in the prioritized areas. MaxEnt software (Guisan et. al. 2006) will be used to estimate habitat suitability.

 

(2).Deploy low cost recording devices to record the sound scape of the Jerdon’s Courser to detect the species in the mapped area. A 500x500 m grid area will be sampled and a recording device deployed (non-intrusive, devices will be active from dusk to dawn for seven consecutive nights (1 week) in 40 different cells. Calls will be analyzed using R-code, seewave and using state of the art software such as Kaledescope pro 5(wildlife telemetry).

(3). Record microhabitat structure in the cells if detected and in highly probable areas (cells).