This paper presents the results of a study conducted on the species composition of serpent fauna in Trashigang Territorial Forest Division (TTFD), Bhutan. The survey was conducted from August 2019 to September 2020. The study aimed to assess the diversity, conservation threats, and distribution of both venomous and non-venomous snakes in different habitat types using time constrained visual encounter survey technique. A total of 34 species of snakes belonging to five families and 23 genera were recorded. Of the total observed species, nine were identified as venomous species. These include four species of Elapidae, four species of Viperidae, and one Colubridae. Geographically, snakes occurred throughout the landscapes, although species composition and their geographical distribution differed notably amongst various localities. We documented survival threats to local snakes where deliberate killing and road mortality were found to be the most common cause of death. The increasing trend of diversity, species richness, and relative abundance of serpent fauna was noticed as the radial distance increased from urban residential areas towards less disturbed landscapes such as rural agricultural land and natural forests indicating that the habitat mosaic plays an important role in the structure and composition of the snake community. Considering the limited information currently available on diversity and geographical distribution of the serpent fauna of the region, the present study can be considered very significant.
A survey was conducted from March to September 2012 along the altitudinal gradient of the Jomokungkhar trail in the Merak Himalaya of Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary to study the floristic compositions and the patterns of alpine vegetation of Eastern Bhutan. The vegetation of the sampled plots is classified into five types of communities based on the hierarchical cluster analysis at similarity index 63% viz., (1) Riverine Community; (2) Abies–Rhododendron Woodland Community; (3) Juniperus Scrub Community; (4) Rhododendron Krummholz and (5) Alpine Meadow, based on the floristic compositions. In addition, it was noticed that the fragile alpine environment of the Merak Himalaya has high plant diversity and important plants that are susceptible to the anthropogenic pressures.
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