scholarly journals Distribution, habitat use, and nesting behavior of the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) in the Trashigang Forest Division, Eastern Bhutan

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-403
Author(s):  
Bal Krishna Koirala ◽  
Dawa Tshering
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Type ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Nesting Behavior ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Forest Division ◽  
One Year ◽  
Ophiophagus Hannah ◽  
King Cobra

The King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor 1836), is the longest venomous snake in the world; it is globally threatened and has been categorized as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. Herein we describe distribution, habitats, and nesting behavior of the King Cobra in Trashigang Forest Division, Bhutan. We recorded a total of 18 King Cobras during the one-year survey period. The elevational distribution was 650–2,057 m but most sightings were at lower elevations. King Cobras did not appear to prefer or avoid any particular habitat type but most records were from areas where human disturbances were at a minimum. We monitored a nest containing 37 eggs that was actively guarded by a female. This study was the first of its kind in Trashigang Forest Division and we hope that the information obtained will help formulate appropriate conservation strategies for this globally threatened species.

scholarly journals Save The King: Human-King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor 1836), conflicts and the need for conservation strategies in Nepal

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-204
Author(s):  
Kamal Devkota ◽  
Bishnu Maharjan ◽  
Dev Narayan Mandal ◽  
Rohit Giri ◽  
Matt Goode
Keyword(s):  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
First Record ◽  
Conservation Education ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Ophiophagus Hannah ◽  
King Cobra

Abstract.—Snake research tends to have a low priority in Nepal and very little information, mostly confined to populationsin small areas, addresses the biology and threats to the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah). Herein we providedata that could facilitate an assessment of the species’ status in Nepal and begin to address its conservation needs.We recorded data on King Cobras from 2015–2020, crosschecking with previous studies to avoid any duplicationof records. A King Cobra from Siddhara, Arghakhachi District, was the first record of the species in the district. Werecorded a total of 50 King Cobra mortalities from 20 districts, with most of them killed near human settlementsadjacent to forested areas. We mapped the locations of all mortalities and recorded land-use changes within a 500-mbuffer around each site over a 30-year period (1990–2020), revealing extensive landscape fragmentation in previouslyconnected natural areas. Our data suggest that the major threats to King Cobras are deliberate killing by humans andlarge-scale habitat loss due to an increasing human population. We recommend increased research to better understandthe biology of this charismatic species and continued conservation education and community outreach programs tofacilitate the development of effective conservation strategies.

scholarly journals Assessment of the rarity and conservation status of the Colombian endemic brown hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou vestitus

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
María M. Torres-Martínez ◽  
Héctor E. Ramírez-Chaves ◽  
Elkin A. Noguera-Urbano ◽  
Fernando C. Passos
Keyword(s):  
Small Body ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Small Range ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Area Of Occupancy ◽  
Species Rarity

Abstract The brown hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou vestitus is a poorly studied Andean species endemic to Colombia. Its current Red List category is contradictory: globally it is categorized as Data Deficient but in Colombia it is categorized as Vulnerable. This contradiction has limited the implementation of conservation programmes. We evaluate the level of rarity of the species and provide consolidated information for a new assessment of its Red List status. We reviewed literature, photographs, and voucher specimens in natural history collections. Using the confirmed records, we estimated the extent of occurrence (EOO) based on the minimum convex polygon and the area of occupancy (AOO) summing the area of grid squares occupied by the species. We found that C. vestitus is very rare, with a small range, low estimated population density, occurrence in only one habitat type and small body size. The species has an EOO of 3,323 km2 and an AOO of 24 km2, based on six confirmed localities, all on the western slopes of the Eastern Cordillera, in the central Andean region of Colombia. Based on the species' rarity, restricted distribution, and threats to its natural habitat, we recommend its categorization as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. This will help delineate research and conservation efforts for this porcupine, which has a highly restricted range and inhabits the threatened Andean forest.

scholarly journals Evaluation of UAV LiDAR for Mapping Coastal Environments

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 2893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Chun Lin ◽  
Yi-Ting Cheng ◽  
Tian Zhou ◽  
Radhika Ravi ◽  
Seyyed Hasheminasab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Volume Loss ◽  
Coastal Environments ◽  
Average Volume ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Shoreline Changes ◽  
Point Density ◽  
One Year

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based remote sensing techniques have demonstrated great potential for monitoring rapid shoreline changes. With image-based approaches utilizing Structure from Motion (SfM), high-resolution Digital Surface Models (DSM), and orthophotos can be generated efficiently using UAV imagery. However, image-based mapping yields relatively poor results in low textured areas as compared to those from LiDAR. This study demonstrates the applicability of UAV LiDAR for mapping coastal environments. A custom-built UAV-based mobile mapping system is used to simultaneously collect LiDAR and imagery data. The quality of LiDAR, as well as image-based point clouds, are investigated and compared over different geomorphic environments in terms of their point density, relative and absolute accuracy, and area coverage. The results suggest that both UAV LiDAR and image-based techniques provide high-resolution and high-quality topographic data, and the point clouds generated by both techniques are compatible within a 5 to 10 cm range. UAV LiDAR has a clear advantage in terms of large and uniform ground coverage over different geomorphic environments, higher point density, and ability to penetrate through vegetation to capture points below the canopy. Furthermore, UAV LiDAR-based data acquisitions are assessed for their applicability in monitoring shoreline changes over two actively eroding sandy beaches along southern Lake Michigan, Dune Acres, and Beverly Shores, through repeated field surveys. The results indicate a considerable volume loss and ridge point retreat over an extended period of one year (May 2018 to May 2019) as well as a short storm-induced period of one month (November 2018 to December 2018). The foredune ridge recession ranges from 0 m to 9 m. The average volume loss at Dune Acres is 18.2 cubic meters per meter and 12.2 cubic meters per meter within the one-year period and storm-induced period, respectively, highlighting the importance of episodic events in coastline changes. The average volume loss at Beverly Shores is 2.8 cubic meters per meter and 2.6 cubic meters per meter within the survey period and storm-induced period, respectively.

Venom Proteomics of Indonesian King Cobra,Ophiophagus hannah: Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 2539-2556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Petras ◽  
Paul Heiss ◽  
Roderich D. Süssmuth ◽  
Juan J. Calvete
Keyword(s):  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Ophiophagus Hannah ◽  
King Cobra

scholarly journals The Un-Common Leopard: presence, distribution and abundance in Gallies and Murree Forest Division, Northern Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 53-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asad ◽  
Muhammad Waseem ◽  
James G. Ross ◽  
Adrian M. Paterson
Keyword(s):  
Detection Probability ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Dorsal Side ◽  
Panthera Pardus ◽  
Northern Pakistan ◽  
Demographic Structure ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Forest Division ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Active Trap

The leopard Panthera pardus is thought to be sparsely distributed across Pakistan and there is limited understanding of the demographic structure and distribution of the species in this country. We conducted a study, from April to July 2017, and, from March to June 2018, in the northern Pakistan region to establish the presence and distribution of leopards, mindful at the outset of their abundance in that region. The presence of leopards was confirmed in the Swat, Dir and Margalla Hills region. The leopard population in Gallies and Murree Forest Division was preliminarily assessed via camera-trapping. As a result, a total of 63 potential areas of leopard population were identified initially. The leopard was photo captured at 27 locations (hotspots) with 34 capture events yielding 195 images over the course of 3,022 active trap-nights. Camera trap images were examined to identify leopard individuals using their rosette patterns on both the left and right flanks and the dorsal side of the tail. Ultimately, 15 leopard individuals were identified during the first survey period of the study and four individuals were recaptured in the second survey period, together with three new individuals. The detection probability of individual leopards from MARK varied from 0.10 and 0.20 with a population size (preliminarily estimated to be 16–25 (SE = 3.18) in 2107 and 7–13 (SE = 1.87) in 2018. This gave a density of 4.5 to 9.5 leopards/100 km2, respectively. A home range of various individual leopards was found to extend from the Gallies Reserved Forest to the extended corridors of Guzara Forest. In general, this study suggests that the Guzara Forest is crucially important for the conservation of leopards in the region as this area allows them extended movement while searching for food and mates.

scholarly journals Improving herpetological surveys in eastern North America using the environmental DNA method

Genome ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 991-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anaïs Lacoursière-Roussel ◽  
Yohann Dubois ◽  
Eric Normandeau ◽  
Louis Bernatchez
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
Declining Species ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Wood Turtle

Among vertebrates, herpetofauna has the highest proportion of declining species. Detection of environmental DNA (eDNA) is a promising method towards significantly increasing large-scale herpetological conservation efforts. However, the integration of eDNA results within a management framework requires an evaluation of the efficiency of the method in large natural environments and the calibration of eDNA surveys with the quantitative monitoring tools currently used by conservation biologists. Towards this end, we first developed species-specific primers to detect the wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) a species at risk in Canada, by quantitative PCR (qPCR). The rate of eDNA detection obtained by qPCR was also compared to the relative abundance of this species in nine rivers obtained by standardized visual surveys in the Province of Québec (Canada). Second, we developed multi-species primers to detect North American amphibian and reptile species using eDNA metabarcoding analysis. An occurrence index based on the distribution range and habitat type was compared with the eDNA metabarcoding dataset from samples collected in seven lakes and five rivers. Our results empirically support the effectiveness of eDNA metabarcoding to characterize herpetological species distributions. Moreover, detection rates provided similar results to standardized visual surveys currently used to develop conservation strategies for the wood turtle. We conclude that eDNA detection rates may provide an effective semiquantitative survey tool, provided that assay calibration and standardization is performed.

scholarly journals Regional Red List assessment of tree species in upper montane forests of the Tropical Andes

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Tejedor Garavito ◽  
Adrian C. Newton ◽  
Sara Oldfield
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Tropical Andes ◽  
Conservation Assessment ◽  
Distribution Maps

AbstractThe Tropical Andes are characterized by a high level of endemism and plant species richness but are under pressure from human activities. We present the first regional conservation assessment of upper montane tree species in this region. We identified 3,750 tree species as occurring in this region, of which 917 were excluded because of a lack of data on their distribution. We identified a subset of 129 taxa that were restricted to higher elevations (> 1,500 m) but occurred in more than one country, thus excluding local endemics evaluated in previous national assessments. Distribution maps were created for each of these selected species, and extinction risk was assessed according to the IUCN Red List categories and criteria (version 3.1), drawing on expert knowledge elicited from a regional network of specialists. We assessed one species, Polylepis microphylla, as Critically Endangered, 47 species as Endangered and 28 as Vulnerable. Overall, 60% of the species evaluated were categorized as threatened, or 73% if national endemics are included. It is recommended that extinction risk assessments for tree species be used to inform the development of conservation strategies in the region, to avoid further loss of this important element of biodiversity.

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