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Data on food and feeding activities are crucial for a deep understanding of monkey's behavioral responses and adjustment to a particular habitat. The study aimed to find the food plant species, preferred parts, and food composition from May 2022 to April 2023 in three altitudinal varied habitats- Ramdhuni, Dharan, and Dhankuta of eastern Nepal. One troop of Rhesus monkeys was selected in each habitat, and a total of 2754 hours was spent observing the feeding behavior. Data were collected using the focal animal sampling method. There was a decrease in the occupancy of tree food species with an increase in the height of the habitat by 60.63%>51.02%>42.62%. There was a variation in the availability of food items with the changes of season in Ramdhuni, and there was no significant difference between Dharan and Dhankuta. A significant relation of food composition according to season change was found. The monkey preferred mostly fruits in all habitats. The most selected plants by monkeys were also analyzed. The number of parts of the plant eaten and time spent were well correlated except for the herbs in Dhankuta. In most cases, the availability of food items and their occupancy in food composition were positively correlated. Our results suggest planting plants in forests and bare areas to reduce human-monkey conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The freshwater bodies of Nepal host a great deal of fish diversity; however, the molecular study of Nepalese fish is still in its early stages. Conservation management tactics require knowledge of the real species composition, often impeded by descriptions of intermittent species based on traditional taxonomy. Catfish, one of the most overfished taxa on the planet, are abundant and heavily exploited in the eastern region of Nepal. Hence, actual catfish diversity in this region needs to be examined using a combined morphological and molecular DNA barcoding approach. In this study, we sequenced the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in Nepalese fish species for the first time and used it for molecular identification. Altogether, 99 specimens representing 29 species belonging to 21 genera and 8 families were successfully barcoded. They were found to be 98.5–100% identical to the known sequences deposited in the GenBank and BOLD databases. Of these, two species, Amblyceps arunachalense and Erethistoides sicula, were recorded for the first time in Nepal. Out of 29 species, one species was found to be Endangered, one species under Vulnerable, two species under Near Threatened, one species under Data Deficient, and 24 species under Least Concern. The intraspecific genetic distances within species ranged from 0 to 5%. The highest intraspecific genetic distances (Kimura 2‐parameter) were found among the individuals of two species, namely, E. sicula (4%) and Glyptothorax telchitta (5%), indicating the presence of putative (sub)species. The interspecific genetic distances among the catfishes in eastern Nepal ranged between 8.47% (between Glyptothorax trilineatus and G. cavia) and 26.38% (between Amblyceps arunachalense and Chaca chaca). The GC content at the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions of the codons was found to be 42.4%, 49.3%, and 43.8%, respectively. These findings will support future initiatives for fish resource inventory, monitoring, and management. It is also an important input to the DNA barcode library of catfish in the eastern region of Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nepal holds a high ichthyofaunal diversity, nevertheless, the molecular study of Nepalese fish is still in its early stages. The first record of a cyprinid fish species the Garra kempi Hora, 1921 for Nepal was reported from eastern Nepal's Lohandra River. Both morphology and molecular data affirmed the existence of G. kempi in Nepal's aquatic system. This species was previously reported from China (Tibet) and northern India. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis and pairwise genetic distance based on Kimura 2 parameters using cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) segment sequences (665 bp) also confirmed the identity of the species as G. kempi. The COI sequences of specimens from Nepal formed a monophyletic clade with the sequence of G. kempi from northeastern India and the two contained a pairwise genetic distance of 1.8% only. The new record of G. kempi from Nepal warrants a detailed ichthyofaunal survey for documenting the fish diversity in Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nepal holds a high ichthyofaunal diversity, nevertheless, the molecular study of Nepalese fish is still in its early stages. The first record of a cyprinid fish species the Garra kempi Hora, 1921 for Nepal was reported from eastern Nepal's Lohandra River. Both morphology and molecular data affirmed the existence of G. kempi in Nepal's aquatic system. This species was previously reported from China (Tibet) and northern India. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis and pairwise genetic distance based on Kimura 2 parameters using cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) segment sequences (665 bp) also confirmed the identity of the species as G. kempi. The COI sequences of specimens from Nepal formed a monophyletic clade with the sequence of G. kempi from northeastern India and the two contained a pairwise genetic distance of 1.8% only. The new record of G. kempi from Nepal warrants a detailed ichthyofaunal survey for documenting the fish diversity in Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activity budgets of Rhesus monkey vary depending on altitude, topography, climate, food resource, vegetation and other factors. This study was done to compare the activity budget of Rhesus monkey along the altitudinal gradient of Eastern Nepal from 93 to 1250 meter for one year (May 2022 to April 2023). We followed scan sampling method to record the behavioural activities. We found no relation between the altitude of habitat and composition of population of monkey (df= 8, χ²= 0.318, p<0.05). Foraging and moving were found increased with altitude but grooming decreased. The time spent by monkey for different activities was strongly related to changing seasons in habitats of different elevations. There was strong relation of activities with the elevation of habitat on the annual analysis (df = 14, F = 140.73, p value= 9.57E-09). The time budgeting was strongly related with the part of diurnal time (Plain (r =0.33), Churia (r = 0.75) and Mahabharat (r= 0.95)). The places for foraging, moving, grooming, inactive and fighting were varied in different elevations. Our study gives crucial information for the sustainable management of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted with main purpose to state the existing situation of habitat Wild Water Buffalo in the regards of land use and vegetation and to explore the allocation of diurnal time in different activities in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal. The Wild Water Buffalo categorized as endangered species on the IUCN Red list, restricted to south and Southeast Asia. For the estimation of land utilization freely available satellite imagery Landsat-5 TM (2011), Landsat-8 OLI-TIRS (2015) and Landsat-8 OLI-TIRS (2021) were used. Some circular plots were designed for vegetation studies. The behaviour was observed by focal animal sampling method. Most of the land was covered by agriculture (62.37%), followed by grassland (20.57%) and by water (4.79%) in buffer zone. In core zone mostly area covered by grassland (56.62%) then by sand (18.35%) and by water (10.97%). A total of 15 species of trees, 17 species of shrubs and 61 species of grasses and herbaceous plants were found in its preferred habitat. Common plant known to be eaten by Wild Water Buffalo were found as 3 species of tree, 4 species of shrub and 25 species of grasses. It was remarked that the time spent for grazing was 42%, followed by resting (30%), wallowing (11%), moving (9%) and for other activities (8%). It can be recommended to expand the area of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve for the sustainable conservation of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cavitation is a common flow phenomena in most hydraulic turbines and has the potential to cause vibration, blade surface damage and performance loss. Despite the fact that crossflow turbines have been used in small-scale hydropower systems for a long time, cavitation has not been studied in these turbines. In this paper, we present the findings of a computational study on cavitation inception in crossflow turbines. Cavitation inception was assessed using three-dimensional (3D) Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) computations. A homogeneous, free-surface two-phase flow model was used. Pressure distributions on the blades were examined for different flow rates, heads and impeller speeds to assess cavitation inception. The results showed that cavitation occurs in the second stage of the turbine and was observed on the suction side near the inner edge of the blades. For the particular turbine studied, cavitation always occurred at shaft speeds greater than that, giving the maximum efficiency for each combination of flow rate and head. The implication is that the useful operating range of crossflow turbines is up to and including the maximum efficiency point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]