Microbiology

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14540/132

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Browsing Microbiology by TU Institute "Central Department of Zoology"

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    Anthropogenic impact on Rhesus Macaque (Macaca Mulatta Zimmermann, 1780) behavior in Pashupatinath temple area, Nepal
    (Department of Zoology, 2022) Karki, Melina
    Rhesus macaques are highly commensal non-human primates and they display a close relationship with humans. There is a controversy regarding the human-macaque interactions in the wild and conflict is created due to these interactions. However, the effect of human disturbance in the behavior of the rhesus macaques are understudied. This study is mainly focused on the effect of human disturbance on feeding and grooming behavior of rhesus macaques in Pashupatinath Temple area, Kathmandu. Two groups of macaques from differential disturbance area were taken. Focal animal sampling was performed to note the behavior of the macaques, whereas instantaneous scan sampling was used for the collection of number of people at that exact time. Six focal animals from each group were observed. There was no difference (t= 0.007, P= 0.497) between the time spent in overall activity by two groups regardless of the human presence. Despite the overall activities of males and females being insignificant in high (t= -0.109, P= 0.457) and low (t= -0.038, P= 0.485) disturbance area, there was a noticeable difference in the individual activities. In both the study groups, males rested more than females; whereas females groomed more than males. Assessing the human disturbance effect in grooming activities suggested negative association in overall males and females. In the low disturbance area, the effect on grooming were insignificant for both the sexes (males and females) unlike the macaques in high disturbance area showing negative association of human presence with grooming. Similarly, overall macaques from both high and low disturbance area did not show any effect of human disturbance in feeding whereas the females from both groups showed positive effect of human disturbance on feeding. However, non-significant difference was observed in the feeding of individual sexes from both high and low disturbance area. In conclusion, food provisioning of the people, teasing, scaring off macaques, and throwing stones towards them might be the cause for the reduced grooming time in macaques. However, in presence of humans they get to feed on provisioned food due to which the time spent on feeding might have increased. The reason for insignificant difference between the groups could be due to habituation of the macaques in the anthropogenic environments.
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    Ethnomedicinal uses of animals and plants by the Badi community of Kanchanpur District, Nepal
    (Department of Zoology, 2022) Jaishi, Kamla
    Plants and animals have been used for therapeutic purposes by diverse ethnic groups in Nepal since time immemorial. The present study was conducted to document the traditional medicinal practices of using animals and plants by the Badi community of Kanchanpur district, Nepal. The data was collected by direct observation and interviews using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using quantitative tools like use value, informant consensus factor and fidelity level. The results of the study showed the use of 25 animals (18 wild and 7 domestic) and 61 plants (31 wild and 29 cultivated) for the treatment of 42 and 55 different types of human ailments respectively. The most widely used animal species was Rattus rattus (UV=0.125) with two use reports by 16 informants and mostly used plant species was Tinospora cordifolia (UV=0.096) with 3 use reports by 31 informants. The maximum number of animals and plants were utilized to cure musculo-skeletal problems and gastro-intestinal disorders respectively. Important animal and plant species for each ailment category were assessed using fidelity level. It was found that wild animals (18) and wild plants (31) were frequently used as ethnomedicine. Among them some are globally threatened species. Therefore this study can help formulate strategies for the conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources.
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    Spatio-temporal variation in macro-invertebrate assemblage structure of kayar khola, Chitwan Nepal
    (Department of Zoology, 2022) Poudel, Sita
    The spatial and temporal variations of the macro-invertebrate assemblages in rivers and streams of Nepal are poorly understood. The macro-invertebrate communities and their relationships with environmental variables were studied in Kayar Khola, Chitwan for one year (November 2020 to August 2021) covering four seasons. Each and every sampling station was visited once in each season. Macro-invertebrate sampling was conducted at each sampling station from 11 am to 2 pm by using a D-frame Net with a mesh size of 0.5mm. Altogether 42 Families belonging to 17 Orders, 5 Classes and 3 Phyla were found in present study. Among the collected macro-invertebrates, Hydropsychidae (20.20%) was recorded to be the most dominant family and followed by Thiaridae (15.76%), Heptageniidae (12.02%), Baetidae (9.43%), and Psephenidae (5.09%) respectively. Family Viviparidae (0.05%) was less dominant and found only in the spring season at site C of Kayar Khola. The Order Trichoptera was found to be the most dominant order with 408 individuals. The highest Shannon-Weiner diversity index (2.39) was observed during winter season whereas the lowest value (1.61) observed in summer season. Maximum family richness value (21.0) was found in winter season and the minimum (7.75) found in summer season. The correspondence analysis (CCA) reveals a significant correlation between macro-invertebrate assemblage and environmental variables. Cluster analysis depicts that similarity between macroinvertebrates decreases as the distance of sites increases.