Identifying and monitoring corridors is a key step in conservation of the red panda in the Himalayan regions, according to scientists. With the recent classification of red panda into two phylogenetic species, a group of scientists from India have described the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh as a potential boundary for the species’ divergence between the Himalayan red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and the Chinese red panda (Ailurus styani).
Mukesh Thakur, one of the authors of a paper entitled ‘New insights on species divergence in red panda’, said that on the basis of genomic DNA analyses of about 132 fecal samples collected from north West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, the species can be placed under two different clusters.
Clade 1, that represented the Himalayan red panda, was formed by the inclusion of samples from the north West Bengal, Sikkim, and central Arunachal Pradesh and South Tibet. On the other hand, clade 2, that represented the Chinese red panda was formed by the inclusion of the samples from the Dibang valley of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, India and Southwest China. A clade broadly represents one of the clusters in a phylogeny.
Classified as “endangered” by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), scientists believe that the population of red pandas has declined by nearly 50% in 20 years. The two species are found in the eastern and north-eastern Himalayan subalpine forests and the eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests, that geographically fall in China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and northern Myanmar.
Speaking at a webinar organised on the International Red Panda Day on September 19, Mr. Thakur said it is believed that in the wild, there are about 2,500 species, of which one third are in the country. The scientist with the Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) said that the recent study, as well as the study by the ZSI in the Kanchenjunga landscape, together emphasised the need for identification of biological corridors and their monitoring for the conservation of the species.
“The model in Kanchenjunga landscape, where we have identified biological corridors, which are essential to maintain genetic diversity and gene flow among the population, can be replicated elsewhere,” he said. The study of biological corridors helps scientists in studying habitat degradation, anthropogenic pressure and also the availability of bamboos in the habitat, since red panda is a bamboo-dependent species, he added.
Scientists plan to replicate the study done in the Kanchenjunga landscape in Arunachal Pradesh to cover larger landscapes and sample size of the species. There is also a need for corridor functionality analysis for comprehending movement patterns and gene flow of red pandas across the transboundary landscape. Mr. Thakur and his team are also building a DNA database to protect the elusive species.
