Long-term changes of a waterbird community over 26 years at a Pakistani Ramsar Site

Khaliq, Imran; Arshad, Muhammad; Gill, Anwar Hussain; Chaudhry, Abdul Aleem; Maan, Muhammad Anwer; Iqbal, Masood; Akbar, Muhamad; Bowler, Diana E.

doi:10.1007/s11273-019-09665-4

Cited by 4 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Several factors, including changes in agricultural practices and climate, migratory bird patterns, and population shifts, may increase the risk of endemic JE in the future [19,20,21]. Although acute encephalitis surveillance in two urban hospitals in Karachi was unable to confirm any recent JE cases, the presence of Culex tritaeniorhynchus and related species [22,23] and the intense rice production in the region increase this likelihood [23,24,25]. Previous and current research on JE in Pakistan has been conducted in Karachi and surrounding areas in southern Pakistan, and investigation of possible transmission in other, particularly more rural, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234584.t001…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Japanese encephalitis virus as a cause of acute encephalitis in southern Pakistan, April 2015–January 2018

et al. 2020

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Background Japanese encephalitis (JE) occurs in fewer than 1% of JE virus (JEV) infections, often with catastrophic sequelae including death and neuropsychiatric disability. JEV transmission in Pakistan was documented in 1980s and 1990s, but recent evidence is lacking. Our objective was to investigate JEV as a cause of acute encephalitis in Pakistan. Methods Persons aged �1 month with possible JE admitted to two acute care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan from April 2015 to January 2018 were enrolled. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or serum samples were tested for JEV immunoglobulin M (IgM) using the InBios JE Detect TM assay. Positive or equivocal samples had confirmatory testing using plaque reduction neutralization tests. Results Among 227 patients, testing was performed on CSF in 174 (77%) and on serum in 53 (23%) patients. Six of eight patient samples positive or equivocal for JEV IgM had sufficient volume for confirmatory testing. One patient had evidence of recent West Nile virus (WNV) neurologic infection based on CSF testing. One patient each had recent dengue virus (DENV) infection and WNV infection based on serum results. Recent flavivirus infections were identified in two persons, one each based on CSF and serum results. Specific flaviviruses could not be identified due to serologic cross-reactivity. For the sixth person, JEV neutralizing antibodies were confirmed in CSF but there was insufficient volume for further testing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Japanese encephalitis virus as a cause of acute encephalitis in southern Pakistan, April 2015–January 2018

et al. 2020

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“…Human disturbance is often negatively related to species occurrence (Zhang et al 2019), and the Scaly-sided Merganser is not an exception. In proximity to human developments, it could be at risk of threats such as deforestation, reclamation, and hydro-electric dam construction (Li et al 2019, Khaliq et al 2019, which could result in changing more habitats from suitable to unsuitable.…”

Section: Environmental Predictorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Scaly-sided Merganser's 'Endangered' status, and the potentially increased extinction risk associated with human developments has been demonstrated for other threatened taxa (An et al 2018, Li et al 2019, Khaliq et al 2019. This reflects the necessity for a conservation management programme for this species which to date has not been comprehensive or spatially detailed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling suitable breeding habitat and GAP analysis for the endangered Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus: implications for conservation

Solovyeva

Vartanyan

et al. 2021

Bird Conservation International

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Summary The Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus is a globally ‘Endangered’ species breeding in north-east Asia. Limited by information on the geographic distribution of suitable habitat, the conservation management programme has not been comprehensive or spatially explicit for the breeding population. This study combines potentially important environmental variables with extensive data on species occurrence to create the first species distribution model for the breeding Scaly-sided Merganser, followed by a GAP analysis to highlight the unprotected areas containing suitable habitat. The predictive map showing the most suitable breeding habitat for the Scaly-sided Merganser covered broad-leaved deciduous forest distributed in six provincial regions in south-east Russia, north-east China, and North Korea. The conservation GAP, i.e. 90% (38,813 km2) of highly suitable habitat, is mainly concentrated in the Sikhote-Alin and Changbai mountain ranges. This study suggests that prioritizing conservation of unprotected broad-leaved deciduous riverine forests within the above two mountainous regions should be included in international conservation planning, and the remaining suitable patches need to be preserved to allow range expansion in future. This predictive map improves the expert global assessment of breeding Scaly-sided Merganser distribution and provides a basic reference for establishing conservation areas or implementing conservation actions for the breeding Scaly-sided Merganser in north-east Asia.

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“…In recent decades, humans have transformed the natural riverine forest and landscape close to rivers into agricultural land and urban settlements ( Sterling, Ducharne & Polcher, 2013 ) and that has created competition between land for biodiversity and land for local human populations and associated activities. While there have been studies on bird diversity patterns at the local level ( Khaliq et al, 2011 , 2019 ; Khan et al, 2008 ; Mushtaq-ul-Hassan et al, 2011 ; Umar et al, 2018 ), we have little information about bird diversity patterns across the entire country of Pakistan. Hence, the relative importance of climate versus land use for shaping present-day and future species richness patterns in Pakistan remains unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Changes in land-use, such as deforestation or urbanization, can render climatically suitable regions less suitable for species ( Comte et al, 2021 ; Pecl et al, 2017 ). Similarly, changes in water availability in rivers, resulting from climate change, can have an impact on species richness of birds ( Li et al, 2013 ), particularly in arid regions where species tend to aggregate around water bodies ( Khaliq et al, 2019 ). Further, as the human population continues to grow, human population becomes an increasingly important factor affecting biodiversity, leading to competition for resources and space ( Newbold et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global change impacts on bird biodiversity in South Asia: potential effects of future land-use and climate change on avian species richness in Pakistan

Khaliq,

Biber,

E. Bowler

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Evaluating the impact of future changes in land-use and climate on species communities, especially species richness, is one of the most important challenges of current research in ecology and conservation. The impact of environmental changes on species richness depends on its sensitivity (i.e., how strongly a given level of change influences the ecological community) and its exposure (i.e., the amount of change that occurs). To examine the sensitivity, exposure, and potential impact of future environmental conditions on bird communities, we compiled data on bird species richness for Pakistan—a neglected region in macro- or country-scale studies. Since bird species richness strongly varies across seasons due to the seasonal occurrence of migratory species in winter, we compared both wintering (migratory plus resident species) and breeding (resident species only) bird richness. We found breeding and wintering species richness to be sensitive to temperature, precipitation and rainfed cropland by being positively related to these factors. Exposure varied regionally, with projected temperature changes being most profound in northern regions while the strongest projected precipitation changes occurred in central and southern regions. The projected impact of future environmental change were highly heterogeneous across the country and differed between the wintering and breeding communities. Overall, the most negatively impacted region was projected to be the Khyber Pakhtunkha province in the North of Pakistan, due to reductions in precipitation and rainfed cropland, resulting in a projected negative impact, especially on wintering species richness. By highlighting the regional and seasonal bird communities most at risk, our findings provide useful information for policy makers to help devise new policies for mitigating negative impacts of future environmental changes on birds within Pakistan.

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Long-term changes of a waterbird community over 26 years at a Pakistani Ramsar Site

Cited by 4 publications

References 55 publications

Investigation of Japanese encephalitis virus as a cause of acute encephalitis in southern Pakistan, April 2015–January 2018

Investigation of Japanese encephalitis virus as a cause of acute encephalitis in southern Pakistan, April 2015–January 2018

Modelling suitable breeding habitat and GAP analysis for the endangered Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus: implications for conservation

Global change impacts on bird biodiversity in South Asia: potential effects of future land-use and climate change on avian species richness in Pakistan

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