Laxman Khanal

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Verified

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• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Tribhuvan University

The burden of climate-sensitive, mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue, has significantly increased in recent years. Understanding the temporal and spatial variations of these diseases is essential for effectively controlling potential outbreaks. In this study, we utilized Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite land sur...

Anthropogenic climate change affects biological diversity by altering their suitable habitat ranges. The Himalayan region is one of the world's most sensitive biodiversity hotspots to global climate change. The Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (CHAL) in the central Himalayas serves as a vital north–south linkage among the protected areas in central Nepa...

This checklist of earthworms in Nepal was compiled from existing literature and documents 24 species across five families: Moniligastridae, Acanthodrilidae, Almidae, Lumbricidae, and Megascolecidae, found in various regions of the country. The family with the highest diversity is Megascolecidae, which includes nine species, followed by Lumbricidae...

Altogether 99 specimens catfishes collected from the Eastern Region of Nepal (ERN), representing 29 species belonging to 21 genera and eight families were successfully barcoded employing mitochondrial COI gene sequence analysis showing 98.5-100% identity with both GeneBank and BOLD databases. Of these, two species i.e. Amblyceps, arunachalense and...

Globally, urban expansion has led to habitat fragmentation and altered resource availability, thus posing significant challenges for wildlife. The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a critically endangered species experiencing population decline due to illegal trade and habitat degradation. This study analyzed variables affecting habitat occu...

The fragmented forests of the Kenya highlands, known for their exceptional species richness and endemism, are among the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. However, detailed studies on the fauna of these ecosystems—especially specialist species that depend on moist forests, which are particularly threatened by habitat fragmentation—are st...

The burden of climate-sensitive, mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue, has significantly increased in recent years. Understanding the temporal and spatial variations of these diseases is essential for effectively controlling potential outbreaks. In this study, we utilized Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite land sur...

Simple Summary The taxonomy of the sinica group of macaques has been unresolved due to inconsistencies between their physical traits and genetic relationships. To clarify this taxonomic issue, we analyzed DNA from previously unsampled populations of the macaques in the Himalayas. Our results revealed that the sinica group consists of seven distinct...

The Himalayan langur (Semnopithecus species complex) has largely been overlooked by research and conservation in Pakistan. Due to a lack of information, as well as taxonomic disagreement, our knowledge of the Himalayan langur population in Pakistan and its taxonomic standing remains elusive. Previously, the langur population in Pakistan was assigne...

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 ta...

The Indian flying fox, Pteropus medius is a fruit bat that contributes significantly to seed dispersal and pollination services. These bats face serious threats from the loss of roosting trees due to urbanization and deforestation. This study aimed to assess the roost characteristics of Indian flying foxes and the effects of anthropogenic noise on...

The Panchthar–Ilam–Taplejung Corridor in Eastern Nepal, managed through community forestry, is a crucial habitat for the Himalayan red panda, an endangered carnivore threatened by forest degradation and illegal trade. We deployed the altitude line intercept and ten-tree plotless methods to evaluate the distribution of Himalayan red pandas and the e...

The Assamese macaque (Macaca assamensis) population in Nepal is one of the least studied mammals. It is legally protected by the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973; however, its population status, distribution and conservation threats are ill-documented. The species is thought to have a disjunct distribution having limited informatio...

Nepal holds a high ichthyofaunal diversity, nevertheless, the molecular study of Nepalese fsh is stll in its early stages. The frst record of a cyprinid fsh species the Garra kempi Hora, 1921 for Nepal was reported from eastern Nepal’s Lohandra River. Both morphology and molecular data afrmed the existence of G. kempi in Nepal’s aquatc system. Th...

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 syste...

The non-native vermiculated sailfin catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991) is recorded for the first time in eastern Nepal's aquatic systems. Native to South America, the first reports of P. disjunctivus in Asia were recorded in India, with subsequent reports from Bangladesh, Hongkong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietn...

Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) and rhesus macaques (M. mulatta) are sympatrically distributed in Nepal but differ in many traits. Data on 11 groups of Assamese macaques and 13 groups of rhesus macaques in northwestern Kathmandu show that Assamese macaques inhabited only protected forests in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, whereas rhesus ma...

The Stinging catfish (Heteropnuestes nani) was described in 2013 from the Noakhali of Bangladesh through detailed morphological characterization. They differ significantly from their congeners based on small size, completely separated pectoral spine from rays bearing 9–10 serrae along the inner edge and united anal-caudal fin. In Nepal, only one sp...

Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is one of the Critically Endangered mammals experiencing a rapid decline in population and loss of habitat. Hunting and illegal trade and habitat loss due to overgrazing, forest fire and developmental activities lead to the decline in the population of Chinese pangolin (CP) as it requires specialized habitat fo...

Himalayan shrews of the genus Soriculus (Soricidae, Eulipotyphla), currently represented by four nominal species, are endemic to the Himalayas and the Gaoligong Mountains. In April 2022 and April 2023, a total of 10 specimens of Soriculus were collected from Beibeng and Damu, Medog County, Tibet, China. The morphology of the specimens was compared...

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are gregarious, social primates whose infants depend on maternal support for survival. This study aimed to compare mother–infant interactions between free-ranging rhesus macaques (Swayambhunath Temple) and those in a captive setting (Central Zoo, Lalitpur) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Interactions such as duration of proxim...

The Ramaroshan Lake Complex (RLC) in Sudurpaschim Province, Nepal, is a Himalayan lake cluster that holds significant ecological, economic, religious, and esthetic importance. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive characterization of the hydrochemical properties of water within the RLC and assess its suitability for irrigation purposes. A tot...

The non-native vermiculated sailfin catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991) is recorded for the first time in eastern Nepal's aquatic systems. Native to South America, the first reports of P. disjunctivus in Asia were recorded in India, with subsequent reports from Bangladesh, Hongkong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietn...

The non-native vermiculated sailfin catfish Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (Weber, 1991) is recorded for the first time in eastern Nepal's aquatic systems. Native to South America, the first reports of P. disjunctivus in Asia were recorded in India, with subsequent reports from Bangladesh, Hongkong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietn...

Rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta) are distributed across Nepal in close association with humans and with a high probability of sharing of soil-transmitted intestinal helminth parasites. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence, richness and risk factors of gastrointestinal (GI) helminth parasites among rhesus macaques and humans in th...

Asian shrew moles, genus Uropsilus , are the most primitive members of family Talpidae. They are distributed mainly in southwestern China and adjacent Bhutan, Myanmar, and Vietnam. In June 2022, we collected five specimens of Uropsilus from Mount Huanggang, Jiangxi Province, eastern China, which is the highest peak of the Wuyi Mountains. We sequenc...

Jalthal Forest (. km ) is a remnant forest patch of a once continuous, lush and dense area of sal Shorea robusta and mixed deciduous vegetation in eastern lowland Nepal that is now surrounded by a dense human population. The forest is one of the last remnants of suitable habitat for the Critically Endangered yellow-headed tortoise Indotestudo e...

Simple Summary The snow leopard is an apex predator, residing in mountain ecosystems in Asia. This study was conducted in the Lapchi Valley of the Nepal Himalayas between November 2021 and March 2023 to investigate the seasonal variations in its prey availability and selectivity. Through camera traps and scat analysis, we identified the blue sheep,...

The genus Soriculus is currently recognized as monotypic, containing only one species, Soriculus nigrescens, which is distributed mainly in the Himalayas and the southern Hengduan Mountains. The taxonomy of Soriculus is ambiguous due to insufficient taxonomic sampling. We conducted extensive surveys of Soriculus across the Himalayas and Hengduan Mo...

Anthropogenic climate change can have a negative impact on the distribution of habitat specialist species with narrow distributional ranges. Among the many areas around the world affected by climate change, the Himalayan region in particular is experiencing marked effects of global warming on its climatic patterns and life forms. This study assesse...

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, Mammalia: Primates: Haplorhini: Cercopithecidae) show a great deal of adaptability in different types of habitats. Understanding how these animals allocate their time with regard to their daily activities and ranging behavior is helpful to the design of effective conservation plans by allowing us to better understan...

The Bower's Berylmys (Berylmys bowersi) is one of the largest rodent species with a wide distribution range in southern China and the Indochinese Peninsula. The taxonomy and evolutionary history of the B. bowersi is still controversial and confusing. In this study, we used two mitochondrial (Cyt b and COI) and three nuclear (GHR, IRBP, and RAG1) ge...

The Himalayan ecosystems, which are among the least studied mountain ecosystems, face threats and habitat degradation due to unplanned development, natural calamities, and overgrazing. Ungulates like Himalayan tahrs (Hemitragus jemlahicus), play a crucial role in mountain ecology as it forms the major prey base of the top predators of mountain ecos...

Motor stereotypic behaviors (MSBs) are a kind of repetitive behaviors performed by stressed animals and are more common in captivity. This study aimed to assess whether the MSB in captive rhesus monkeys varies between males and females, and with the extent of visitor-monkey interactions. A group of six rhesus monkeys (two adult males and four adult...

Hydrochemical assessment of the freshwater lakes provides important insights into the sources of dissolved ions, geochemical processes, and anthropogenic activities taking place in the environment. This study focuses on the assessment of hydrochemistry and water quality of Kupinde Lake, Karnali Province, Nepal. Surface water samples were collected...

Overexpression of abnormal behavior among captive primates indicates poor management practices. The type, frequency, and contributing factors of abnormal behaviors vary highly across individual animals in captive settings. This study explored if sex, rearing history, the number of visitors, and type of visitor-monkey interactions affected the behav...

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important re-emerging neglected tropical disease associated with poverty. Despite the elimination initiative started in 2005, VL cases have been expanding into geographic areas in Nepal. The present study aims at exploring the trends of VL from 1980 to 2019. Methods: This retrospective analysis cover...

Sunar CB, Pandey N, Chand B, Upadhyaya LP, Thapa B, Pant RR, Khanal L. 2022. Effect of water physicochemistry on amphibian abundance in Sub-tropical Kupinde Lake of the Nepal Himalaya. Intl J Bonorowo Wetlands 12: 92-99. Amphibians are the key bioindicators of ecosystem health. Their diversity and abundance are affected by the physicochemical facto...

Blue bulls (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in Nepal are found near human settlements, crop fields and forest patches of lowland Terai and their management is becoming challenging due to conflicts with locals. This study explored habitat use and diurnal activity pattern of blue bulls at the Lumbini Heritage Site (LHS), one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sit...

Simple Summary Wetlands of mid-hills and lesser Himalaya in Nepal are highly threatened due to climate change and human encroachment. This study assessed the change in total surface coverage of water bodies in the Ramaroshan Wetland Complex of western Nepal over the last three decades and explored the diversity and environmental determinants of the...

Animals inhabiting colder climates have a larger body size (Bergmann’s rule) and smaller body extremities (Allen’s rule), which help homeothermic animals to retain heat. Such ecogeographical phenomena have frequently been observed in animals along the latitudinal gradient and have occasionally been tested along the elevational gradient. This study...

Staphylococcus aureus is a widespread and common opportunistic bacterium that can colonise or infect humans as well as a wide range of animals. There are a few studies of both methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolated from monkeys, apes, and lemurs, indicating a presence of a number of poorly or un...

Nepal has been strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling to contain it with multiple interventions. We assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of COVID-19 in the context of various restrictions imposed to contain the disease transmission by employing prospective spatiotemporal analysis with SaTScan statistics. We explored active and...

Commercial ostrich farming for trading meat and feathers is relatively new in Nepal. This study investigated hatching success and chick mortality rates in the only commercial ostrich farm in Nepal- Ostrich Nepal Pvt. Ltd, Rupandehi, Lumbini Province, Nepal. The number of eggs laid, hatched and their mortality were observed from 2014 to 2020. Result...

Pigeons have long been a common nuisance at numerous cultural sites in the Kathmandu Valley. Besides the health, economic and aesthetic issues caused by the pigeon excreta, this waste may also result in damaging effects to the materials used in Nepalese architecture, including metals such as copper and its alloys. This study assessed the impact of...

The Kathmandu Valley, encompassing the capital city of Nepal, is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in South Asia. Rapid population growth and urbanization in Kathmandu have degraded the urban environment affecting the native biota. Therefore, a detailed assessment of avian species richness and its distribution in potential green spaces...

Heterogenous landscape features of the Himalayan region shape the genetic structure of animal populations by delimiting spatial patterns of dispersal and reproduction. Integrating population genetic analysis with landscape features could yield results that shed light on the evolutionary diversity of the taxa therein. This study assessed the populat...

Urbanization results in habitat modification causing alteration in the assemblage of biological diversity. Bird diversity serves as a good ecological indicator; hence, this study examined the effects of urbanization on bird species richness and diversity in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, one of the rapidly expanding cities in the central lowland Nep...

Ghimire SC, Khanal L, Chalise MK. 2021. Feeding ecology of Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) troops in Kaligandaki and Budhigandaki River basins of central Nepal. Biodiversitas 22: 2625-2634. Seasonal fluctuations in the availability of key food resources impact the foraging behavior of animals. This study aimed to examine the seasonal variatio...

Phylogenetic relationships within the sinica-group of macaques based on morphological, behavioral, and molecular characteristics have remained controversial. The Nepal population of Assam macaques (Macaca assamensis) (NPAM), the westernmost population of the species, is morphologically distinct but has never been used in phylogenetic analyses. Here...

Community structure of birds at different habitat types is underexplored in the montane environment of the central Himalaya. Therefore, this study explored bird community structure in different habitat types in Mardi Himal of the Annapurna Conservation Area, central Nepal, and tested the association of different feeding guilds with the habitats. Da...

Proper management of street dogs demands knowledge on their multiple aspects including population, behavior and food preferences. This study was conducted in Kirtipur Municipality, Kathmandu aiming to estimate the population of street dogs and explore their foraging behavior and food preferences. Street dogs were surveyed along unidirectional route...

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been the biggest public health problem of the present world. As the number of people suffering from the pandemic is rising, it is likely to claim more life and worsen the global health and economy. Nepal, one of the developing countries in the south Asia has been strongly influenced by the pandemic...

This study explored bird diversity, seasonal variation, and associated factors along an elevational gradient in an important biodiversity area (IBA) of central Nepal: the Kaligandaki River basin of Annapurna Conservation Area. The field survey was carried out in 2019 over two seasons, winter (January and February) and summer (May and June) using th...

Staphylococcus aureus is a ubiquitous pathogen and colonizer in humans and animals. There are few studies on the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus in wild monkeys and apes. S. aureus carriage in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and Assam macaques (Macaca assamensis) is a species that has not previously been sampled and lives in remote environment...

Background Patterns of biological diversity and richness can vary along the elevational gradients among mountain systems making it difficult to conclude the general pattern. The drivers of such pattern are also poorly known in the southern flank of the Himalaya due to limited studies. Therefore, we assessed the species richness, seasonal patterns a...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the biggest health problem at present, doesn’t have uniform transmission and severity among the countries and communities therein. Knowledge of community vulnerability to the disease would facilitate interventions aimed at transmission control by efficient deployment of available limited resources. Therefore...

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), the biggest health problem at present, does not have uniform transmission and severity among the countries and communities therein. Knowledge of community vulnerability to the disease would facilitate interventions aimed at transmission control by the efficient deployment of available limited resources. Theref...

Abstract Understanding the species diversity patterns along elevational gradients is critical for biodiversity conservation in mountainous regions. We examined the elevational patterns of species richness and turnover, and evaluated the effects of spatial and environmental factors on nonvolant small mammals (hereafter “small mammal”) predicted a pr...

Birds represent an important component of earth's biodiversity and the study of avian diversity is an essential ecological tool, which acts as an indicator to evaluate different habitat types and conditions. The main aim of this study was to assess the diversity and abundance of birds and the seasonal variation in Kaligandaki River basin, within An...

One of the major objectives of keeping the wild animals in captivity is their successful breeding, population growth and future translocation. However, many species have lesser behavioral flexibility and fail to establish a viable population in captive conditions due to poor management, intolerant climatic conditions, competitions with other co-hou...

Enlarging protected area networks (PANs) is critical to ensure the long-term population viability of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), which are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. Strict policies of PAN enlargement that focus on wildlife conservation have failed largely due to difficulties in encouraging stakeholder participation and me...

Enlarging protected area networks (PANs) is critical to ensure the long-term population viability of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), which are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. Strict policies of PAN enlargement that focus on wildlife conservation have failed largely due to difficulties in encouraging stakeholder participation and me...

Enlarging protected area networks (PANs) is critical to ensure the long-term population viability of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), which are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. Strict policies of PAN enlargement that focus on wildlife conservation have failed largely due to difficulties in encouraging stakeholder participation and me...

Sustainable conservation and management of a species require detailed knowledge of its population status and distribution pattern. The population of the Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis in Nepal, probably a new subspecies endemic to the country, is yet to be studied for documenting its spatial distribution and size. We did extensive surveys acros...

Sustainable conservation and management of a species require detailed knowledge of its population status and distribution pattern. The population of the Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis in Nepal, probably a new subspecies endemic to the country, is yet to be studied for documenting its spatial distribution and size. We did extensive surveys acros...

The species and subspecies status of various populations of the Himalayan langur (Semnopithecus entellus) have been disputed in many literatures. Before delineating the taxonomic boundaries, it is important to identify the potential distribution areas of extant populations of the species. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) can be coupled with the syst...

BACKGROUND: Past climatological events and contemporary geophysical barriers shape the distribution, population genetic structure, and evolutionary history of many organisms. The Himalayan region, frequently referred to as the third pole of the Earth, has experienced large-scale climatic oscillations in the past and bears unique geographic, topogra...

Enlarging protected areas (PAs) network is critical to ensure the long-term viability of Asian elephants from habitat fragmentation and loss. While challenges are raised in the strictly government-managed policy of PAs networks due to the difficulties in persuading participation of stakeholders and meeting habitat requirements of the elephants. Thi...

Enlarging protected areas (PAs) network is critical to ensure the long-term viability of Asian elephants from habitat fragmentation and loss. While challenges are raised in the strictly government-managed policy of PAs networks due to the difficulties in persuading participation of stakeholders and meeting habitat requirements of the elephants. Thi...

Dengue fever is one of the leading public health problems of tropical and subtropical countries across the world. Transmission dynamics of dengue fever is largely affected by meteorological and environmental factors, and its temporal pattern generally peaks in hot-wet periods of the year. Despite this continuously growing problem, the temporal dyna...

p>The population status of Assamese monkey ( Macaca assamensis ) (McClelland 1840) and its interaction with the local people is poorly documented in Nepal. In 2014, we studied the population status, diurnal time budget and human-monkey conflict in Ramdi, Nepal by direct count, scan sampling and questionnaire survey methods, respectively. Two troops...

Genetic diversity of a species is influenced by multiple factors, including the Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles and geophysical barriers. Such factors are not yet well documented for fauna from the southern border of the Himalayan region. This study used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and ecological niche modeling (ENM) to explore how t...

The distribution and speciation of the flora and fauna of Himalayan range may have been impacted by the unique orogenic history, complex geography and diverse bioclimatic zones of this region. The Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and contemporary geographical barriers like rivers have the strong influence in shaping the population genetic structur...