Journal of Biodiversity & Endangered Species

Natural grasslands cover approximately 14% of geographical area of Nepal and are important areas in terms of biodiversity and sources of forage for wild and domestic animals, and for medicinal and herbal plants. Karnali watershed area is very sensitive and need of scientific management of highland grasslands which are rich in number of plants and animal species that have significant role and contribution in national economy and ecology. However, these grass lands are in threat and exist in their natural state within protected areas as neighbouring grasslands and forest habitats have been rapidly degraded. At Higher altitudes, trans-Himalayan and alpine rangelands are home to a diverse array of wildlife and are grazed by livestock, which are an integral part of the livelihood of several different ethnic groups. However, these grasslands are being overgrazed, little is known about the ecology and sustainability of prevailing land use practices. The prime concern of the paper is to address the existing issues, challenges along with biodiversity characteristics of the higher altitude grasslands. Thus, the focus of the paper is to point out the major grassland ecological research conducted to date and devise effective research and management strategies suggested to management of grassland beyond the protected areas and adjoin areas. Discussion of the paper explores some applicable measures to high elevation grassland management strategies with active participation of local communities with a view to provide comprehensive policy guidance for the management of grasslands and shrub lands in the Karnali region.

Traditional beliefs of local communities usually contribute to biodiversity conservation and management. We studied status, existing traditional beliefs, explored cause and prevailing hunting practices on Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) using semi-structured interviews in central and eastern districts of Nepal. All respondents speculated rapid decline of pangolins in last five years and most of them perceived sighting/hunting of pangolin as a bad omen in their traditions. Money is speculated as a driving force behind increasing the hunting of pangolins as most of the people have low socio-economic status. The most commonly used hunting practices is filling burrows with water and hitting on snout of pangolins when they attempt to escape from the burrow. We conclude that the high monetary value of pangolins in China has overweighed the existing traditional beliefs to increase hunting and decline of pangolin’s population. Awareness, understanding and uplifting livelihood of local communities with strong law enforcement are necessary for the conservation of pangolins in Nepal.

The objective of this study was to compile a coded checklist of 430 taxa of diatoms collected over a span of 30 years (1979-2010) from water and net-tow samples in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The checklist is based on a long-term survey involving the 20 oceanographic cruises. The material for this study comprises water and net samples collected from 647 sites. Most species were identified in water mounts and permanent slides, and in a few cases a transmission or scanning electron microscope was used. The most diverse genera in both water and the net samples were Chaetoceros (44 spp.), Thalassiosira (23 spp.), Nitzschia (25 spp.), Amphora (16 spp.), Diploneis (16 spp.), Rhizosolenia (14 spp.) and Coscinodiscus (13 spp.). The most frequent species in net and water samples were, Actinoptychus senarius, Asteromphalus heptactis, Bacteriastrum delicatulum, Cerataulina pelagica, Chaetoceros didymus, C. diversus, C. lorenzianus, C. pelagicus, C. pseudocurvisetus, Coscinodiscus radiatus, Cyclotella striata, Diploneis bombus, Guinardia flaccida, Hemiaulus sinensis, Leptocylindrus danicus, Odontella aurita, O. mobiliensis, Paralia sulcata, Proboscia alata, Pseudo-nitzschia pseudodelicatissima, P. pungens, Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira eccentrica, T. partheneia, Thalassionema nitzschioides, and Thalassiothrix longissima. Ninety three taxa were new records for this region.

The distribution and amount of genetic variation within and between populations of plant species are important for their adaptability to future habitat changes and also critical for their restoration and overall management. This study was initiated to assess the genetic status of the remnant population of Melicope zahlbruckneri–a critically endangered species in Hawaii, and determine the extent of genetic variation and diversity in order to propose valuable conservation approaches. Estimated genetic structure of individuals based on molecular marker allele frequencies identified genetic groups with low overall differentiation but identified the most genetically diverse individuals within the population. Analysis of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphic (AFLP) marker loci in the population based on Bayesian model and multivariate statistics classified the population into four subgroups. We inferred a mixed species population structure based on Bayesian clustering and frequency of unique alleles. The percentage of Polymorphic Fragment (PPF) ranged from 18.8 to 64.6% for all marker loci with an average of 54.9% within the population. Inclusion of all surviving M. zahlbruckneri trees in future restorative planting at new sites are suggested, and approaches for longer term maintenance of genetic variability are discussed. To our knowledge, this study represents the first report of molecular genetic analysis of the remaining population of M. zahlbruckneri and also illustrates the importance of genetic variability for conservation of a small endangered population.

This paper was an attempt to reveal the less known economics of paper use in higher learning institutions and its contribution to climate change using The Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy (MNMA)-Zanzibar as a case study. The cross-sectional research design was employed. Data were collected using a paper survey tool and interviews. Simple calculations were used to address the cost incurred each semester to buy paper at MNMA. The annual amount of trees exploited from the environment to make paper used by MNMA was estimated using a conversion ratio developed by FAO. Amount of carbon released to the atmosphere was estimated by using formula adopted by WWF. The investigation found that MNMA-Zanzibar has a total semester paper consumption of about 364 reams of different types. The semester cost of buying these reams was found to be about 2,910,000 TZS. Environmental cost was estimated at about 27 trees exploited to suffice semester paper use at MNMA-Zanzibar. The exploited trees per semester releases total carbon of 6.91 tons+2.01 tons and 2.78 tons+1.15 tons for Montane and Lowland forest trees species respectively suitable for paper production. The study concluded that, there is huge consumption of paper in higher learning institutions. The study suggested interventions for reducing massive consumption of papers in higher learning institutions includes introduction of paper use policy which will include among other measures such as electronic storage; paperless meeting, paper reuse, two side printing, sharing of documents electronically and awareness creation on paper use.