Distribution Pattern and Seasonal Variation of Bird Species from Semi-Urban Area of Taungoo Environs

The environs of Taungoo Township, Bago Region are one of the high biodiversity areas in Myanmar, locating eastern side of the high mountain ranges of Middle Yoma. The dense of every green and deciduous forest in the middle Middle Yoma were logging since 10 - 20 years ago. The birds inhabiting in that area have to refuge in suitable habitats nearby. The resent status of bird species is needed to assess the diversity of birds with the respect to distribution and seasonal variation after the construction of Yangon-Nepyitaw, Myanmar after twenty years ago. A total of 50 species of 27 genera, 22 families under nine orders were recorded. That represented 44 resident species (32 terrestrial species and 12 water bird species), and 6 species of migratory birds (1 terrestrial species and 5 water bird species). As habitat utilization, 24 bird species in paddy fields, 21 species in scattered trees, 33 species in wetland and 25 species in forest habitat types were investigated. Some species used more than one habitat types. According to the assessment of abundance categories based on the calculation of individual numbers of the birds, abundant category (3 species), common bird (1 species), frequent category (5 species), uncommon category (3 species) and rare species (28 species) were categorized. Hence, bird community was still sustainable in this area. In the aspect of conservation status, all recorded bird species were under least concern categories, according to the IUCN Redlist in the study area.

Seasonal resource selection of an arboreal habitatspecialist in a human-dominated landscape: A case studyusing red panda

Human-dominated landscapes provide heterogeneous wildlife habitat. Conservation of habitat specialists, like red pandas Ailurus fulgens, inhabiting such landscapes is challenging. Therefore, information on resource use across spatial and temporal scales could enable informed-decisionmaking with better conservation outcomes. We aimed to examine the effect of geo-physical, vegetation, and disturbance variables on fine-scalehabitat selection of red pandas in one such landscape. We equipped 10 red pandas with GPS collars in eastern Nepal in 2019 and monitoredthem for 1 year. Our analysis was based on a generalized-linear-mixed model. We found the combined effect of geo-physical, vegetation, anddisturbance variables resulted in differences in resource selection of red pandas and that the degree of response to these variables variedacross seasons. Human disturbances, especially road and cattle herding activities, affected habitat utilization throughout the year whereas othervariables were important only during restricted periods. For instance, geo-physical variables were influential in the premating and cub-rearingseasons while vegetation variables were important in all seasons other than premating. Red pandas selected steeper slopes with high solarinsolation in the premating season while they occupied elevated areas and preferred specific aspects in the cub-rearing season. Furthermore,the utilized areas had tall bamboo in the birthing and cub-rearing seasons while they also preferred diverse tree species and high shrub coverin the latter. Our study demonstrates the significance of season-specific management, suggests the importance of specific types of vegetationduring biologically crucial periods, and emphasizes the necessity to minimize disturbances throughout the year.