Unveiling of climate change-driven decline of suitable habitat for Himalayan bumblebees.

Insect pollinators, especially bumblebees are rapidly declining from their natural habitat in the mountain and temperate regions of the world due to climate change and other anthropogenic activities. We still lack reliable information about the current and future habitat conditions of bumblebees in the Himalaya. In this study, we used the maximum entropy algorithm for SDM to look at current and future (in 2050 and 2070) suitable habitats for bumblebees in the Himalaya. We found that the habitat conditions in the Himalayan mountain range do not have a very promising future as suitable habitat for most species will decrease over the next 50 years. By 2050, less than 10% of the Himalayan area will remain a suitable habitat for about 72% of species, and by 2070 this number will be raised to 75%. During this time period, the existing suitable habitat of bumblebees will be declined but some species will find new suitable habitat which clearly indicates possibility of habitat range shift by Himalayan bumblebees. Overall, about 15% of the Himalayan region is currently highly suitable for bumblebees, which should be considered as priority areas for the conservation of these pollinators. Since suitable habitats for bumblebees lie between several countries, nations that share international borders in the Himalayan region should have international agreements for comprehensive pollinator diversity conservation to protect these indispensable ecosystem service providers.

Taxonomy and ecology of genus Psyra Walker, 1860 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae) from Indian Himalaya.

The Psyra Walker, 1860, is a typical Sino-Himalayan genus of the subfamily Ennominae, currently known by 18 species/4 subspecies globally and 9 species from India. This study aims to revise the taxonomy and ecology of Indian Psyra by providing a morphology-based diagnostic key, highlighting their altitudinal, habitat and seasonal preferences, and modelling their distribution based on current and future climatic scenarios. Here, we describe a new species, P. variabilis sp. nov. and document 4 species and 1 subspecies as new to India, viz. P. gracilis, P. szetschwana, P. dsagara, P. falcipennis and P. debilis debilis, thus updating the global species count to 19 with 14 species/1 subspecies from India. We also submitted partial mitochondrial COI sequences of P. crypta, P. similaria, P. spurcataria and P. gracilis as novel to the global genetic database and calculated the overall genetic divergence was 5.17% within the genus, suggesting strong monophyly. Being a typical montane genus, most of the species of Psyra were active within 2000-2280 m altitude, 10.55-15.7°C annual mean temperature, 1200-2300 mm annual precipitation and 168-179 NDVI. Psyra species were predominant in wet temperate, mixed coniferous and moist temperate deciduous forests, their abundance and richness being at peak during post-monsoon months of October-November. The major bioclimatic variables influencing the overall distribution of the genus were mean temperature of warmest quarter, temperature seasonality and precipitation of coldest/driest quarter. While two of the modelled species were predicted to lose area occupancy under future climatic scenarios, the narrow-specialist, Trans-Himalayan species P. debilis debilis was projected to gain up to 75% additional area in the years 2041-60. The results of this study will be helpful to identify sites with maximum area loss projection in ecologically fragile Indian Himalaya and initiating conservation management for such climatically vulnerable insect species groups.

Taxonomy and ecology of genus Phlogophora Treitschke, 1825 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Indian Himalaya with description of a new species.

The Genus Phlogophora Treitschke, 1825 (Noctuidae: Xyleninae), widely distributed in Palaearctic and Oriental realms, is especially diverse within Indian Himalaya with 12 known species till now. Current communication reports three species new to India viz. P. meticulodina (Draudt, 1950), P. nobilis Hreblay Ronkay, 1998 and P. szecsenyii Hreblay Ronkay, 1998 and a new species P. similis Bandyopadhyay, Mallick, Sanyal Chandra sp. nov., thus bringing the species number to 16 for the country, along with taxonomic key with morphology and genitalia-based diagnosis for all the Indian/Himalayan species. Out of those species, partial mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase I (COI) sequences were generated for 6 species, of which 5 were novel to the NCBI GenBank. The genus had maximum species richness and abundance in Eastern Himalayan Temperate Forest spanning 18002500 m in Central Himalayan landscape of Darjeeling-Sikkim and Nepal. Current Habitat suitability model of six Phlogophora species indicated that temperature dependent variables like Temperature Annual Range, Temperature Seasonality and Elevation are the most contributing factors for their predicted distribution range. The genus comprising of both Polycyclic and Monocyclic species became most abundant during Post-monsoon, in cold (911 C) and humid (8791%) nights, in areas with Annual Mean Temperature ranging within 4.619.9 C and Annual Precipitation of 10002800 mm.

Revision of the genus Prometopidia Hampson, 1902, with description of the new species P. joshimathensis sp. nov. from West-Himalaya and its subspecies P. j. yazakii ssp. nov. from Nepal (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Ennominae).

The genus Prometopidia Hampson, 1902 and its type-species P. conisaria Hampson, 1902 are redescribed and newly discovered morphological characters are explained. The female holotype of Prometopidia arenosa Wiltshire, 1961, was studied and the species redescribed, its correct position in Prometopidia is verified. The new species P. joshimathensis sp. nov. is described from Joshimath area in India, Uttarakhand province. Sympatric with P. conisaria at Joshimath, P. joshimathensis also occurs at Shimla, Punjab province, and in central and eastern Nepal. Morphological and genetic differences found in the specimens of Nepal are considered subspecific, justifying the new taxon P. joshimathensis yazakii ssp. nov. Types and specimens of Prometopidia across its whole range of distribution from Afghanistan to Nepal, habitats, genitalia, remarkable morphological characters and DNA barcoding-results are figured.

Phylogeography and population genetic structure of red muntjacs: evidence of enigmatic Himalayan red muntjac from India.

BACKGROUND: Identifying factors shaping population genetic structure across continuous landscapes in the context of biogeographic boundaries for lineage diversification has been a challenging goal. The red muntjacs cover a wide range across multiple vegetation types, making the group an excellent model to study South and Southeast Asian biogeography. Therefore, we analysed mitogenomes and microsatellite loci, confirming the number of red muntjac lineages from India, gaining insights into the evolutionary history and phylogeography of red muntjacs. RESULTS: Our results indicated the Northwestern population of red muntjac or the Himalayan red muntjac (M. aureus) in India as genetically diverse and well-structured, with significant genetic differentiation implying a low level of gene flow. The phylogenetic, population genetic structure, as well as species delimitation analyses, confirm the presence of the lineage from Western Himalayan in addition to the previously identified red muntjac lineages. Relatively low genetic diversity was observed in M. aureus compared to M. vaginalis, M. malabaricus and M. muntjak. The M. aureus and M. vaginalis lineages have split during the late Pleistocene, ~ 1.01 million years ago (Mya), making M. aureus the youngest lineage; whereas, M. malabaricus split earlier, ~ 2.2 Mya and appeared as the oldest lineage among red muntjacs. CONCLUSIONS: Pronounced climate fluctuations during the Quaternary period were pivotal in influencing the current spatial distribution of forest-dwelling species' restriction to Northwestern India. Our finding confirms the distinct Himalayan red muntjac (M. aureus) within the red muntjac group from Northwestern India that should be managed as an Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU). We recommend a reassessment of the conservation status of red muntjacs for effective conservation and management.

Complete mitochondrial genome of northern Indian red muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis) and its phylogenetic analysis.

We report complete mitochondrial genome of Northern Indian red muntjac, Muntiacus vaginalis, and its phylogenetic inferences. Mitogenome composition was 16,352 bp in length and its overall base composition in the circular genome was A = 33.2%, T = 29.0%, C = 24.50% and G = 13.30%. It exhibited a typical mitogenome structure, including 22 transfer RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and a major non-coding control region (D-loop region). All the genes except ND6 and eight tRNA's were encoded on the heavy strand. Phylogenetic analyses showed that M. vaginalis is closely related to M. muntjak and formed a sister relationship with Elaphodus cephalophus. In view of the unclear distribution range and escalating habitat loss, it is important to identify its population genetic status. The complete mitogenome described in this study can be used in further phylogenetics, identification of extant maternal lineage, evolutionary significance unit and its genetic conservation.