Wildlife assessment of the Chandragiri hills, Kathmandu: Potentiality for ecotourism

Katuwal, Hem Bahadur; Basent, Hari; Sharma, Hari Prasad; Koirala, Sabina; Khanal, Bhaiya; Neupane, Kaustuv Raj; Thapa, Kul Bhadur; Panta, Dibas Babu; Parajuli, Keshab; Lamichhane, Sandesh; Rai, Mangkal; Pun, Tejab; Shakya, Shruti; Baral, Suraj

doi:10.17161/eurojecol.v6i1.13520

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…The chances of encountering additional species with increased sampling effort might be attributed to the short isolation distance of the TU area from the Chandragiri Forest, a potential regional species pool in the Kathmandu Valley. The Chandragiri Forest, a natural forest fragment of 11 km 2 is located about 1.4 km away from the TU area and harbors 199 bird species (Katuwal et al, 2020), including almost all species found in our study area. Studies have revealed that bird richness and abundance of small urban parks and greenspaces are greatly affected by isolation distance from local and regional species pools (Fernández-Juricic, 2000;Wang et al, 2013;Yang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tribhuvan University area serves as a greenspace for birds in the Kathmandu Valley, Central Nepal

Upadhyaya

Pandey²,

Khanal³

2022

JAD

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The Kathmandu Valley, encompassing the capital city of Nepal, is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in South Asia. Rapid population growth and urbanization in Kathmandu have degraded the urban environment affecting the native biota. Therefore, a detailed assessment of avian species richness and its distribution in potential green spaces of the Kathmandu Valley is essential. We assessed the avian diversity in different habitats of the Tribhuvan University area, a potential refuge for birds in the urban landscape, by the point count method in the winter and summer of 2020. A total of 71 bird species from 39 genera and 32 families comprising 10 orders -'including the globally endangered Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis)' -were recorded. Of the 10 orders, Passeriformes (44 species), had the highest richness followed by Columbiformes, Piciformes and Cuculiformes (with four species in each). Among the feeding guilds, the insectivorous guild (with 28 species) had the highest species richness followed by omnivores and carnivores. A higher Shannon's diversity index was recorded in forest habitats (3.51) than built-up areas (3.45) or farmland (3.42). Despite the small size, our study has shown that the Tribhuvan University area is an important greenspace for birds in the Kathmandu Valley. An extensive exploration, monitoring and management of greenspaces are crucial for maintaining the ecological integrity of the urban landscape of the Kathmandu Valley.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tribhuvan University area serves as a greenspace for birds in the Kathmandu Valley, Central Nepal

Upadhyaya

Pandey²,

Khanal³

2022

JAD

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“…1 ). The Suryabinayak community forest is a contiguous forest patch in the southern outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley, and many wild carnivores like leopards, civets, martens and small felids can be found to occur in the forested hills [ 17 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic characterization of canine distemper virus from stray dogs in Kathmandu Valley

Manandhar

Napit

Pradhan

et al. 2023

Virol J

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Canine distemper is a highly contagious, often fatal disease caused by canine distemper virus (CDV) in domestic dogs and wild carnivores. The virus has caused mass epidemics in both wild and captive carnivores of high conservation value such as tigers, lions and leopards. Hence, understanding and managing CDV outbreaks is particularly important in Nepal, which is home to many species of threatened wild carnivores including tigers, leopards, snow leopards, dholes and wolves, and also contains a large population of stray dogs. Previous studies have suggested that CDV may pose a threat to wild carnivores, but there have not been any studies characterizing the genetic strains of the virus circulating in Nepal’s carnivores. We collected invasive and non-invasive biological samples from stray dogs in Kathmandu Valley and genetically characterized the strains of CDV in the dogs to belong to the Asia-5 lineage by using phylogenetic analysis. The same lineage also contained CDV strains sequenced from dogs, civets, red panda and lions in India. Based on our phylogenetic analysis, we think it is likely that CDV is maintained through sylvatic cycle among sympatric carnivores allowing the recurring spillovers and outbreaks. It is crucial to prevent the virus transmission from reservoir hosts to other species, especially threatened populations of large carnivores in Nepal. Hence, we recommend for regular surveillance of CDV targeting wild carnivores in addition to the domestic dogs.

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“…We chose a densely populated locality in the Bhaktapur district that is adjoined by the Suryabinayak community forest on south (Figure 1). The Suryabinayak community forest is a contiguous forest patch in the southern outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley, and many wild carnivores like leopards, civets, martens and small felids can be found to occur in the forested hills [14]. We sampled free-ranging stray dogs in a dense settlement area in central Bhaktapur and used a stratified sampling scheme to collect a proportional number of samples from all parts of the region.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic analysis shows canine distemper virus outbreak in stray dogs possibly occurs through spillover from wild carnivore reservoirs

Manandhar

Napit

Pradhan

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Canine distemper is a highly contagious, often fatal disease caused by canine distemper virus (CDV) in domestic dogs and wild carnivores. The virus has caused mass epidemics in wild carnivores of high conservation value such as tigers, lions and leopards in both wild and captivity. Hence, understanding and managing CDV outbreaks is particularly important in Nepal, which is home to many species of threatened wild carnivores including tigers, leopards, snow leopards, dholes and wolves, as well as a large population of stray dogs. Previous studies have suggested that CDV may pose a threat to wild carnivores, but there has not been any studies characterizing the genetic strains of the virus circulating in Nepal’s carnivores. We collected invasive and non-invasive biological samples from stray dogs in Kathmandu Valley and genetically characterized the strains of CDV in the dogs to belong to Asia-5 lineage by using phylogenetic analysis. The same lineage also contained CDV strains isolated from dogs, civets, red panda and lions in India. Based on our phylogenetic analysis, we think it is likely that in Nepal CDV is maintained through sylvatic cycle among small carnivore guilds allowing the recurring spillovers and outbreaks among free-ranging stray dogs and possibly large carnivores. It is crucial to prevent the virus transmission from reservoir hosts to other species, especially threatened populations of large carnivores in Nepal. Hence, we recommend for regular surveillance of CDV targeting small wild carnivores as well as vaccination programmes to control the disease spillover in stray dogs.

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Wildlife assessment of the Chandragiri hills, Kathmandu: Potentiality for ecotourism

Cited by 8 publications

References 16 publications

Tribhuvan University area serves as a greenspace for birds in the Kathmandu Valley, Central Nepal

Tribhuvan University area serves as a greenspace for birds in the Kathmandu Valley, Central Nepal

Phylogenetic characterization of canine distemper virus from stray dogs in Kathmandu Valley

Phylogenetic analysis shows canine distemper virus outbreak in stray dogs possibly occurs through spillover from wild carnivore reservoirs

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