@article {158517, title = {The dynamics of cave roost use by bats in the central Himalayas of Nepal: implications for conservation}, year = {2025}, abstract = {

The seasonal use of caves by bats can be attributed to physiologically demanding activities like mating and reproduction in spring and torpor in winter. Cave use, however, varies within and across species and can depend on the physical and microclimatic conditions of the caves. Understanding the current patterns and predictors of cave use is therefore crucial to develop a reference for assessing the response of bats to future changes in climatic conditions. We quantified the diversity and abundance of bats in 41 caves that varied in structure and temperature across a seasonal (mid-winter, late-winter and early-spring) and an elevational (400{\textendash}2700 m above sea level) gradient in the central Himalayas. Richness and abundance of bat species exhibited seasonal variation, with more species and individuals present in caves during early-spring (n = 15) compared to mid-winter (n = 9). Species richness declined linearly with elevation in mid-winter but remained relatively similar until 900 msl and then declined in late-winter and early-spring. Species such as\ Hipposideros armiger\ (20.14 {\textpm} 1.60{\textdegree}C in spring and 17.97 {\textpm} 0.88{\textdegree}C in mid-winter),\ Rhinolophus affinis\ (19.98 {\textpm} 1.76{\textdegree}C in spring and 16.18 {\textpm} 3.09{\textdegree}C in mid-winter) and\ Rhinolophus cf. pusillus\ (19.55 {\textpm} 1.64{\textdegree}C in spring and 15.43 {\textpm} 2.87{\textdegree}C in mid-winter) preferred warmer microclimates within caves during early-spring compared to mid-winter. The season- and species-specific cave use that we report here suggests that even minor fluctuations in cave temperatures could potentially alter the composition of bat communities inside caves. Prioritization assessment based on a bat cave vulnerability index indicates that different caves must be protected based on their specific usage patterns and the abundance of species they support at various times. Overall, we highlight the importance of studying cave-dwelling bats in climate-vulnerable areas such as the Himalayas where species richness is high to help understand and predict the responses of animals to climate change.

}, keywords = {Chiroptera, Climate Change, community structure, elevation, roost use, Seasons}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.70018}, url = {https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.70018?af=R}, author = {S. Baniya and K. Neupane, M and Thaker, V. R and Goswami and V. Ramachandran} } @article {159713, title = {Effects of sampling methodology on phenology indices: Insights from sites across India and modelling.}, journal = {J Biosci}, volume = {50}, year = {2025}, month = {2025}, abstract = {

Plant phenology is the study of the timing and extent of leaf, flower, and fruit production. Phenology data are used to study the drivers of cyclicity and seasonality of plant life-history stages, interactions with organisms such as pollinators, and effects of global change factors. Indices such as the timing of phenological events, and the proportion of individuals in a particular phenophase, seasonality, and synchrony have often been used to summarise plant phenology data. However, these indices have specific utilities and limitations and may be sensitive to sampling methodology, making cross-site comparisons challenging, particularly when data collection methods vary in terms of sample size, observation frequency, and the resolution at which phenophase intensity scores/values are recorded. We used fruiting phenology data from tropical trees across five sites in India to study the effects of sampling methodology on two indices: population-level synchrony (overlap) and seasonality. We supplemented these results with simulations of fast- and slow-changing phenologies to test for the effects of sampling methodology on these indices. We found that the overlap index is sensitive to the resolution of phenophase intensity measurement, with coarser intensity measures leading to overestimation of the overlap index. The seasonality index, on the other hand, was not affected by intensity resolution. Simulations indicated that finer intensity resolution is more important than frequency of observation to accurately estimate population synchrony and seasonality for fast- and slow-changing phenophases. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for future study designs of tropical tree phenology research, particularly for long-term or cross-site studies.

}, keywords = {Flowers, Fruit, India, Plant Leaves, Pollination, Seasons, Trees}, issn = {0973-7138}, author = {Tiruvaimozhi, Yadugiri V and Teegalapalli, Karthik and Reddy, Abinand and Murali, Akhil and Datta, Aparajita and Krishnan, Aparna and Ratnam, Jayashree and Sankaran, Mahesh and Ongole, Shasank and Kasinathan, Srinivasan and Raman, T R Shankar and Ramaswami, Geetha} } @article {133177, title = {Winter foraging ecology of stump-tailed macaques in the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam, India.}, journal = {J Biosci}, volume = {48}, year = {2023}, month = {2023}, abstract = {

Frugivorous primates in temperate and subtropical regions often experience a shortage or complete absence of fruits for several months of the year. We studied the foraging ecology of a group of stump-tailed macaques in a subtropical forest during winter, when fruit abundance was low. We conducted this study in the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam, India, from December 2015 to April 2016. We estimated the time-activity budgets, diet, and habitat use of the study troop and also conducted vegetation sampling and phenological monitoring of the study area. The stump-tailed macaque troop spent about 73.2\% of its time foraging and feeding, with seasonal differences in food species intake and in habitat use. Open degraded forests were primarily used in December, January, and February, when the macaques largely fed on shoots of the bamboo and roots of the herb , while they mostly utilised in canopy-covered, degraded forests in March and April. There was a major shift from a primary diet of fruits in the wet season, reported from earlier studies, to possibly relatively poorquality, but abundant, shoots and roots in winter. This suggests that the consumption of these poor-quality fallback food species is a key dietary adaptation of the macaques to periods of fruit scarcity. Although our preliminary study suggests that the feeding behaviour of the stump-tailed macaque in its subtropical semievergreen forest habitat appears to be similar to that of its congeneric species in temperate forests, further investigations are needed to firmly establish the observed foraging patterns of this vulnerable cercopithecine species in its last lowland rainforest refuge in northeastern India.

}, keywords = {Animals, Hylobates, India, Macaca, Macaca arctoides, Seasons}, issn = {0973-7138}, author = {Stotrabhashyam, Swetha and Sharma, Narayan and Kumar, Ajith and Sinha, Anindya} }