This study explores the seasonal availability of bee flora at Coronation Garden, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, during 2015-2016. A field survey documented flowering plant species visited by bees, confirming their role as bee flora through visual observations. Identified species were categorized into major, medium, and minor groups based on the nectar and pollen they provided. A total of 197 plant species were identified as bee flora, including horticultural, ornamental, wild, and agricultural species. The spring season of 2016 exhibited the highest abundance of blooming plants, making it the most favourable period for bees. The study emphasizes the importance of seasonal variation in bee flora availability, providing valuable insights for beekeeping practices.

This investigation was carried out in Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Khumaltar area, Lalitpur, Nepal to document the seasonal bee flora and diversity patterns. Bees get enough choices to forage in an agro-ecosystem study area. Flowering plants visited by honeybees were observed and documented as per their preferences of foraging, distance away from the bee-hive and seasons. Each plant enlisted as bee-flora if a honeybee visited any flower and rested at least for a while. A total of 168 vascular plant species documented as bee flora in this study. These flora were classified according to season, distance away from the bee-hive, family, genera, species. Simpson and Shannon diversity indices were found higher (0.004 and 3.45) for summer16. Asteraceae family was found to be the most preferred species. Distance of each bee flora was not found significant but season and herbaceous flower were found highly significant contribution. Maximum abundance of Solanum virginianum L. appeared towards the positive end of non-metric multidimensional scaling axis (NMDS2) which was closer to summer16. It signified closer affinity to the beehive and high preferences during summer15. Likewise, the maximum abundance of Vitis vinifera L. towards summer16 and higher positive end of NMDS1 signified favoring more wet loving early blooming species. Relatively higher abundance of species such as Parthenium hysterophorus L., Solanum tuberosum L., Zinnia elegans Jacq., and Solanum melongena L. in the middle of the NMDS axis and spring 16 signified moderate moist loving species. Pattern of bee flora selection, contribution in term of nectar and pollen grain coincided to moisture gradient. This study supports bee farmers for better selection of wild as well as cultivated bee flora for better preference by bees.

This study examined the status of fish resources in the Pathariya River, from September 2017 to August 2018 covering four seasons- Autumn (September, October, and November), Winter (December, January, and February), Spring (March, April, and May) and summer (June, July, and August). We used a cast net of 1.5 cm to 2.5 cm and a Gill net having 2-3 cm mesh size, 30-35 feet long and 3-4 feet width, with the help of a local fisherman. A total of 407 individuals belonging to 4 orders, 8 families, 16 genera, and 25 species were collected from Malbhanga, Thakurwdara, Sonalipur, and Dhunganatol of Pathariya River. The majority of the fishes belonged to the family Cyprinidae (53.56%) followed by Bagridae (17.44%), Mastacembelidae (11.31%), Channidae (8.11%), Cobitidae (5.65%), Claridae (1.72%), Nandidae (1.47%), and Siluridae (0.74%). The most abundant species were Puntius ticto, Puntius sophore, and Mystus tengra. The one-way analysis of variance on Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) confirmed that dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide, and total hardness were the influencing factors (P<0.05) in shaping the fish community structure. The difference in fish assemblage structure and diversity in the Pathariya river are probably related to habitat type, altitude, season, several environmental factors, and anthropogenic activities.

This study aims to assess the trend, extent, and impact of Human-Elephant conflict (HEC) in Sapahi and Kakadi villages of Bara district. Direct field observation, Household Survey (HHs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and Key Informant Interview (KII) were carried out during November and December 2016 where 11 wards were selected purposively from two village and 50 households from each village. Also, 12 KII and one FGDs from each ward were performed. SPSS 20.0, and MS Excel 2016 were used to calculate mean, percentage, frequency count, and chi-square test was used to determine the variation in people’s perception towards wild Elephant conservation. The total average damage of paddy per year per HHs was 834.1 kg followed by wheat 153.7 kg, and mustard 2.12 kg. The economic value of average annual crop damage per year per HHs accounted for NRs. 22669.70. Among total HHs, 84% of the respondents said that the trend of crop damage is increasing, 10% found no differences in crop damage, and remaining 6% said decreasing. During the last 5 years, 7 people were injured, and 6 were killed. The lighting fire, beating drum, and making noise were the local techniques used by all the respondents to chase away elephant for the mitigation of HEC. The farmers also guard their fields at night time. 60% of the respondents are positive towards elephant conservation and remaining 40% seems no significance for conservation. The compensation scheme for crop damage should be properly implemented in the study area to minimize the HEC. A sustained conservation education program especially focusing on female, farmers, and nomads are recommended to conserve wild elephants, and their habitat.

The present research was conducted for quantitative study and diversity analyses of aquatic macrophytes dwelling littoral zone of Jagadishpur reservoir, Kapilvastu district in three seasons, as winter (December), summer (April), and rainy (August). Altogether 58 species of macrophytes were recorded in study site, of which highest number of species (54) was occupied by angiosperms followed by three species of pteridophytes and one species of alga. These macrophytes varied in different morphological groups, viz., emergent, submerged, and rooted-floating leaf type. Maximum number of species were represented by emergents (39) followed by rooted-floating leaf type (12) and submerged (7) macrophytes. There was distinct seasonal variation in the distribution of macrophytes: based on importance value index, Nelumbo nucifera (IVI = 22.87), Scripus sp. (IVI = 28.01), Ipomoea carnea (IVI = 24.67) and Typha angustifolia (IVI = 29.01) were dominant in the winter; Nelumbo nucifera (IVI = 20.05), Cynodon dactylon (IVI = 20.07) and Ipomoea carnea (IVI = 21.17) were dominant in the summer and Nelumbo nucifera (IVI = 23.8) and Scripus sp. (IVI =25.56) were dominant in the rainy season. The highest species diversity (H’) of macrophytes was observed during summer (3.451), followed by rainy season (3.135) and winter (3.008). The luxuriant growth of aquatic macrophytes evidenced the highly productive nature of the lake, while the dominance of emergents among the growth forms indicates the encroachment of littoral vegetation, indicating a successional trend toward marsh meadow.

The present work attempt to present a novel approach about the food and feeding habits of Puntius sophore collected from Singhiya River, Biratnagar. For the study 120 specimens were collected on the monthly basis from March to August 2019, direct from the river with the help of local fisherman. On the basis of percentage of occurrence of gut content analysis the most preferred food item was Green algae (40.6%) followed by diatoms (16.10%), crustaceans (13.50%), protozoan (9.20%), detritus and debris (8.40%), insect larva (7.70%) and rotifers (4.50%). Relative gut length was the lowest at size 4.4-5.1 cm SL and the highest value at size 9.3-10 cm SL. Gastro somatic index was highest peak at the size of 4.4-5.1 cm SL, which indicate the voracious nature of fish at smaller size. The standard length and body weight show a positively significant with alimentary canal length (r=0.878) and alimentary canal weight (r=0.86.4), respectively. The food and feeding behavior of this fish showed that it is omnivores in nature.

Herpetofauna is the least studied subject in the Nepal Himalaya. Most of the studies in wildlife are focused on mammals and birds. This paper presents the results of the herpetofauna survey in Manaslu Conservation Area in the Central Nepal, conducted with the aim of establishing the baseline on herpetofauna species diversity. The study recorded 16 species of herpetofauna, indicating a highly potential abundance of herpetofauna in the region. The study is first of its kind in establishing the baseline. The information, thus, obtained can be useful for implementing a biodiversity monitoring activities, and current and future conservation efforts. The study also underlines a need of an extensive study of herpetofauna in this region. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This study was designed to identify level of awareness/knowledge of rice farmers in South-eastern Nigeria about climate-change; identify adverse effects of climate-variability and change on rice production and determine adaptation strategies used by small holder rice farmers within study area. Multistage purposive and stratified sampling technique was used for the sample selection. Information from 360 respondents was got using Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and actual survey with questionnaires. Results showed that the rice farmers were aware of weather changes with grave effects on their rice farms. They reported changes in rainfall regime, intense sunshine, high temperature etc. Of special interest among the adaptation strategies by farmers are the use of inorganic fertilizers, improved rice varieties, cultivation of early maturing varieties, and proper preservation of rice seeds. This study recommends urgent measures to improve resilience of smallholder farmers in rural communities to enable them better adapt to climate-change. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This study was carried out to describe of osteological structure of the newly described crested loach, Paracobitis hircanica Mousavi-Sabet et al., 2015. For this purpose, ten specimens were collected from the Zaringol River, in the southeastern Caspian Sea basin. After clearing and staining, osteologicl characteristics were examined. The obtained results showed that the P. hircanica is osteologicaly characterized by plate-like protrusion in epibranchial-4, no sesamoid ossifications, five hypurals, free and long epural, no connection between retroarcticulare and dental, loss of preethmoideum-I and basibranciale-4, alveolar bony capsule and presence of the manubrium.Our Nature (2015), 13(1): 8-18

The present work embodies studies on the reproductive capacity of captive stock of asala Schizothorax richardsonii collected from Nallu River of Lalitpur district. Gonadosomatic index (GSI) estimates ranged from 3.08±0.9% in May to 26.55±1.8% in November. Positive correlation (r=0.667) was found between egg size and GSI. The egg size (2.7 to 2.9 mm) in October and November was significantly (P<0.01) larger than the eggs measured in other months. Based on peak GSI level, S. richardsonii spawned by manual stripping in two breeding season i.e. winter (October-November) and summer (Mach-April) in Godawari (1500 masl). Mean incubation period of fertilized eggs was 259 h and 248 h during winter and summer season at 14.2 to17.5 oC and 14.5 to15.5 oC water temperature, respectively. Percent hatching rates of eggs ranged between 38 to 90% and were not significantly different (P>0.05) between breeding seasons. Overripe eggs obtained during winter season breeding (16.5%) were significantly higher (P<0.01) than the summer season breeding (3.6%). This suggests that more frequent observation of the spawner is necessary during winter season for recognizing their appropriateness to ovulation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/on.v12i1.12253Our Nature (2014), 12(1): 19-27