Lorestan University Press Journal of Animal Diversity 2676-685X 5 4 2023 12 31 Status, patterns, and trends of human-wildlife conflict in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, Nepal 1 14 725036 10.22034/JAD.2023.5.4.1 EN Anisha Parajuli Tribhuvan University, Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus, Makwanpur 44107, Nepal 0009-0005-8704-9265 Chitra Rekha Basyal Tribhuvan University, Institute of Forestry, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara 33700, Nepal 0000-0002-2142-8300 Manoj Baral Tribhuvan University, Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus, Makwanpur 44107, Nepal 0009-0002-1176-528X Hari Adhikari Forest Nepal, Amar Marg 88, Butwal, C3534, Nepal 0000-0002-9089-3249 Shailendra Kumar Yadav Tribhuvan University, Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus, Makwanpur 44107, Nepal 0000-0002-3848-3525 Janga Bdr. Basnet Department of Food and Resource Economics, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg C, 1165 Copenhagen, Denmark 0000-0001-6795-7569 Sachin Timilsina Department of Food and Resource Economics, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg C, 1165 Copenhagen, Denmark 0000-0002-4749-9289 Journal Article 2023 09 30 Human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) are common in locations where human settlements and wildlife ecosystems intersect. Conflict between people and wildlife is a significant conservation issue that is challenging to resolve. Therefore, this research aims to reveal the trends, status, and patterns of HWC in the Buffer Zone (BZ) of Chitwan National Park (CNP) from July 2012 to July 2021. Primary data were collected through household surveys, key informant interviews (KIIs), direct observation, and secondary data from park offices, the Buffer Zone User Committee (BZUC), and institutions through reports, documents, and booklets. Our study shows crop raiding was the most common and notable problem, followed by livestock depredation, with 4416 documented cases. According to the report, elephants are the biggest conflict-causing species, accounting for 37.86% of overall losses. HWC occurrences peaked in 2018, accounting for 23.41% of total incidents from July 2012 to July 2021. During the research period, victims of HWC received compensation totaling ~0.805 million US dollars (106641196.00 Nepalese rupees). Autumn is identified as the greatest season for HWC, owing to paddy harvesting, which draws animals. Most people believe that the population density of wildlife increases in the park due to positive human participation. By adopting a participatory management approach to conservation, the park has the potential to increase the number of locals who benefit from it significantly.

https://jad.lu.ac.ir/article_725036_7353f6c442f373b9649e6b32223ae624.pdf

Lorestan University Press Journal of Animal Diversity 2676-685X 5 4 2023 12 31 Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Lytorhynchus Peters, 1863 (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae) with special reference to the Iranian taxa 15 31 725060 10.22034/JAD.2023.5.4.2 EN Naeim Moradi Iranian Plateau Herpetology Research Group (IPHRG), Faculty of Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran 0000-0002-8288-3972 Soheila Shafiei Bafti Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran 0009-0007-6308-7616 Mohammad Ebrahim Sehhatisabet Department of the Environment of Iran, Provincial Office of Kerman, Iran 0009-0000-6574-0665 Behzad Zadhoush Department of Fisheries and Environment, Gorgan University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, Iran 0000-0002-7536-5325 Eskandar Rastegar-Pouyani Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran 0000-0002-9639-2058 Journal Article 2023 07 28 The genus Lytorhynchus, spanning from the Sahara’s western fringes to the Middle East, eastern Pakistan, and northwestern India, has seen numerous species and subspecies classifications over the years. Many of these have been deemed synonymous due to overlapping morphological traits, a problem compounded by the absence of a comprehensive phylogenetic study. The taxa residing in Iran exhibit morphological variations attributable to their broad distribution and disjunct populations. Of the seven recognized species, three have been confirmed in Iran, although some populations display pholidosis distinct from initial descriptions. Species identification has also been fraught with ambiguities. This study aims to elucidate the diagnostic characteristics of taxa and furnish an updated identification key by revisiting past studies and examining new voucher specimens. The biogeography of Iranian taxa is also explored.

https://jad.lu.ac.ir/article_725060_8417a3b819617feb73773c7cc9a7eb4d.pdf

Lorestan University Press Journal of Animal Diversity 2676-685X 5 4 2023 12 31 Fruit bats (Pteropodidae) in select green spaces of Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines: a preliminary assessment 32 38 725061 10.22034/JAD.2023.5.4.3 EN Cyrell Ann Ruales School of Business Management, Education, Arts and Sciences Department, San Pedro College, Davao City 8000, Davao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines 0000-0002-7094-3798 Christian Tripole Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology, Mati City, 8200, Davao Oriental, Mindanao, Philippines 0009-0007-8457-8203 Joshua Donato EGIP Foundation Inc, # 14 Alaminos St., Rolling Hills Subdivision, Bacaca, Davao City 8000, Davao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines 0000-0003-2101-6952 Marian Dara Tagoon School of Business Management, Education, Arts and Sciences Department, San Pedro College, Davao City 8000, Davao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines 0000-0003-1066-6351 Elsa May Delima-Baron School of Business Management, Education, Arts and Sciences Department, San Pedro College, Davao City 8000, Davao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines; Research, Publication, and Innovation Center, San Pedro College, Davao City, 8000, Davao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines 0000-0002-1282-5339 Journal Article 2023 05 04 Published data on bats in green spaces in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, remains scarce. This study provides an additional account of fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae occurring in green spaces both in the center of Davao City and its fringe communities. Our survey ran from January to April 2019. Mist nets were installed in possible flyways within select green spaces of bats and were checked from 6:30 pm to 4:30 am. Eight fruit bat species were documented, four of which are endemic to the Philippines. Two species, Megaerops wetmorei Taylor, 1934 and Eonycteris robusta Miller, 1913, are currently listed as vulnerable (VU), while the rest are considered non-threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The site in the Carmen Baguio district (Site 5) had the highest number of captures (n= 31), while the Mt. Talomo-Lipadas site (Site 6) had the highest species richness among surveyed green spaces. The inventory suggests that fruit bats occur in urban green spaces and could be supported by these urban green fragments. More studies are needed to determine how fruit bats utilize and benefit from urban green space fragments of the city.

https://jad.lu.ac.ir/article_725061_d28e158e081e1d06aeeb9af76228ebb8.pdf

Lorestan University Press Journal of Animal Diversity 2676-685X 5 4 2023 12 31 Preliminary analysis indicates dietary similarities in the prey composition of Hipposideros hypophyllus Kock and Bhat, 1994 (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) and sympatric congeneric species 39 47 725034 10.22034/JAD.2023.5.4.4 EN Krishnanagara Kumari Shraddha Centre for Urban Ecology, Bio-Diversity, Evolution and Climate Change (CUBEC), JAIN (Deemed-to-be UNIVERSITY), #319, 17th Cross, 25th Main, J P Nagar 6th Phase, Bengaluru Karnataka, India- 560078 0000-0001-9979-5007 Rajesh Puttaswamaiah Bat Conservation India Trust (BCIT), #285, 10th Cross, Rashi Residency Layout, Kadabagere, Magadi Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka-562130, India 0000-0002-0988-3618 Chetan Nag Krishnaswamy Sudarshan Bat Conservation India Trust (BCIT), #285, 10th Cross, Rashi Residency Layout, Kadabagere, Magadi Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka-562130, India 0000-0002-7545-8556 Journal Article 2023 08 15 Much is known about bats from other parts of the globe regarding factors such as homogeneity and heterogeneity of habitats, prey abundance influencing the predator-prey relationship, etc. Sadly, minuscule literature on bat ecology is available for India. The current study investigated diet of the Kolar leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros hypophyllus, a Critically Endangered (CR) insectivorous bat in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, known only from a single cave where it shares its roosting site with congeneric species, namely Durgadas’s leaf-nosed bat H. durgadasi Khajuria and Schneider’s leaf-nosed bat H. speoris (Schneider), which are Vulnerable (VU) and Least Concerned (LC), respectively. Because Hipposideros hypophyllus is on the brink of extinction with no baseline ecological data available, the study analyzed the dietary compositions of the species. It relied on the morphological cataloguing of post-digested prey fragments in fecal pellets of the species and its congeners. Fresh fecal pellets of all three species of Hipposideros were analyzed to understand morphological differences and prey composition at the only known site for H. hypophyllus, Hanumanahalli village, Kolar district, India, between November 2022 to February 2023. A total of 29,793 prey remnants were examined from all three species belonging to 11 insect orders (Blattodea, Coleoptera, Mantodea, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, and Thysanoptera). All three species of Hipposideros fed mainly on Coleoptera, followed by Diptera and Lepidoptera, showing a strong overlap in their prey composition. Our results warrant a long-term study across seasons and identifying prey to the species level which can provide more detailed understanding and lead to the conservation of Hipposideros hypophyllus, H. durgadasi, and H. speoris.

https://jad.lu.ac.ir/article_725034_05847c25c4c99936db762d5f9b3de94b.pdf

Lorestan University Press Journal of Animal Diversity 2676-685X 5 4 2023 12 31 A study of winter avifaunal diversity in Upper Lake, in the City of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India 48 56 725066 10.22034/JAD.2023.5.4.5 EN Hyder Ali Rather Department of Life Science, Rabindranath Tagore University, Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, India 0000-0001-5428-2945 Varsha Gautam Department of Zoology, Govt. PG College, Bareli, Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, India 0000-0003-0636-3075 Journal Article 2023 08 08 Avifauna is an important constituent, as well as an important link in the food chain, of every ecosystem. Birds are regarded as important biological indicators since they can live in a variety of settings and are environmentally adaptive. Wetlands are important bird habitats and birds use them for breeding, nesting and rearing young. Upper Lake is a tropical wetland in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, and harbors rich biodiversity. This study documents the avifaunal diversity around Upper Lake, Bhopal over a period of four successive years (2018–2021). To assess bird diversity, the point-count method was used but opportunistic spotting was also included. During the survey, a total of 158 avian species, belonging to 18 orders, 52 families and 115 genera were recorded. Out of 18 orders, Passeriformes had the highest avian species richness (67 species). At the family level, Muscicapidae and Anatidae were the most dominant families with 13 species each. The results, derived from various diversity indices (Shannon-Weiner, Margalef and Pielou), suggest that Upper Lake, Bhopal supports rich avifaunal diversity. However, certain anthropogenic threats pose serious threats to the avifaunal diversity. Habitat destruction and degradation pose the most significant threat With hunting of various migratory water birds and threatened species as a growing concern. Therefore, to ensure continued diversity within the region, it is recommended that these anthropogenic activities be regularly monitored and kept to a minimum.

https://jad.lu.ac.ir/article_725066_4c324db06973d8858528f1e93320ad60.pdf

Lorestan University Press Journal of Animal Diversity 2676-685X 5 4 2023 12 31 Blood parasite of the genus Dactylosoma Labbé, 1894 in Marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) from the north of Iran 57 62 725067 10.22034/JAD.2023.5.4.6 EN Zahra Rahimi Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran 0009-0001-6974-3481 Reyhaneh Hajiyan Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran 0009-0003-0504-1071 Hossein Javanbakht Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran 0000-0002-6468-9164 Journal Article 2023 08 25 Blood parasites of the order Adeleiorina (protozoan phylum Apicomplexa) are a diverse group of haemoparasites reported from almost all vertebrate classes. The most commonly recorded haemoparasites of anurans are species of Dactylosoma Labbé, 1894. To date, six Dactylosoma species have been described from anurans and fishes. In the present study, we used molecular characterization to identify haemoparasites detected by microscopy in blood smears of Pelophylax ridibundus, a frog in the north of Iran. Blood samples were examined from four adult individuals. Smears were prepared and stained with Giemsa. Microscopy investigation revealed that one individual was positive for blood parasites. According to morphological characteristics, it was identified as belonging to genus Dactylosoma. In genetic analyses, the blast of obtained partial 18S rRNA gene sequences showed 100% identity with Dactylosoma sp. and D. ranarum (Kruse, 1890). Phylogenetic analysis showed the Dactylosoma sp. of the present study as a monophyletic group in Dactylosoma species, clustered with Dactylosoma sp. and D. ranarum (support > 80%). This study is the first report of a dactylosomatid parasite in Pelophylax ridibundus.

https://jad.lu.ac.ir/article_725067_0f91903e373bbc8322e956901ae74f3c.pdf

Lorestan University Press Journal of Animal Diversity 2676-685X 5 4 2023 12 31 Cyprinid (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) diversity and assemblage in south-central Bhutan 63 78 725068 10.22034/JAD.2023.5.4.7 EN Laxmi Sagar College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Postal Code No. 14001, Punakha, Bhutan 0000-0002-9788-6770 Dhan Bdr Gurung Department of Forest Science, College of Natural Resources Royal University of Bhutan, Postal Code No. 14001, Punakha, Bhutan 0000-0001-8082-5181 Karma Wangchuk Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Postal Code No. 14001, Punakha, Bhutan 0000-0003-1373-4153 Karma L Wangmo College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Postal Code No. 14001, Punakha, Bhutan 0009-0002-8580-2768 Rinchen Dorji College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Postal Code No. 14001, Punakha, Bhutan 0000-0002-3958-8150 Tshering Zangmo College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Postal Code No. 14001, Punakha, Bhutan 0009-0000-6204-3856 Rupesh Subedi College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Postal Code No. 14001, Punakha, Bhutan 0000-0003-0417-0296 Journal Article 2023 09 07 Cyprinidae (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) is the predominate family among Bhutan's freshwater fishes, yet significant gaps exist in the knowledge of their diversity and assemblage. Cyprinids were sampled from 54 plots across four river basins (Aiechhu, Jaldakachhu, Mangdechhu, and Punatsangchhu) using systematic sampling at an interval of 5 km. A total of 850 individuals belonging to 22 species and 13 genera were recorded. Aiechhu had the highest diversity and evenness (H’= 1.66±0.28, J’= 0.95±0.03), followed by Punatsangchhu (H’= 1.58±0.34, J’= 0.94±0.04). Meanwhile, Jaldakachhu and Mangdechhu exhibited the lowest diversity and evenness (H’= 0.90±0.66, J’= 0.84±0.54 and H’= 0.54±0.70, J’= 0.38±0.49, respectively). There was a significant difference in diversity among river basins (χ2 (3)= 20.98, p < 0.001) with specific variation between Mangdechhu and Punatsangchhu (Z= 3.80, p= 0.00), Mangdechhu and Aiechhu (Z= 3.35, p= 0.01), and Jaldakachhu and Punatsangchhu (Z= 2.83, p= 0.03). Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that cyprinid assemblage was significantly correlated with environmental variables (r= 0.94, p= 0.001 in axis 1 and r= 0.82, p= 0.001 in axis 2) explaining 77% of variance. Axis 1 was positively correlated with temperature (r= 0.92), total dissolved solids (r= 0.53), conductivity (r= 0.51), and salinity (r= 0.39) and negatively correlated with elevation (r= −0.69). Axis 2 was negatively correlated with total hardness (r= −0.82) and dissolved oxygen (r= −0.65). Cluster analysis identified three clusters based on dominant species. Further studies exploring other river basins of Bhutan are needed to better understand the ecological dynamics of cyprinids in Bhutan.

https://jad.lu.ac.ir/article_725068_12d8835f599ead7c2b8953f3df7a6d0d.pdf