The Experts below are selected from a list of 360 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Damber Bista - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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red panda fine scale habitat selection along a central himalayan Longitudinal Gradient
Ecology and Evolution, 2019Co-Authors: Saroj Shrestha, Damber Bista, Ang Phuri Sherpa, Shant Raj Jnawali, Prakash Kumar Paudel, Krishna Prasad AcharyaAbstract:Red panda Ailurus fulgens, an endangered habitat specialist, inhabits a narrow distribution range in bamboo abundance forests along mountain slopes in the Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains. However, their habitat use may be different in places with different Longitudinal environmental Gradients, climatic regimes, and microclimate. This study aimed to determine the habitat variables affecting red panda distribution across different Longitudinal Gradients through a multivariate analysis. We studied habitat selection patterns along the Longitudinal Gradient in Nepal's Himalaya which is grouped into the eastern, central, and western complexes. We collected data on red panda presence and habitat variables (e.g., tree richness, canopy cover, bamboo abundance, water availability, tree diameter, tree height) by surveys along transects throughout the species' potential range. We used a multimodal inference approach with a generalized linear model to test the relative importance of environmental variables. Although the study showed that bamboo abundance had a major influence, habitat selection was different across Longitudinal zones. Both canopy cover and species richness were unimportant in eastern Nepal, but their influence increased progressively toward the west. Conversely, tree height showed a decreasing influence on habitat selection from Eastern to Western Nepal. Red panda's habitat selection revealed in this study corresponds to the uneven distribution of vegetation assemblages and the dry climatic Gradient along the eastern-western Himalayas which could be related to a need to conserve energy and thermoregulate. This study has further highlighted the need of importance of bamboo conservation and site-specific conservation planning to ensure long-term red panda conservation.
Brian Four - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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fishpond dams affect leaf litter processing and associated detritivore communities along intermittent low order streams
Freshwater Biology, 2017Co-Authors: Brian Four, Marielle Thomas, Evelyne Arce, Aurelie Cebron, Michael Danger, Damien BanasAbstract:Intermittent streams are common and widespread freshwater ecosystems globally. While dams greatly affect the ecology of permanent streams, the extent of their effects on intermittent streams remains largely unknown. The physical and chemical alterations induced by dams could have particularly strong impacts on the functioning of intermittent low-order streams, especially due to the limitations they place on colonisation of aquatic biota from downstream permanent waters. Leaf-litter breakdown (LLB) and associated communities (microbes and shredders) were studied to investigate the potential ecological continuum rupture caused by fishpond dams along the Longitudinal Gradient of intermittent streams. Three to four sites were investigated along three reference (no dam) and three impacted (with a fishpond dam) first-order intermittent low-order streams. LLB increased along the Longitudinal Gradient in all six streams regardless of the presence of dams (from 1.5 to 8.4 fold over <1.5 km distance). This underscores the great variability of low-order stream functioning even at fine scales. Such upstream to downstream Gradients need to be taken into account before investigating the effect of any perturbation using LLB as a functional indicator. Fishponds dams tended to increase LLB downstream, and altered the downstream microbial communities (increase in fungal densities) and shredder assemblages (increase in Gammaridae). The effects of fishpond dams on intermittent stream functioning appeared to be most significant when they were associated with changes in hydrology, that is, when fishponds resulted in permanent flows downstream of dams. Our findings suggest that better management of fishpond dams in order to limit hydrological modifications downstream (for instance, by preventing leaks from the dam) could reduce their impact on ecosystem functioning in intermittent streams.
Krishna Prasad Acharya - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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red panda fine scale habitat selection along a central himalayan Longitudinal Gradient
Ecology and Evolution, 2019Co-Authors: Saroj Shrestha, Damber Bista, Ang Phuri Sherpa, Shant Raj Jnawali, Prakash Kumar Paudel, Krishna Prasad AcharyaAbstract:Red panda Ailurus fulgens, an endangered habitat specialist, inhabits a narrow distribution range in bamboo abundance forests along mountain slopes in the Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains. However, their habitat use may be different in places with different Longitudinal environmental Gradients, climatic regimes, and microclimate. This study aimed to determine the habitat variables affecting red panda distribution across different Longitudinal Gradients through a multivariate analysis. We studied habitat selection patterns along the Longitudinal Gradient in Nepal's Himalaya which is grouped into the eastern, central, and western complexes. We collected data on red panda presence and habitat variables (e.g., tree richness, canopy cover, bamboo abundance, water availability, tree diameter, tree height) by surveys along transects throughout the species' potential range. We used a multimodal inference approach with a generalized linear model to test the relative importance of environmental variables. Although the study showed that bamboo abundance had a major influence, habitat selection was different across Longitudinal zones. Both canopy cover and species richness were unimportant in eastern Nepal, but their influence increased progressively toward the west. Conversely, tree height showed a decreasing influence on habitat selection from Eastern to Western Nepal. Red panda's habitat selection revealed in this study corresponds to the uneven distribution of vegetation assemblages and the dry climatic Gradient along the eastern-western Himalayas which could be related to a need to conserve energy and thermoregulate. This study has further highlighted the need of importance of bamboo conservation and site-specific conservation planning to ensure long-term red panda conservation.
Damien Banas - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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fishpond dams affect leaf litter processing and associated detritivore communities along intermittent low order streams
Freshwater Biology, 2017Co-Authors: Brian Four, Marielle Thomas, Evelyne Arce, Aurelie Cebron, Michael Danger, Damien BanasAbstract:Intermittent streams are common and widespread freshwater ecosystems globally. While dams greatly affect the ecology of permanent streams, the extent of their effects on intermittent streams remains largely unknown. The physical and chemical alterations induced by dams could have particularly strong impacts on the functioning of intermittent low-order streams, especially due to the limitations they place on colonisation of aquatic biota from downstream permanent waters. Leaf-litter breakdown (LLB) and associated communities (microbes and shredders) were studied to investigate the potential ecological continuum rupture caused by fishpond dams along the Longitudinal Gradient of intermittent streams. Three to four sites were investigated along three reference (no dam) and three impacted (with a fishpond dam) first-order intermittent low-order streams. LLB increased along the Longitudinal Gradient in all six streams regardless of the presence of dams (from 1.5 to 8.4 fold over <1.5 km distance). This underscores the great variability of low-order stream functioning even at fine scales. Such upstream to downstream Gradients need to be taken into account before investigating the effect of any perturbation using LLB as a functional indicator. Fishponds dams tended to increase LLB downstream, and altered the downstream microbial communities (increase in fungal densities) and shredder assemblages (increase in Gammaridae). The effects of fishpond dams on intermittent stream functioning appeared to be most significant when they were associated with changes in hydrology, that is, when fishponds resulted in permanent flows downstream of dams. Our findings suggest that better management of fishpond dams in order to limit hydrological modifications downstream (for instance, by preventing leaks from the dam) could reduce their impact on ecosystem functioning in intermittent streams.
Apinun Suvarnaraksha - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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fish diversity and assemblage patterns along the Longitudinal Gradient of a tropical river in the indo burma hotspot region ping wang river basin thailand
Hydrobiologia, 2012Co-Authors: Apinun Suvarnaraksha, Sovan Lek, Sithan Lekang, Tuantong JutagateAbstract:The relationships between environmental variables as descriptors to the fish community, in terms of species diversity indices, and the fish assemblage patterns along the Longitudinal Gradient in a rhitral environment of a large river system located in the Indo-Burma hot spot (Ping-Wang River Basin) were studied. Fish data and water quality parameters were collected between January 1996 and April 2009. The three most diverse families were Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, and Cobitidae, respectively. Three physicochemical parameters (i.e., DO, water temperature, and pH) and three geo-morphological parameters (i.e., altitude, distance from the sea, and discharge) showed statistically significant to diversity parameters (P value <0.05). The classification and regression trees showed that the geo-morphological parameters were more significant in predicting both species richness and Shannon diversity index than the physicochemical parameters, in which altitude was the most significant. Fish assemblages in the Ping-Wang River Basin were classified into four patterns viz., mountainous, piedmont, transitory, and lowland species.
