This dataset contains mammal occurrence records collected along line transects in mature tropical rainforests of the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), Tamil Nadu, India. Surveys were conducted between March 1997 and February 1999 across 12 line transects (each 600 m long) as part of doctoral research focused on bird communities at mid-elevation tropical rainforest sites in the southern Western Ghats. A total of 146 occurrence records of 9 mammal species (Class: Mammalia) were recorded. The dataset corresponds in part to the study that yielded the following publications:
Raman, T. R. S. 2003. Assessment of census techniques for inter-specific comparisons of tropical rainforest bird densities: a field evaluation in the Western Ghats, India. Ibis 145: 9-21. http://doi.org/10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00105.
Raman, T. R. S., Joshi, N. V. & Sukumar, R. 2005. Tropical rainforest bird community structure in relation to altitude, tree species composition, and null models in the Western Ghats, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 102: 145-157. https://archive.org/details/journalofbomb10222005bomb/page/145/mode/2up
Raman, T. R. S. & Sukumar, R. 2002. Responses of tropical rainforest birds to abandoned plantations, edges, and logged forest in the Western Ghats, India. Animal Conservation 5: 201-216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1367943002002251
The full doctoral thesis from which these data originate is:
Raman, T. R. S. 2001. Community ecology and conservation of mid-elevation tropical rainforest bird communities in the southern Western Ghats, India. PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. https://archive.org/details/raman-2001-ph-d-thesis-iisc
","language":"eng","citation":{"text":"Raman T R S (2026). Mammal occurrence in tropical rainforests of the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India (1997-99). Nature Conservation Foundation. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/djca25 accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-13.","citationProvidedBySource":false},"contactsCitation":[{"key":6970206,"abbreviatedName":"Raman T R S","firstName":"T. R. Shankar","lastName":"Raman","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1347-3953"]}],"lockedForAutoUpdate":false,"createdBy":"038a1133-81e2-42e8-a4dd-b5ac246eb082","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-04-03T13:04:35.456+00:00","modified":"2026-04-03T13:05:36.276+00:00","contacts":[{"key":6970206,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":true,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1347-3953"],"firstName":"T. R. 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R. S. 2003. Assessment of census techniques for inter-specific comparisons of tropical rainforest bird densities: a field evaluation in the Western Ghats, India. Ibis 145: 9-21.","identifier":"http://doi.org/10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00105.x","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Raman, T. R. S. 2001. Community ecology and conservation of mid-elevation tropical rainforest bird communities in the southern Western Ghats, India. PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.","identifier":"https://archive.org/details/raman-2001-ph-d-thesis-iisc","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Raman, T. R. S., Joshi, N. V. & Sukumar, R. 2005. Tropical rainforest bird community structure in relation to altitude, tree species composition, and null models in the Western Ghats, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 102: 145-157.","identifier":"https://archive.org/details/journalofbomb10222005bomb/page/145/mode/2up","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Raman, T. R. S. & Sukumar, R. 2002. Responses of tropical rainforest birds to abandoned plantations, edges, and logged forest in the Western Ghats, India. Animal Conservation 5: 201-216.","identifier":"http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1367943002002251 ","citationProvidedBySource":false}],"curatorialUnits":[],"taxonomicCoverages":[{"description":"The dataset contains occurrence records of mammals (Class: Mammalia) detected incidentally during line transect surveys primarily designed for birds. Species recorded include primates, squirrels, ungulates and other mammals of the tropical rainforests of the southern Western Ghats.","coverages":[{"scientificName":"Mammalia","commonName":"Mammals","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Cercopithecidae","commonName":"Old World monkeys","rank":{"verbatim":"family","interpreted":"FAMILY"}},{"scientificName":"Sciuridae","commonName":"Squirrels","rank":{"verbatim":"family","interpreted":"FAMILY"}},{"scientificName":"Tragulidae","commonName":"Chevrotains / Mouse deer","rank":{"verbatim":"family","interpreted":"FAMILY"}},{"scientificName":"Suidae","commonName":"Pigs","rank":{"verbatim":"family","interpreted":"FAMILY"}}]}],"geographicCoverages":[{"description":"Study Area: Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), Tamil Nadu, India\nGeographic Coverage:\n1. Location/Study Area: Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India\n2. GPS coordinates: KMTR (8°25' - 8°53'N, 77°10' - 77°35'E)\nSurveys were conducted along 12 line transects in mature rainforests within the reserve, across multiple named trails including Sengaltheri-Kuliratti, Sengaltheri-Kakachi, Neterikal, and Kannikatti trails.","boundingBox":{"minLatitude":8.508,"maxLatitude":8.636,"minLongitude":77.261,"maxLongitude":77.453,"globalCoverage":false}}],"temporalCoverages":[{"@type":"range","start":"1997-03-15T00:00:00.000+00:00","end":"1999-02-27T00:00:00.000+00:00"}],"keywordCollections":[{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml","keywords":["samplingEvent","occurrence"]},{"thesaurus":"n/a","keywords":["distance sampling","tropical rainforest","line transect","southern Western Ghats","population density","KMTR","mammals","Western Ghats","Tamil Nadu","Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve","India","mid-elevation rainforest"]},{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml","keywords":["Observation"]}],"project":{"title":"Community ecology and conservation of mid-elevation tropical rainforest bird and mammal communities in the southern Western Ghats, India","identifier":"kmtr-phd-research","contacts":[{"type":"PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR","primary":false,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1347-3953"],"firstName":"T. R. Shankar","lastName":"Raman","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]}],"funding":"Funding provided by: Ministry of Environment and Forests\nCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001421\n\nFunding provided by: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation\nCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000870","awards":[],"studyAreaDescription":"Available in linked publications","relatedProjects":[],"abstract":"This doctoral research project investigated community ecology and conservation of mid-elevation tropical rainforest birds and mammals in the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), an 895 km² protected area in the southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India (8°25' - 8°53'N, 77°10' - 77°35'E). Line transect and point count surveys were used to estimate species richness, abundance, and density of bird and mammal communities across mature rainforest sites. Mammal detections made incidentally during these surveys are published here as occurrence records."},"samplingDescription":{"studyExtent":"Surveys were carried out along 12 line transects (T1-T16, with some numbers unused) in mature tropical rainforest within the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. Transects were located along established forest trails in the Sengaltheri, Kakachi, Neterikal, and Kannikatti areas of KMTR. Each transect was 600 m long and was walked multiple times between March 1997 and February 1999. Mammals recorded opportunistically during transect walks designed primarily for bird surveys are included in this dataset.","sampling":"A single observer walked each 600 m line transect at a slow pace during morning hours. For each mammal detection, the observer recorded species identity, number of individuals, perpendicular distance from the transect line in distance classes, and whether the animal was seen or heard. Mammal detections were incidental records made during line transect surveys conducted primarily for birds. The transects sampled mid-elevation mature tropical rainforest habitats at elevations within KMTR.","qualityControl":"Raw data were screened for gaps (filled with NA where applicable), and verbatim identification was matched to the correct scientific name of the taxon. Geographic location was assigned as the approximate midpoint of each line transect based on known start and end points and trail descriptions, with a coordinate uncertainty of 300 m assigned. Individual counts were based on the number counted in the field, or taken as 1 if no count could be made or if the detection was based on calls or indirect signs. Taxonomic names were verified against standard references (Prater 1948, The Book of Indian Animals).","methodSteps":["Methods are as described in Raman (2003) and in the doctoral thesis (Raman 2001). Line transects of 600 m length were surveyed by a single observer walking slowly (approximately 0.75-1 km/h) during morning hours (approximately 06:00 to 10:00 h). For each mammal detected, species, number of individuals, perpendicular distance from the transect line, and whether the animal was seen or heard were recorded. Perpendicular distances were recorded in distance classes in metres: 0-10, 10-20, 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-100. The survey design followed standard distance sampling protocol."]},"countryCoverage":[],"collections":[],"dataDescriptions":[{"name":"Data on rainforest birds from line transect surveys in the Kalakad - Mundathurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India","charset":"UTF-8","url":"https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkm3n","format":"CSV"}],"dataLanguage":"eng","purpose":"Line transect surveys were carried out to study bird communities; mammals were also recorded.","acknowledgements":"Funding provided by: Ministry of Environment and ForestsCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001421Funding provided by: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000870
","pubDate":"2026-04-03T00:00:00.000+00:00","maintenanceUpdateFrequency":"NOT_PLANNED","maintenanceDescription":"This dataset is not planned for further updates. It represents a complete record of mammal detections made during line transect surveys conducted as part of the doctoral research between 1997 and 1999.","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","dwca":{"coreType":"http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Occurrence","extensions":[],"modified":"2026-07-12T05:34:24.163+00:00"},"approximateCounts":{"occurrenceCount":146}}