Dogs are often commensal with human settlements. In areas where settlements are adjacent to wildlife habitat, the management of dogs can affect risk of spillover of disease to wildlife. We assess dog husbandry practices, and measure the prevalence of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) in dogs, in 10 villages in Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), an important region for Himalayan wildlife. A high proportion (58%) of owned dogs were allowed by their owners to roam freely, and many village dogs originated from urban areas outside the region. CDV antibodies, indicating past exposure, were detected in 70% of dogs, and 13% were positive for P-gene, suggesting current circulation of CDV. This is the first detection of canine distemper virus in a National Park in Nepal Himalaya. Dogs were generally in good condition, and none exhibited clinical signs of CDV infection, which suggests that infections were asymptomatic. CDV exposure varied with village location and age of dogs, but this variation was minor, consistent with high rates of movement of dogs across the region maintaining high seroprevalence. Residents reported the occurrence of several species of wild carnivores in or close to villages. These results suggest a high potential for transmission of CDV from village dogs to wild carnivores in ACA. We suggest that control of dog immigration, along with vaccination and neutering of dogs could mitigate the risk of CDV spillover into wild carnivore populations.

The Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) is listed as near threatened and its populations are poorly monitored. During late May and early June of 2013, 2014, and 2016, we resurveyed transects that were originally sampled 2002–2006. These transects were within the Annapurna region of Nepal. From 2010 through 2020, we also monitored a breeding colony of Himalayan Griffons within the Arghakhanchi District of Nepal. The number of non-adults, adults, and total Himalayan Griffons counted along the transects approximately doubled from the previous counts. At the colony, the number of breeding pairs and young fledged increased during the study (yearly growth rate [r] = 0.049 and 0.089, respectively). The number of offspring fledged per breeding pair also increased (r = 0.040). Our results are encouraging, but we only surveyed a small portion of the global population and over a relatively short time period. We recommend expanded and coordinated population monitoring for this species across its range.

16 Dogs are often commensal with human settlements. In areas where settlements are adjacent to 17 wildlife habitat, the management of dogs can affect risk of spillover of disease to wildlife. 18 We assess dog husbandry practices, and measure the prevalence of Canine Distemper Virus 19 (CDV) in dogs, in 10 villages in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), an important 20 region for Himalayan wildlife. A high proportion (58%) of owned dogs were allowed by 21 their owners to roam freely, and many village dogs originated from urban areas outside the 22 region. CDV antibodies, indicating past exposure, were detected in 70% of dogs, and 13% 23 were positive for P-gene, suggesting current circulation of CDV. This is the first detection of 2 24 canine distemper virus in a National Park in Nepal Himalaya. Dogs were generally in good 25 condition, and none exhibited clinical signs of CDV infection, which suggests that infections 26 were asymptomatic. CDV exposure varied with village location and age of dogs, but this 27 variation was minor, consistent with high rates of movement of dogs across the region 28 maintaining high seroprevalence. Residents reported the occurrence of several species of wild 29 carnivores in or close to villages. These results suggest a high potential for transmission of 30 CDV from village dogs to wild carnivores in ACA. We suggest that control of dog 31 immigration, along with vaccination and neutering of dogs could mitigate the risk of CDV 32 spillover into wild carnivore populations. 34 Introduction35 Domestic dogs Canis lupus familiaris (hereafter "dogs") have followed the human journey 36 (1) to become the world's most abundant and widely distributed carnivore (2-4). Dog 37 husbandry refers to the selection and management of dogs (through roaming restrictions, feed 38 type and frequency, veterinary care, reproductive management, and so on) to fulfil their 39 assigned function (i.e. pet, herding, guarding). Husbandry shapes the health and fitness of 40 dogs, and affects their behaviour and physiology (5). Through the process of deciding which 41 dogs receive care, which get to reproduce, or even which live or die, humans shape the 42 demography of dog populations (6). Human behaviour also shapes interactions between dogs 43 and wildlife (7). Combined, dog husbandry and human behaviour shape the way dogs 44 respond to pathogens as host or reservoir (8). Studies have investigated the diseases shared 45 between dogs and wildlife (9-11), but there have been few attempts to understand the 46 importance of humans in facilitating the role of dogs as agents of pathogen transmission to 47 wildlife (7,11,12).3 48 49 Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a globally-distributed infectious disease that was once 50 thought to affect dogs only. It has now been detected in over 200 species of terrestrial 51 vertebrates (13,14), and remains an emerging disease because high mutability and subsequent 52 host-switching enables the virus to emerge in previously unknown host species (15)(16)(17).53 Although CDV can ...

There is a long‐standing relationship between humans and vertebrate scavengers, as scavengers' contributions take on regulating (e.g. nutrient recycling and disease control), material (e.g. competition and livestock depredation) and non‐material (e.g. sky burials and ecotourism) roles in society. A social–ecological approach to studying biodiversity is increasingly needed, since the inclusion of local perceptions and knowledge has proven critical for effective conservation programs and ecosystem management. We examine livestock farmers' perceptions and knowledge related to vertebrate scavengers in the highly diverse Chitwan‐Annapurna Landscape (Nepal) and assess the socio‐demographic traits that influence their perceived value of scavengers' ecosystem service provisioning (ESP) index, and function via scavenging services (SS). Farmers' perceptions of functional importance (SS) showed species‐specific gradation, unlike ESP, where only avian scavengers were perceived as beneficial. Our results show that the perception of scavenging as a beneficial ecosystem service and its importance as a biological function are decoupled for facultative scavengers and coupled for obligate scavengers. Relatedly, we identify that affluence‐related traits drove positive perceptions of ESP, and local ecological knowledge‐based traits were linked to increased knowledge of function via SS. Thus, this increased awareness of functional importance based on close contact with nature does not guarantee positive valuations of scavengers' contributions, whereas formal education did influence positive perceptions despite reduced awareness of function. Additionally, our findings suggest that existing environmental education measures are targeting the right groups, as these respondents coincide with lower favourability of scavengers' ecosystem services, but may be unable to overcome existing human–wildlife conflict. For the first time in South Asia, we survey relevant community stakeholder's attitudes towards an entire scavenging guild and their associated benefits, detriments and functional importance. Our study illustrates the varied perceptions that exist for different scavenger species and closely examines a wide‐ranging set of socio‐demographic traits that show disparate influences on farmers' knowledge of ecological function and perceived ecosystem service benefits. Crucially, these findings can guide conservation and management priorities by considering the differences in public perception and awareness of scavenging, as well as the interpretation of nature's contribution to people. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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