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Patterns and trends in two decades of research on Nepal’s mammalian fauna (2000–2019): examining the past for future implications

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A Correction to this article was published on 10 October 2021

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Abstract

Nepal is a global biodiversity hotspot, supporting 213 mammal species with diverse habitats across various landscape types, from the lowland Terai to the high Himalayas. Studies of Nepal’s mammalian fauna are not evenly distributed and better understanding of past biases towards some species, research themes and locations can provide better strategic direction for future research investments. Therefore, we reviewed 575 scientific articles on mammals in Nepal, published between 2000 and 2019 and compiled these in March 2020, to examine trends, patterns and gaps, and pave future plans for mammalian research in Nepal. A positive increase in the number of publications (β = 0.27 ± 0.02SD, P < 0.00) was observed, with a more than threefold increase between 2010 and 2019 compared to 2000–2009 (t = − 6.26, df = 12.21, P < 0.000). Analysis of these documents revealed that mammalian researches favored large flagship, threatened species of carnivores inside Nepal’s protected area system. Geographically, mammalian research was not uniform in Nepal, as most studies were concentrated in Bagmati Province and in the Terai and Chure region. Baseline surveys and ecological studies were more common types of research, while studies on the impact of climate change and wildlife trade and poaching, are scant, which deserves a future look. While these studies shape current mammalogy in Nepal, studies of small, uncharismatic species, and in areas outside protected areas and other provinces except Bagmati, Lumbini and Province One are severely lacking. The research identified habitat loss, degradation and human-wildlife conflict as the major threats to the survival of mammalian species in Nepal. Therefore, redesigning and strict implementation of policies based on habitat management and human-wildlife co-existence, including other threat mitigation measures, are warranted. To address knowledge gaps, the prioritization of future research and funding should be focused on relatively unexplored research themes and under-researched provinces. This approach will help to re-align the research focus with the current need, and assist to fully understand and effectively conserve the wealth of mammalian diversity that Nepal holds.

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adapted from Moher et al. 2009)

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Acknowledgements

We would like to sincerely express our gratitude to Dr. Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai, Dr. Som Bahadur Ale, Dr. Joel. T Heinen and other two anonymous reviewers for their critiques, which have helped to shape the manuscript. Thanks are also to Per Wegge and Pablo Gerrido for their substantial help during the initial stages. We are thankful to Steve Lockett  for english proof reading. Utmost thanks to Lalit Chand Thakuri, Resham G.C and Bivek Shrestha for their help in data collection, and Kamana Pathak for help in making the GIS map. Our sincere appreciation to all of the Nepalese and foreign researchers who have contributed substantially to the research of wildlife of Nepal over many decades. And of course to all those in the literature cited.

Funding

The study was conducted without any funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry and Natural Resource Management, Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal

    Bhuwan Singh Bist & Aavas Pradhan

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Prashant Ghimire

  3. Institute of Forestry, Pokhara Campus, Pokhara, Nepal

    Nishan K.C.

  4. Ministry of Forests and Environment, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Buddi Sagar Poudel

  5. National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), Khumaltar, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Chiranjibi Prasad Pokheral

  6. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Laxman Prasad Poudyal

  7. School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University Australia, Gippsland Campus, Churchill, Victoria, Australia

    Wendy Wright

  8. Biology Department, Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD, USA

    Aarati Basnet

  9. Himalayan Nature, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Karan Bahadur Shah

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  1. Bhuwan Singh Bist
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  10. Karan Bahadur Shah
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Contributions

BSB—Conceptualization, methodology, data curation, writing-original draft preparation. PG—Conceptualization, data analysis, reviewing and editing, draft preparation. NKC, AP & AB—Data curation, reviewing and editing. BSP—Conceptualization, methodology, reviewing and editing. CPP, LPP & KBS—Study design, writing-reviewing and editing. WW—study design, writing-reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Bhuwan Singh Bist.

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Communicated by Xiaoli Shen.

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Bist, B.S., Ghimire, P., Nishan, K. et al. Patterns and trends in two decades of research on Nepal’s mammalian fauna (2000–2019): examining the past for future implications. Biodivers Conserv 30, 3763–3790 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-021-02289-2

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