A study on plant preferences of red panda (Ailurus fulgens) in the wild habitat: foundation for the conservation of the species

The red panda is a lesser carnivore that has adapted to the herbivore diet and is distributed in the Himalayan and Hengduan mountain ranges. The study conducted on red panda in Singalila National Park recorded the highest encounter of the species within the altitude of 2800 to 3200 meters in the broad leaf deciduous and broad leaf coniferous forest. 22.22% of direct sightings of red pandas occurred on plant species belonging to the family Fagaceae and were followed by the family Ericaceae (18.52%). The plant species mostly preferred by the red panda in Singalila National Park were Lithocarpus pachyphyllus, Rhododendron arboreum, Abies densa, and Betulia utilis. During all seasons, the dominant plants found in the red panda pellets were Arundinaria maling and Arundinaria aristata.  The distribution of the red panda is influenced by the presence of the preferred plant species, therefore, through this studies effort has been made to document the plant species used by the red panda in the wild habitat.

Effects of Land-Use Intensity and Land Management Policies on Evolution of Regional Land System: A Case Study in the Hengduan Mountain Region

In the last few decades, land use/land cover (LULC) has changed significantly under the influence of local planning and policy implementation, and this has had a profound impact on the regional ecological environment. By taking the Hengduan Mountain region as the study area, this study considered the demands of various commodities and services and applied the CLUMondo model to predict the trajectory of change in the land system for the years 2010–2030. The results indicate that the forest system expands significantly in this time, while the grassland and cropland systems are projected to develop intensively under the three scenarios. The high demand for livestock products is the main cause of the intensification of the grassland system under the TREND scenario, the demand for forests leads to the expansion of the forest land system under the FOREST scenario, and the significant intensification of the cropland system under the CONSERVATION scenario is closely related to an increase in the area of ecological land. The results of this study can provide a scientific reference for the optimal management of land systems in other mountainous areas.

Two New Species of Diploderma Hallowell, 1861 (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) from the Hengduan Mountain Region in China and Rediscovery of D. brevicaudum (Manthey, Wolfgang, Hou, Wang, 2012)

Recent studies have highlighted the underestimated diversity of the genus Diploderma Hallowell, 1861 in the Hengduan Mountain Region in Southwest China, but much of the region remains poorly surveyed for reptile diversity. In this study we describe two new species of Diploderma from the upper Jinsha and middle Yalong River Valley, based on evaluations of morphological, genetic, and distribution data. The two new species are morphologically most similar to D. angustelinea and D. vela, but they can be diagnosed from both recognized taxa and all remaining congeners by a suite of morphological features, particularly the distinct coloration of gular spots. Additionally, both new species either render other recognized species paraphyletic or are allopatric with respect to their morphologically similar congeners. Furthermore, we rediscover D. brevicaudum in the wild for the first time, which was known from historical museum specimens only. We estimate the phylogenetic position of D. brevicaudum within the genus Diploderma based on mitochondrial genealogy, and we provide an expanded diagnosis and comparisons against closely related congeners and provide a detailed description of coloration in life based on newly collected specimens. Our discoveries of the new Diploderma species further highlight the urgent conservation needs of the currently neglected hot-dry valley ecosystems in the Hengduan Mountain Region of China.

Ants of the Hengduan Mountains: a new altitudinal survey and updated checklist for Yunnan Province highlight an understudied insect biodiversity hotspot

China’s Hengduan Mountain region has been considered one of the most diverse regions in the northern hemisphere. Its stunning topography with many deep valleys and impassable mountain barriers has promoted an astonishing diversification in many groups of organisms including plants, birds, mammals, and amphibians. However, the insect biodiversity in this region is still poorly known. Here, the first checklist of ant species from the Southern Hengduan Mountain region is presented, generated by sampling ant diversity using a wide array of collection methods, including Winkler leaf litter extraction, vegetation beating, and hand collection. 130 species/morphospecies from nine subfamilies and 49 genera were identified. Among them, 17 species from 13 genera represent new records for Yunnan province, and eight species are newly recorded for China. Moreover, we believe 41 novel morphospecies (31% of the total collected taxa) will prove to be new to science. These results highlight the rich ant fauna of this region and strongly support its status as a biodiversity hotspot. The current ant species checklist for the whole of Yunnan Province was updated by recording 550 named species from 99 genera. Taken together, our results suggest that the Yunnan ant fauna still remains under-sampled, and future sampling will likely yield many more species, among them many undescribed ones.