Biology subjects

Joshi, B. D.

Publications and source records attributed to Joshi, B. D..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Understanding distribution and occupancy of Himalayan Monal in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand

The Himalayan Monal is a conservation priority species in its entire distribution range. Its population is declining in many areas due to various anthropogenic threats. The information on species distribution and its abundance is lacking in many areas which are vital for conservation and management planning. Hence, through the present study, we have assessed the abundance and occupancy of Himalayan monal in Uttarkashi district (Uttarakhand). We used camera traps and conventional sign surveys for documenting the species during 2018-2019. We installed a total of 69 camera traps (2819 trap nights) and surveyed 54 trails (650 km) which represents entire habitat and topographic variability of the landscape. The occupancy and detection probability was modelled using the habitat variables. The top model showed that occupancy probability of Himalayan monal was positively influenced by the slope ({beta} =27.52 {+/-}16.25) and negatively influenced by Reserve Forest (RF) ({beta}= -8.14 SE {+/-} 4.99). The observed naive occupancy of Himalayan Monal was 0.69 in the study area, which was slightly lower than the estimated occupancy. However, in the null model, the site occupancy estimated was found to be 0.82{+/-}0.08 and with detection probability 0.23{+/-}0.03. The overall abundance of monal was estimated about 171.58 {+/-}10.2 in the study area with an average density of 0.62/ km2. The activity pattern analysis indicates that monal remains very active between 6.00 hrs -12.00 hrs and relatively less active during mid-day when humans are most active 11.30 hrs-16.30 hrs. The present study is a first attempt to estimate occupancy and abundance using camera traps as well as sign survey for the species primarily from non-Protected Area (PA). We found that Himalayan monal is abundant outside the PAs, which is a good indication for its long-term viability and also identified areas for conservation and management prioritization in Uttarkashi.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

New insights on species divergence in red panda

With the recent classification of red panda into two phylogenetic species, we propose Siang river as a potential boundary for species divergence between the Himalayan red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and the Chinese red panda (Ailurus styani). Bayesian based phylogeny and MJ network splited all the sequences into two distinct clusters in accordance to the origin of the samples collected from the east and west side of the Siang river. The clade 1, that represented Himalayan red panda, was formed by inclusion of samples originated from the north West Bengal, Sikkim, and central Arunachal Pradesh and South Tibet. While, clade 2 represented Chinese red panda by inclusion of the samples originated from Dibang valley of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, India and Southwest China. We suggest being associated with diverse habitats, threats and transboundary distribution, both species of red panda require regional as well as multilateral cooperation for making species survival plan.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2020

New insights of zoogeographical distribution of Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) from Indian Himalayan Region

In the present study, we explored the intraspecific genetic variation and phylogeographic relationship among all the reported species in the genus Naemorhedus distributed in a wide range of habitats. The Bayesian based phylogeny demonstrated that Himalayan goral, is a highly diverged species from the other reported species of gorals. We claim the presence of two valid sub-species of Himalayan goral, i.e. N. g. bedfordi and N. g. goral, distributed in the western and central Himalaya, respectively. The comparative analysis with the inclusion of data available from different ranges, suggests the presence of plausibly six species of gorals across the distribution with a few valid subspecies. Further, we report that N. griseus is a valid species and not the synonyms of N. goral considering the observed discrepancy in the available sequences. We recommend all the sub-species present at distant locations may be considered as Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs) and, therefore, appeal to provide them special attention for long term conservation and management.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

How did SARS-CoV-19 spread in India from Italy, Iran and China? Genetic surveillance of early cases and virus demography

SARS-CoV-19 after emerging from Wuhan, drastically devastated all sectors of human life by crushing down the global economy and increased psychological burden on public, government, and healthcare professionals. We manifested by analyzing 35 early coronavirus cases of India, that virus introduction in India, occurred from Italy, Iran and China and population demography apparently revealed a rapid population expansion after the outbreak with a present steady growth. We depicted nucleotide substitutions in structural genes, drove for the adaptive selection and plead for sequencing more genomes to facilitate identification of new emerged mutants, genetic evolution and disease transmission caused by coronavirus.

genomics↗