Basundhara Chettri

Sikkim University · Department of Zoology

Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot lies in the transition zone between the Palearctic and Indo- Malayan zoogeographical realms and hence reflects life forms of the both. Geological, climatological, and biological changes coupled with complex topography and varying climates result in a biodiversity hotspot with exceptional diversity and endemism in the H...

Sexual dimorphism is widespread among lizards and may cause variation in morphology or color between sexes. These variations are determined by ecological, environmental, and genetic factors. In this study, we examined sexual dimorphism in Sikkim Grass Lizards (Takydromus sikkimensis) of Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalaya, India. We investigated whether dif...

India leads the world in the annual number of snakebite deaths, with the latest available figures indicating about 58,000 deaths per year. A few groups, largely Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and registered not for profit societies, conduct snakebite education and awareness programs to risk groups across India. Limited snakebite training and...

Background Snakebite envenoming is listed as category ‘A’ Neglected Tropical Disease. To achieve the target of WHO (World Health Organization) 2019, it becomes necessary to understand various attributes associated with snakebite including community awareness, improvisation of medical facilities and to map the potential distribution of venomous snak...

Amphibians face a critical decline globally, surpassing the rates observed in birds or mammals, presenting a significant challenge to biodiversity conservation. Traditional extraction practices persist in regions like Sikkim, further stressing local populations. Urgent action is required to address these threats comprehensively, incorporating susta...

Distribution of biodiversity along the elevation gradient has been a subject of curiosity and a much argued topic in macroecology. Despite considerable attention, there is a lack of consensus on the pattern and the causal factors across regions and taxa. We studied amphibian distribution along the elevational gradient in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, p...

Conversion of natural habitat into agricultural landscape has been identified as one of the major drivers of habitat loss. Human-modified ecosystems, such as agricultural land, have gained significant attention in terms of the conservation of their native biodiversity. We studied the effectiveness of organic agroecosystems in conserving odonate div...

A new species of the genus Protobothrops Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1983, was described from Jilong County, southern Tibet, China, and Chungthang, northern Sikkim, India. It differs from congeners by the following characters: 1) relatively large body size (total length up to 1510 mm); 2) dorsal scale rows 25–25–19; 3) except for the smooth outermost row,...

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges faced by the current world. With the current rate of green house gas emission the global temperature is likely to increase by 1.5 to 4.5°C by 2100. Such increase in temperature has affected climate pattern causing cascading effect on biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem. Warming rate, and a...

Species accumulation curves of birds. Curves based on number of point counts in different elevational transects in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya. Numbers in the figures indicate elevation (m) of the sampling site. (TIF)

Elevational variation of rarefied bird species richness. Species richness observed when rarefied to 15 individuals from six point counts from each site along elevational transects in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya. (TIF)

Elevational variation of rarefied bird species richness. Species richness observed when rarefied to 72 point counts along elevational transects in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya. (TIF)

Understanding diversity patterns and the mechanisms underlying those patterns along elevational gradients is critically important for conservation efforts in montane ecosystems, especially those that are biodiversity hotspots. Despite recent advances, consensus on the underlying causes, or even the relative influence of a suite of factors on elevat...

We examined the patterns of tree species richness, density and basal area in the Eastern Himalayan elevation gradient, and evaluated the roles of geometric constraints and environmental factors for the observed pattern. We followed the quadrat sampling method for this study at 23 different locations along a 300–4700 m elevation gradient in Sikkim....

Here we describe the bird community of Shingba Rhododendron sanctuary, a high altitude protected area (> 3200 m) and an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Sikkim in the Eastern Himalaya, India. Altogether 332 points were sampled using a point count method. A total of 2545 birds belonging to 100 species and 22 families were recorded, including three new r...

Reptile surveys were conducted in the Araku Valley, Visakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh during 3-10 December 2006 and 16-19 February 2007. Sixteen species of reptiles (10 lizards and 6 snakes) were observed. Distribution data for three little known species of reptiles, Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus, Calodactylodes aureus and Uropeltis ellioti...

We examined the spatial distribution pattern of reptiles in an eastern Himalayan elevation gradient. The factors governing the distribution have been assessed with emphasis on the mid-domain effect. We surveyed reptiles along the elevation gradient (300–4800 m) of the Teesta valley in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India using time constrained visual en...

Takydromus sikkimensis was named in 1888 by A. Günther on the basis of an 1872 description of grass lizards from Sikkim by F. Stoliczka. Subsequent workers have not considered this species valid and have even doubted the occurrence of Takydromus in Sikkim. We confirm the occurrence of grass lizards in the lower Teesta valley of Sikkim. These are co...

Dinodon gammiei, originally described from Darjeeling Hills, West Bengal has been confirmed from Sikkim for the first time. Details of colouration and pholidosis of the species are provided.

Aspects of life history and morphometry of Günther’s oriental slender snake Trachischium guentheri (Boulenger, 1890) was studied along the Lachen and Lachung valleys of North Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India during 2003 – 2005. A total of 360 snakes were observed in 1026 man-hours of time constrained visual encounter surveys. Females were significan...

The non-professional volunteers are commonly used in biodiversity assessment due to lack of experts. The bird identification skills of indigenous Lepcha community have been recognized and the accuracy of data generated by them has been assesed. Bird sampling was done using point count method along the transects in three locations in Dzongu, North S...