As an enthusiastic wildlife researcher, Anam completed her master’s degree in wildlife sciences from Aligarh Muslim University. She then joined the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in Dehradun for another masters in GIS specialization. Most of Anam’s master’s work was focused on conservation corridors for tigers using technical and modeling approaches. Before coming to the United States for her Ph.D. as part of the Tigers United program, Anam worked in the Corbett National Park as a wildlife researcher. During her tenure in Corbett, Anam was involved in a number of wildlife conservation activities, including field surveys, biodiversity monitoring, and geospatial analysis technical work. During her time with the Indian Forest Department, Anam also worked on forest biomass estimation, fire hotspots analysis, watershed management and habitat suitability analyses.
- Tell us about your Dissertation.
The tiger plays a fundamental role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator which is at the climax of the food chain and keeps the population of herbivores in check, thereby maintaining the equilibrium between prey and the vegetation upon which they feed. As large apex predators, tigers may function as an umbrella species, and conserving lands to support tigers may simultaneously provide benefit to other wildlife in the ecosystem. To test this, my dissertation will focus on the ecological effects of tiger conservation on wildlife biodiversity. Specifically, I will compare biodiversity of mammals and birds across a range of tiger management regimes, from the core of tiger reserves to anthropogenic landscapes. If conserving tigers leads to general ecosystem conservation, we expect to observe higher species diversity in areas intensively managed for tiger conservation.
2. What does the tiger mean to you?
The tiger is a representation of power and a vigorous ecosystem. As the national animal of India, the tiger has always enthralled me with its marvelous power. To me the tiger is a mascot for motivation and a character of victory. My journey with tigers started in childhood seeing them on walls to eventually monitoring them in living forests. I was always curious to know more about the species behavior and ecology. I always wanted work on tiger conservation as a wildlife ecologist and as a GIS professional during my academic years. I have a strong attachment to understanding their ecology and movements in corridors and residual forest patches to help preserve them in human-dominated and fragmented landscapes of India.
3. Why do you work on tiger conservation?
India has the world’s largest population of wild Tigers. With ever-increasing human land use, the natural habitats have become remnants and as a consequence, species frequently occur in small, often isolated populations. This is especially concerning for large carnivores, which are highly vulnerable to extinction in human changed habitats because of their huge area requirements. The tiger is sign of wilderness and well-being of the ecosystem and forests. By conserving and saving tigers, we may preserve the complete ecosystem, which is vital to maintaining our life support structure. Using a hybrid of ecological and geospatial techniques, I want to develop further useful tiger conservation plans and management schedules.
4. What’s in store for you in the future?
Are tiger reserves playing a key role in preserving biodiversity? Does tiger conservation also benefit co-occurring wildlife species? Research on this question can help in delineating protected areas under focal species conservation regimes and help managers and policy makers plan infrastructure development, specifically in the areas of high tiger densities and conservation importance. It’s crucial to understand the effects of tiger conservation and its management on the entire ecosystem in fragmented landscapes. I expect that through my work I can contribute towards addressing these compound challenges of tiger and ecosystem conservation and help us to understand the role of tigers as top predators both within and outside tiger reserves.
