Unit 1.

Introduction/Definitions
1. Biodiversity: Biodiversity can be defined as the variety of life on the earth. In
other words, it refers to all living things on earth and the ecological processes
associated with them.

“‘Biological diversity’ means the variability among living organisms from all sources
including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the
ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species,
between species and of ecosystems.”
(Convention on Biological Diversity 1992)

Biodiversity is constantly changing. It can be increased by natural evolutionary

processes and genetic change or reduced by threats that lead to population decline
and species extinction.
Importance of biodiversity:
1. Species have utilitarian values to human
2. Biodiversity represents natural balance within a ecosystem that provides a
number of ecological services. Example, pollination, nutrient cycling, etc.
Biodiversity can be described in terms of: Ecosystem diversity, Species diversity,
and Genetic diversity

- Ecosystem diversity (Ecological diversity) – the variety of terrestrial

and aquatic ecosystems found in an area.
- Species Diversity – The number of species present in different habitats
(the number of plants and animals present in a region).
- Genetic Diversity – The variety of genetic material within a species or a
population.

2. Conservation/Management: The word conservation is the preservation

or efficient using of resources (in an efficient or ethical manner).

Conservation may be defined as the wise-use of natural resources of the earth and
their protection and preservation from harmful influences, misuse, decay, fire or
waste. In other words, it is an act of preserving the natural resources such as soil,
water, animal, plants and the biotic community for optimal and wise use
scientifically and judiciously for the present and the future generation.

Conservation is the management of human use of the biosphere so that it may

yield the greatest sustainable benefit to present generations while maintaining its
potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generation (World
Conservation Strategy 1980)

Living resources conservation has 3 specific objectives:

i. To maintain essential ecological processes and life supporting system

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 ii. To preserve biological diversity and
iii. To ensure that any utilization of species and ecosystem is sustainable

Management means “skillful treatment” – activity undertaken to achieve specific

objectives. It is managing available resources effectively and efficiently to
accomplish desired goals and objectives.

Wildlife management, on the other hand, is the art of producing desired

population of wild animals. In other words, it is the art of making land produce
valuable populations of wildlife. It involves direct population management (census,
control of harvest, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, etc.) and indirect management of
populations through habitat manipulation to favor or inhibit larger species.

It is the management of wild animal populations and their habitat and can involve
total protection of wildlife for aesthetic and preservationist reasons to wildlife
utilization. History of wildlife management is very old, but the first textbook on
game management was published in 1933 by Aldo Leopold.

Wildlife management requires good planning with the availability of adequate

human, capital and time resources.

3. IUCN threatened species categories: The International Union for Conservation

of Nature and National Resource (IUCN) has prepared Red lists of threatened
animals. Threatened animals are those known or suspected threatened with
extinction.

i. Extinct (EX): An extinct species is a species that has completely disappeared from
the earth i.e. a single living specimen of which, neither male nor female, exists on
earth since last 50 years. For example, bali tiger, golden toad, western black
rhinoceros, etc.
ii. Critically endangered (CR): Those species that faces an extremely high risk of
extinction in the immediate future. They have 50% probability of extinction in 5
years. For example, African wild ass, Asiatic cheetah, red wolf, etc.
iii. Endangered (EN): Those species that faces a high risk of extinction in the
immediate future. They have 20% probability of extinction within 20 years. For
example, Bengal tiger, one-horned rhinos, snow leopard, etc.
iv. Vulnerable (V): Those species that faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-
term. They are likely to move in the “endangered” category in the near future if the
causal factor continues operating. They have 10% probability of extinction in 100
years. For example, red panda, four horned antelope, python, etc.
v. Near threatened (NT): A taxon is near threatened when it has been evaluated
against the criteria but does not qualify for critically endangered, endangered and

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vulnerable now, but is close to qualifying for, or is likely to quality for, a threatened
category in the near future. For example, American bison, striped hyena, etc.
vi. Rare species: These are species or taxa with small world population that are
neither categorized as “endangered” nor “vulnerable” but are at risk. They are also
threatened with extinction but less critical than the endangered species. For
example, Himalayan brown deer, desert fox, Asian hornbill, etc.
vii. Intermediate species: Taxa known to be endangered, vulnerable or rare but
there is not enough information to say which of three categories is appropriate.
Intermediate species in Nepal includes Great Tibetan sheep, golden monitor lizard,
etc.
viii. Least concern: Those species that have no immediate threat to the survival of
the species. For example, house mouse, giraffe, American alligator, etc.

4. Wildlife biology: It is the application of ecological principles in the management

of wildlife species and their habitats, one of our most important natural resources. It
is the study of wild animals and their habitats - physiology, abundance,
demographics, populations, and other management-oriented issues for a particular
species

5. Conservation biology: The scientific study of the conservation of biological

diversity and the effects of human on the environment. Besides, it is the science

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 and practice of conserving the Earth’s biological diversity (the science of
protection and management of biodiversity). It deals with the protection,
utilization and management of living organisms and their vital processes to
prevent their depletion, exploitation, destruction, or waste.
6. Habitat: Habitat is a space or environment to which a species is suited. In other
words, it is the sum total of environmental factors: food, cover, water and space
that a given wildlife species needs to survive and reproduce in a given area.
Habitat requirements of wildlife species vary from species to species. Therefore, a
habitat suitable for one species might be worthless for another species. It can be
very large or very small (for a parasitic organism- it is the body of its host, part of
the host's body such as the digestive tract, or a cell within the host's body). Since
habitat constitutes all the basic requirements of wild animals for its growth and
propagation, habitat management is the major part of wildlife management.

7. Niche: Niche or Ecological niche is the ecological role or “profession” of the

species in a community or ecosystem: its activities and relationships to its
community and total environment. An important principle of ecology is that each
species has a distinct niche (species’ way of life) or role to play in the ecosystems
where it is found. In other words, Niche is the functional role played by each
species in its natural habitat. A habitat can be shared by many species, however
each of these species uses that habitat in its own way and play unique role called
niche. “Competitive exclusion principle” states “no two species can occupy the
same exact niche in the same habitat at the same time.”

Types of Niche: Fundamental niche (no competition) and realized niche

(presence of competition). For example, tiger and leopard share some of the same
habitat but feed on prey of different types.

8. Home range: The area that an individual or group of individuals spend most of
their time for obtaining food, mates and caring their young is called home range.
Studies of animal’s movements show that, as a general rule, animals remain
within particular areas; that is, they maintain home range fidelity. Home range
sizes seemed to be largely tied to an animal’s energy requirement, which was in
turn dictated by its body size and tropic level. The area is not demarcated and not
defended by the animal and can be very small to several square kilometers. Home
range can be detected by: direct observation of movement, using radio-telemetry
and capture-recapture method.

9. Territory: Some wildlife species are territorial. Territory is a defended area

maintained by an individual breeding pair or by a social group (such as a wolf
4

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 pack) either year round or seasonally. Maintaining territory is common among
birds and carnivores. Usually male fights with other males of the same species
and if they succeed to attract female, then the mating takes place. Some
carnivores like tiger maintain their territory leaving some distinct sign and is
recognized by other males that restrict other male to enter in that area.
10. Migration: Migration is the two-way movement, which represents travel from
one seasonably suitable habitat to another, with a subsequent return to the first.
Migration is common among mammals, birds and fish. Migratory movements are
enormously expensive, requiring large amount of time and energy and exposing
animals to their predators in many unfamiliar places in the course of their
journey.
Purposes/causes of migration: For better living conditions, due to scarcity of food,
to avoid adverse weather conditions
11. Dispersion: The movement of an animal from the place of its birth or release
site to a place where it reproduces is termed as “dispersal”.
Types of dispersal:
i. Immigration: movement into new area
ii. Emigration: movement out of the previously occupied area
Causes of dispersal:
i. Conflict between young and parents and the young leave the home area
ii. Conflict between adults and the weak adults leave the home area
Benefits of dispersal:
i. It allows the species to enter into a new area and establish its population
confronting with the harsh weather condition
ii. It overcomes the fear of extinction of the species as the populations of the
species are established at different places
12. Edge and ecotone: Edge is defined as the zone of contact between two habitat
types such as forestland and grassland. It may also be defined as a place where two
or more different vegetation communities meet or where successional stages of
vegetation condition within plant communities come together.
Whereas, ecotone is an area where two or more than two communities not only
meet but also intergrade with each other. Edges and ecotones generally have larger
or richer in animal diversity then the adjoining plant communities.
Types of edge:
i. Inherent edge: relatively stable and permanent features of landscape
ii. Induced edge: created by management practices
Edge effect: the arised or created effects and attraction by diversity of ecotone
upon the animals is called edge effect. Due to edge effect, there is favorable
condition of their basic needs finding different kinds of vegetation within their
reach in sufficient quantity.

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12. Interspersion and Juxtaposition: Interspersion is a component of spatial
diversity. It is the intermixing of units of different habitat types (cover types) in
relation to one another. Interspersion is the pattern in which various habitat
features are arranged. One general concept is that higher the number of edge types,
better the interspersion and more suitable to wildlife diversity and abundance.

Juxtaposition is also a component of spatial diversity. It is the “measure of the

adjacency or proximity of year around habitat requirements to a site being analyzed
for a particular species”. In other words, when different types of habitat are situated
side by side in such a way that they are capable to meet different requirements of
the animal population throughout the year, in such a condition the measurement of
proximity of different habitat is called juxtaposition. Juxtaposition takes
interspersion a step further, indicating that habitat types are not just closely
arranged but are side by side. For example, juxtaposition of habitat types allows
quail simultaneous access to several of their needs.

13. Carrying capacity: In all habitats, there is a limit to the number of animals of
any one species that can be supported. This limit or the tolerance capacity of the
habitat is known as carrying capacity. In other words, it is defined as the number of
animals of a given species that are actually supported by a habitat. Habitat
conditions are almost always changing to some extent altering carrying capacity.
Thus, carrying capacity drops accordingly during unfavorable season and increase
when favorable condition is reached. Carrying capacity is mostly expressed in a
number per unit area or total number of individuals in a given area.

Types of carrying capacity:

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 i. Subsistence carrying capacity (K-level): This is the upper limit at which a
population can be sustained. The population at this level can get enough food
for survival, but not necessarily sufficient for good health, optimum growth
and vigor. The productive capacity at this level will be low.
ii. Optimum carrying capacity (K/2-level): This is the level below the subsistence
level at which population can be stabilized in optimum density. At this level,
population has adequate food supply requirement. The body size, health,
growth and fecundity will approach to a maximum level for an individual and
productivity will be high.
14. Buffer zone: It is a peripheral area of a national park and wildlife reserve in
order to provide facilities to use forest resource on a regular and beneficial basis for
the local people. The buffer zone introduced in Nepal after 4th Amendment of
National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 2073 in the year 2073. The first buffer
zone was established in Chitwan National Park. Around 30-50 % of revenue
collected from national park and wildlife reserve is spent on buffer zone
conservation, management and community development works that benefit to local
people. There are 13 buffer zones established in protected areas (NP and WR) of
Nepal covering total area 5687.78 sq. km (16.52 % area of total protected areas).
The total area of protected areas in Nepal is 34,419.75 sq.km. (23.39% of land area
of Nepal. The total people benefited by the buffer zones program in Nepal are
10,62,823.

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 Budget allocation of revenue in Buffer zone:

 Conservation Program : 30 percent

 Community Development Program : 30 percent

 Income generating and Skill Development Program : 20 percent

 Conservation Education Program : 10 percent

 Administrative Expenses : 10 percent

15. Corridor and connectivity: A linear strip of vegetation that provides a

continuous or near continue pathway between 2 habitats is called corridor whereas
the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes movement among resource
is called connectivity. This allows an exchange of individuals between populations,
which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic
diversity (via genetic drift) that often occur within isolated populations. Corridors
may also help facilitate the re-establishment of populations that have been reduced
or eliminated due to random events (such as fires or disease). This may potentially
moderate some of the worst effects of habitat fragmentation, wherein urbanization
can split up habitat areas, causing animals to lose both their natural habitat and the
ability to move between regions to use all of the resources they need to survive.
Habitat fragmentation due to human development is an ever-increasing threat to
biodiversity, and habitat corridors are a possible mitigation.

Natural Corridors typically follow geographic features, like mountain ranges or

rivers. Most Large-scale Corridors incorporate Natural Corridors, and were once
large continuous blocks of habitat. Whereas, wildlife overpasses or underpasses are
key examples of human-created corridors. Other corridors through urban areas
such as greenways or riparian buffers may also constitute man-made corridors.

A biological corridor can be defined as a forest area that serves as a passage way
linking a protected area to another wildlife habitat or serve as an alternative habitat.
Biological connectivity is an area of suitable habitat, or habitat that is being
restored, linking or connecting two or more protected areas (or linking important
habitat that is not protected) to allow interchange of species, migration, gene
exchange, etc. They are designated forest areas that link two existing protected
forests or protected areas, that is a woodland area connecting two protected areas
and which is voluntarily managed for wildlife management. E.g. Barandabhar
Corridor Forest– Chitwan National Park.

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  The Western Terai Landscape Complex Project (WTLCP) supported by UNDP
and a range of donors, has been working since 2006 for the conservation of
the three biological corridors - Laljhadhi, Basanta and Khata situated in the
western terai (plains). The main challenges for these corridors are illegal
encroachment for settlement, agricultural extension and uncontrolled
 grazing.
 A biological corridor is an important part of a landscape connecting two or
more similar habitats. Such corridors play a very important role in the
conservation of biodiversity by facilitating natural migration of wildlife
 species among their prime habitat areas.
 Recognizing the conservation values of biological corridors, the Government
of Nepal has recently declared these three biological corridors as protected
 forest areas.
 These corridors inter-connect the Bardia National Park, the Shuklaphanta
Wildlife Reserve and the Chure forests of Nepal with Dudhawa National Park
 and the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary of India.
 As such the project is also facilitating transboundary cooperation for
conservation of wildlife, particularly the rhinoceros, tigers and elephants that
regularly move across the national borders.

16. Landscape ecology: A landscape is a mosaic of habitat patches across which
organism move, settle, reproduce and eventually die. In order words, landscapes are
the spatially heterogeneous geographic areas characterized by diverse interacting
patches or ecosystems. It is an area containing two or more ecosystems in close
proximity. Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (CHAL), Terai Arc Landscape (TAL),
Scared Himalayan Landscape (SHL) are few examples of landscape of Nepal.
Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between
ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems.

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17. Biodiversity hot spots: These are specific small areas within a landscape
exhibiting significantly higher levels of plant and animal diversity or unique
composition of plants and animals. Hot spots are heavily threatened area of great
ecological diversity producing shelter to large number of endangered species, many
of which are endemic. A region of hot spot of biological diversity is based on 2
factors: overall diversity of the region and significant of impact from human activity.
There are mainly two criteria: Each hotspot must contain at least 1500 species of
vascular plants as endemic and at least loss of 70 % of original habitat. The hot spots
are also known as environmental emergency room. There are 34 hot spots all over
the world covering 15.7 % of earth surface and are home to 75 % of the world’s
threatened species.

18. In-situ and Ex-situ conservation: Conservation is the management for the
benefit of all life including human-kind of the biosphere so that it may yield
sustainable benefit to the present generation while maintaining its potential to meet
the need and aspiration of future generations. There are two types of conservation:
i. Ex-situ conservation: Ex-situ conservation involves maintenance and breeding of
endangered plants and animal species under partially or wholly controlled
conditions in zoos, gardens, nurseries and laboratories. Today captive breeding and
maintenance of wild animals and plants have become a very important method of
conservation some of the characteristic and important life forms.

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ii. In-situ conservation: In-situ conservation involves conservation of species in its
natural habitat- in places where the species normally occurs (e.g. NP, WR). In-situ
conservation is a cheap and convenient way of conserving biological diversity but it
requires large areas of earth’s surface if we have to preserve the full complement of
biotic diversity of a region.

19. Ornithology/mammalogy: It is the branch of biology that deals with the

study of birds/mammals. It encompasses such diverse areas as the structure,
function, evolutionary history, ethology, taxonomy, management and
economics of birds/mammals.
Ornithology
a. It is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds - ecology, evolution,
distribution, behavior and others including bird watching and identification
b. Birds, of all animals, are numerous, diverse, and easily observed in the field
c. Much recent ornithological research emphases are in areas such as bird
populations (movement, decline, increase), genetics, taxonomy, effects of
environmental changes on birds, and the fossil record.
  The set of birds in any defined area is called the avifauna.
 The diversity of the avifauna is dependent primarily on - the climate
 and vegetation structure
  Tropical forests have the highest bird species diversity
 Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Subclass
Order
Family
Subfamily
(Tribe -ini)
Genus
 Species
Subspecies, races, etc.

So far, 876 species of birds have been recorded in Nepal, which are about 8% of the total
bird species found worldwide. A total of 35 globally threatened species, 19 near
threatened species and 15 restricted-range species are recorded in Nepal. Spiny Babbler
Turdoides nipalensis is the only endemic bird of Nepal known so far. Nine species of birds
are listed under the protected species by Government of Nepal.

As many as 130 breeding and wintering species (15% of Nepal's birds) are now
considered nationally threatened. Habitat loss is the major threat to 86% of the birds at
risk. Hunting, illegal trade and poisoning are other threats to birds in Nepal.

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 d. Birds can be categorized by their migratory or non-migratory status in an
area:
1. Residents: - birds that do not migrate. Generally, these birds do not
move very far during their lifetime.
2. Transients: - migrate through in the spring and/or fall but do not
nest in the area. Some are pure transients that merely pass through.
3. Winter visitors: - birds whose breeding range is somewhere north.
4. Summer visitors: - birds whose winter range is somewhere to the
south.
5. Perennial visitors: individuals of the species are always around.
6. Casual visitors and accidentals (occur unexpectedly)

Mammalogy
a. It is the scientific study of mammals (class Mammalia)
 a multidisciplinary field, encompassing specialists in anatomy,
paleontology(the science of the forms of life existing in former
geologic periods, as represented by their fossils), ecology, behaviour,
 and many other areas.
b. Mammalogy is a specialized field of biology that deals specifically with the
study and observation of mammals (include many different aspects of
mammalian life, including evolution, biological function, management, and
more).

…………………………….. The End……………………..................................

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