EVALUATION OF WILDLIFE HABITATS IN THE VICTORIA· RANDENIGALA·RANTAMBE SANCTUARY USING LlFE·FORM AND HABITAT MODELS

Abstract

A suitable hahilal evaluation method is an important 1001 for wildlife managers 10manipulate wildlife diversity, to predict how proposed hahital changes will effect differentwildlife communities. as well as 10 determine the quantity and quality of available habitatsfor a particular species. A simple method of habitat evaluation is the use or life-form andhabitat models (Anderson & Gutzwiller. 1994). During this process, all species of animalsfound in it given area arc placed in distinct life-form categories, based on theirpredominant habitat use paucrns for feeding and reproduction, Once the life-form table ismade. more detailed data on habiln! use is presented in hahitat tables for individual speciesunder each Iifc-Ionn category. By adding the number of habitats used by each species forreproduction and breeding, versatility score (V) can be obtained, Species with a highversatility score arc the least sensitive to habitat manipulation. This would also enablewildlife managers to examine the impact of habitat loss/modification and Ii~;t the speciesaffected. This method was applied to evaluate the native vertebrates and their habitats inthe VRR sanctuary, A total of 252 native vertebrates recorded were placed under 22distinct life-form categories. These species were further assessed according to their majorhabitat utilisation pancrns. Six major aquatic habitats and nine major terrestrial habitatswere identified, Based on the versatility score of each species, they were grouped into threesensitivity categories for hahitat manipulation: most sensitive. moderately sensitive andleast sensitive. The most widely used habitat of fauna were recogniscd, based on the lifeforms and habitat models. This simple method could he adopted to evaluate the faunalhabitats in all protected areas of Sri Lanka.