Maharaj K. Pandit

O.P. Jindal Global University | JGLS · JIndal School of Environment & Sustainability

Mountain systems support exceptionally high terrestrial biodiversity, but despite decades-long efforts, there is still no consensus on the determinants of elevational richness patterns. Here, we developed a scaling laws model that holds across trophic guilds, taxonomic groups, and ecosystem types, demonstrating that the diverse elevational richness...

Formation of the Himalaya resulted from collision of the Indian and the Eurasian plates around the early Cenozoic (55–45 million years ago). Various geo-physical changes, namely disappearance of Tethys Sea, formation of land bridges and evolution of monsoon system followed the collision. These changes are cumulatively responsible for high plant end...

As human communities become increasingly interconnected through transport and trade, there has been a concomitant rise in both accidental and intentional species introductions, resulting in biological invasions. A warming global climate and the rapid movement of people and vessels across the globe have opened new air and sea routes, accelerated pro...

As the two largest countries by population, China and India have pervasive effects on the ecosphere. Because of their human population size and long international boundary, they share biodiversity and the threats to it, as well as crops, pests and diseases. We ranked the two countries on a variety of environmental challenges and solutions, illustra...

Invasive plants are known to alter the soil microbial communities; however, the effects of co-occurring native and invasive congeners on the soil bacterial diversity and their predictive metabolic profiles are not known. Here, we compared the rhizosphere bacterial communities of invasive Prosopis juliflora and its native congener Prosopis cineraria...

A novel strain of Planctomycetes, designated JC670T, was isolated from a high altitude (~ 2900 m above sea level) soil sample collected from Garhwal region in the Western Himalaya. Colonies of this strain were observed to be light pink coloured with spherical to oval shaped cells having crateriform structures distributed all over the cell surface....

Conservation could be part of the toolkit for diplomacy between China and India. Conservation could be part of the toolkit for diplomacy between China and India. Credit: Maharaj Pandit A triptych of flowers

In recent years, scientific investigations on the effectiveness of Protected Areas (PAs) in conserving biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem functions under the impact of climate change have increasingly received more attention from researchers and park managers. In this study, we used a combination of species distribution modelling (SDM) and spati...

Background: Several studies have documented the variation in species diversity patterns along elevational gradients in the Himalaya, but few have reported the evolutionary and biogeographic processes behind these patterns. Aims: To understand whether evolutionary history and phylogeny have any role in structuring plant species communities along an...

The Himalaya is one of the youngest and the loftiest mountain chains of the world; it is also referred to as the water tower of Asia. The Himalayan region harbors nearly 10,000 plant species constituting approximately 2.5% of the global angiosperm diversity of which over 4,000 are endemics. The present-day Himalayan flora consists of an admixture o...

Floral symmetry and pigmentation are features of flowers that are believed to be associated due to their shared influence on pollinator behaviour. However, the evolution of such associations has so far not been examined. We analysed variation in Rhododendron flowers, in a phylogenetic context, to test whether the evolution of floral symmetry types...

Understanding the patterns of species richness and various factors influencing their distribution is central to ecological biogeography; this knowledge is important for the conservation and management of biological diversity. The success of macroecological studies of elevational diversity lies in unraveling the drivers of the distribution patterns...

Teesta river basin in Eastern Himalaya is being subjected to cascade hydropower development. To assess the impacts of this developmental activity on fish fauna of the basin, fish habitats of the four largest tributaries in the basin were selected for the present study. A total of 18 large hydroelectric projects are planned on these rivers. Here, a...

The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates around fifty million years ago profoundly altered earth’s geography and regional climates. The rise of the Himalaya led to intensification of the monsoon, the birth of massive glaciers and turbulent rivers, and an efflorescence of ecosystems along the most extreme elevational gradient on Earth. When t...

Despite decades of research, ecologists continue to debate how spatial patterns of species richness arise across elevational gradients on the Earth. The equivocal results of these studies could emanate from variations in study design, sampling effort and data analysis. In this study, we demonstrate that the richness patterns of 2,781 (2,197 non-end...

Best Poster Presentation Award

That the Himalaya are warming at much higher rates than the global average is known. Here, we assess the future potential distribution of major plant communities in Sikkim Himalaya due to climate change using field observations and maximum entropy modelling approach. We collected data on presence and elevational distribution ranges of 584 endemic a...

Conservation efforts globally are skewed towards terrestrial ecosystems. To date, conservation of aquatic ecosystems, in particular fish fauna, is largely neglected. We provide a country-wide assessment of Indian river ecosystems in order to identify and prioritize areas for protection and restoration of freshwater fish fauna. Using various biodive...

Golden mahseer, Tor putitora Hamilton, one of the largest freshwater fish of the Indian sub-continent, inhabits mainly Himalayan rivers in the foothills. Among numerous freshwater fishes of the sub-continent, Golden mahseer is the most striking due to its large size, attractive golden colour, sustenance and sporting values. Tor putitora is known by...

Urbanization is the primary driver of Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) changes throughout the world. It is arguably the most dramatic and prevalent form of irreversible land transformation. In a fast growing city like Delhi, land use changes are tremendous. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze the driving forces of such change. Along with Delhi, the So...

That the Himalaya contain the basins of major rivers, regulate regional climate, and harbor rich biodiversity and varied ecosystems is well known. The perennial waters and biodiversity are closely linked to the livelihoods of over a billion people. The Himalaya are stressed because of a burgeoning human population and the escalating pressures of de...

Understanding how species' traits relate to their status (e.g. invasiveness or rarity) is important because it can help to efficiently focus conservation and management effort and infer mechanisms affecting plant status. This is particularly important for invasiveness, in which proactive action is needed to restrict the establishment of potentially...

The collision between the Indian and the Eurasian plates, which began about 65 million years ago, led to the gradual uplift of the Himalaya, an uplift that continues at present. Deforestation on a commercial scale began in the Himalaya with the British Raj in the early nineteenth century and has continued in post‐independence India. The habi...

Global average temperature increase during the last century has induced species geographic range shifts and extinctions. Montane floras, in particular, are highly sensitive to climate change and mountains serve as suitable observation sites for tracing climate-induced biological response. The Himalaya constitute an important global biodiversity hot...

Mean temperature of the warmest and the coldest months in alpine Sikkim Himalaya. (TIF)

List of endemic species recorded from the study area with their historic and recent elevational range extents. (DOC)

Recent and historic temperature records at different elevations in alpine Sikkim Himalaya. (DOC)

Ecosystem damage and population resettlements loom, owing to poor planning and impact assessments.

Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus, Art. No.: e57103

Studying diversity and distribution patterns of species along elevational gradients and understanding drivers behind these patterns is central to macroecology and conservation biology. A number of studies on biogeographic gradients are available for terrestrial ecosystems, but freshwater ecosystems remain largely neglected. In particular, we know v...

Detailed sources of data. (DOC)

Indian Himalayan basins are earmarked for widespread dam building, but aggregate effects of these dams on terrestrial ecosystems are unknown. We mapped distribution of 292 dams (under construction and proposed) and projected effects of these dams on terrestrial ecosystems under different scenarios of land-cover loss. We analyzed land-cover data of...

The taxonomic position of Panax bipinnatifidus is controversial and problematic. To infer inter- or intra-specific morphological relationship in Panax bipinnatifidus and its allies—P. sikkimensis and P. sokpayensis, we carried out a phenetic study of these taxa, based on thirteen morphological characters (eight quantitative and five qualitative), u...

1. The factors associated with plant species’ endangerment and (conversely) invasiveness are of broad interest due to their potential value in explaining the causes and consequences of population status. While most past work has focussed on ecological variables, recent work suggests that genetic attributes may be strongly associated with plant spec...

Jolli V., Pandit M.K. 2011. Monitoring pheasants ( Phasianidae ) in the Western Himalayas to measure the impact of hydro-electric projects. Ring 33, 1-2: 37-46. In this study, we monitored pheasants abundance to measure the impact of a hydroelectric development project. The pheasants abundance was monitored using “call count” and line transect meth...

A macro-invertebrate based new biotic index is proposed to evaluate water quality in freshwater rivers. The new index is based on the data gathered and analysed from 21 sampling sites of eight rivers/streams of Sikkim in Eastern Himalaya. The sampling sites were chosen in such a manner to include the river stretches with disturbed, moderately distu...

A macro-invertebrate based new biotic index is proposed to evaluate water quality in freshwater rivers. The new index is based on the data gathered and analysed from 21 sampling sites of eight rivers/streams of Sikkim in Eastern Himalaya. The sampling sites were chosen in such a manner to include the river stretches with disturbed, moderately distu...

In higher plants, synaptic mutation-associated gametic abnormalities are reported mostly in crop plants, but studies have rarely focused on the natural plant populations. This is particularly so in threatened herbaceous perennials, some of which are known to suffer from loss of sexual reproduction driven by the genetic mutations. Cytological invest...

Begonia salrapis C.B. Clarke and B. scutata Wall, are two rare species known from Eastern Himalaya. Begonia satrapis is an endemic of Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalaya, while B. scutata is reported to occur in Sikkim and the adjacent Nepal Himalaya. In this contribution we review their collection history, reassess their present conservation status, an...

Ceropegia hooheri C.B. Clarke ex Hook.f. and C. lucida Wall, have been reported to be endangered or possibly extinct from India. This contribution marks rediscovery of the C. lucida from Sikkim after a gap of nearly 133 years. We could locate a single population of C. hooheri comprising about 8-10 individuals near Lachen village. These individuals...

Three years of studies on some Indian Himalayan rivers in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim revealed the presence of Didymosphenia geminata (Lyngbye) M. Schmidt, a large diatom, hitherto unreported from these areas. This is first report on the occurrence of this diatom in some Indian Himalayan rivers: Kishanganga in Jammu & Kashmir, Rav...

Quaternary alluvial sediments occur as distinct terrace and fan deposits in the middle Teesta valley in the belt between the Main Central Thrust and the Main Boundary Thrust in the Sikkim Himalaya. These sequences are characterized by lithofacies deposited by braided river channels, debris flows and hyperconcentrated flows. The channel flow deposit...

Deforestation is a primary driver of biotic extinctions in the tropics. The impacts of deforestation in tropical biodiversity hotspots are of particular concern because these regions contain high concentrations of globally endemic species. However, the effects of large-scale deforestation on native biotas within the biodiversity hotspot of Himalaya...

Cited By (since 1996):41, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus

Singapore is a recognized global hotspot for invasive species and many introduced plant species have become major weeds there. Some of the common invasive taxa, such as Asystasia gangetica ssp. micrantha, Mimosa pigra, Neptunia plena, Panicum maximum, and Urochloa mutica, are spread over large areas and dominate the indigenous flora in some habitat...

Questions: Are diploid plant species more endangered than polyploids? Does ploidy play any role in rarity and invasiveness of plant species? Data studied: I surveyed and analysed ploidy levels of more than 1000 plant species, including 75 endangered taxa and 43 invasive species, on the Indian subcontinent to test the relationship between ploidy and...

A pre-impoundment study of biotic communities was conducted in the Kishanganga river in Jammu and Kashmir on which a hydro-electric project is proposed. The present study was carried out in two phases, monsoon and post-monsoon, at three sites for the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the river. There were no significant differenc...

The reproductive biology of two subspecies of Coptis teeta was studied. The species is an endangered, herbaceous perennial, endemic to the Mishmi Hills in Eastern Himalaya. We investigated reproductive strategies of the subspecies, their breeding systems and reproductive output. They had contrasting reproductive strategies; ssp. teeta reproduces se...

The Purulia Pumped Storage Project on Kistobazar Nala in West Bengal is proposed to improve the peaking power scenario of the state. The project involves construction of two reservoirs which would result in stream impoundment. Pre-impoundment studies were carried out on the physico-chemical characteristics and the biotic communities at two sites (S...

The Purulia Pumped Storage Project on Kistobazar Nala in West Bengal is proposed to improve the peaking power scenario of the state. The project involves construction of two reservoirs which would result in stream impoundment. Pre-impoundment studies were carried out on the physico-chemical characteristics and the biotic communities at two sites (S...

Rhododendron arboreum ssp. arboreum Smith and R. arboreum ssp. nilagiricum (Zenker) Tagg (Ericaceae) are geographically disjunct populations distributed in Himalaya and tropical montane forests of Nilgiri Hills in south India respectively. Studies on the reprodu c- tive behaviour of these disjunct populations revealed that they are self- as well as...

Cytogenetic investigations of 13 natural populations of Coptis teeta, an endemic and endangered medicinal plant from the Eastern Himalaya, were carried out. About 70–80% individuals in some of the populations were synaptic mutants. The predominantly sexually breeding plant populations were confined to higher cooler latitudes, whereas the mutant apo...

Cytogenetic investigations of 13 natural populations of Coptis teeta, an endemic and endangered medicinal plant from the Eastern Himalaya, were carried out. About 70–80% individuals in some of the populations were synaptic mutants. The predominantly sexually breeding plant populations were confined to higher cooler latitudes, whereas the mutant apo...

The basis of all human activity is the use of natural resources, which also constitute the basic life support system. All economic activity, directly or indirectly, derives its sustenance from the environmental resources. The correlation between economic growth and natural resource depletion has of late attracted the attention of economists, but th...

Cytological investigations of 13 natural populations of Coptis teeta indicated that the species has a somatic number of 18 chromosomes which form nine homomorphic pairs. The species did not possess any supernumerary chromosomes. The chromosome number, size and morphology were similar in all populations. Based on the taxonomic studies the 13 natural...

Cytological investigations of 13 natural populations of Coptis teeta indicated that the species has a somatic number of 18 chromosomes which form nine homomorphic pairs. The species did not possess any supernumerary chromosomes. The chromosome number, size and morphology were similar in all populations. Based on the taxonomic studies the 13 natural...