Publications by authors named "Asmita Sengupta"

Dogs bring many benefits to our society but, if not properly managed, they can be detrimental for humans, livestock and wildlife. We highlight the increasing problems associated with free-ranging dogs using examples from two regions of the world where this issue is pervasive, India and South America. In these regions, free-ranging dogs spread diseases, injure people, harm biodiversity, and negatively impact human livelihoods.

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Of all the non-human primate species studied by researchers, the rhesus macaque () is likely the most widely used across biological disciplines. Rhesus macaques have thrived during the Anthropocene and now have the largest natural range of any non-human primate. They are highly social, exhibit marked genetic diversity, and display remarkable niche flexibility (which allows them to live in a range of habitats and survive on a variety of diets).

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Primates are popular species in wildlife tourism contexts and provide economic benefits to habitat countries where primate-based tourism activities are a part of the country's tourism economy. Primate tourism runs a broad gamut from safari-like expeditions within remote primate habitats to designated monkey parks and incidental primate tourism. In most forms of primate tourism, primate ecology and behaviour are directly influenced by humans, making these interfaces particularly relevant for examination using the lens of ethnoprimatology.

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Seed dispersal is an ecological process crucial for forest regeneration and recruitment. To date, most studies on frugivore seed dispersal have used the seed dispersal effectiveness framework and have documented seed-handling mechanisms, dispersal distances and the effect of seed handling on germination. In contrast, there has been no exploration of "disperser reliability" which is essential to determine if a frugivore is an effective disperser only in particular regions/years/seasons or across a range of spatio-temporal scales.

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Human provisioning of wildlife with food is a widespread global practice that occurs in multiple socio-cultural circumstances. Provisioning may indirectly alter ecosystem functioning through changes in the eco-ethology of animals, but few studies have quantified this aspect. Provisioning of primates by humans is known to impact their activity budgets, diets and ranging patterns.

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Frugivorous primates are important seed dispersers and their absence from forest patches is predicted to be detrimental to tropical forest regeneration and recruitment. With the reduction of primate populations globally, ecologically resilient primate species, characterized by dietary flexibility and the ability to thrive in a variety of habitats, assume new importance as seed dispersers. The most widely distributed non-human primate, the rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta has been intensively studied but little is known about its role in maintaining ecosystem structure and functions.

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