Fauna associated with wheat cultivation in high altitudes of the Nilgiris, India.

Wheat cultivation in southern India is unique as it is grown in high altitudes (1500 m amsl), surrounded by the pristine environment of the Western Ghats. Also, it can be grown throughout the year, unlike only once a year in India’s central and northern plains. The faunal pressure on wheat cultivation in southern India is different from the other wheat-growing regions in the country. However, information on faunal diversity associated with wheat crops in this unique ecosystem is meagre. Hence, the present study aimed to acquire knowledge based on the fauna associated with and their influence on wheat cultivation in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, South India. Our results indicated that the phylum Arthropoda dominated the ecosystem with 61 species, followed by the Chordata with 41 species, and the Nematoda with 22 species. The coleopterans were found to be dominant among arthropods followed by lepidopterans. In chordates, small birds such as spotted munia and common rosefinch were observed often, while among the Nematoda, the plantparasitic order Tylenchida topped the list. During different phases of cultivation, the overall diversity was highest during the early stages of the crop and least during the vegetative phase. This study also highlights the human– animal interaction in the context of agriculture, as it was observed that the damage caused by Nilgiri gaur, spotted munia and common rosefinch was one of the major reasons for non-preference of wheat crops by the farmers besides the lack of cost-effective technologies to ward-off wild animals. This initiative may encourage researchers to perform more comprehensive studies on the faunal diversity of the entire crop-growing areas in the southern hill regions of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]