Ecology

Scientific Name: Phyllostachys aureosulcata (Red Pandazine, 2016)

Kingdom: Plantae (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

Phylum: Tracheophyta (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

Class: Magnoliopsida (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

Order: Poales (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

Family: Poaceae (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

Genus: Phyllostachys (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

Species: aureosulcata (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

IUCN Status: Not threatened (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-a)

Yellow groove bamboo is among the Red Panda's favorite foods (Red Pandazine, 2016) . It is a tall, leafy stalk plant in China that can grow up to 10 meters (Red Pandazine, 2016). It can be differentiated from its relative P. bissettii by its weaker stalk (Red Pandazine, 2016).

Scientific Name: Phyllostachys bissetii (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

Kingdom: Plantae (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

Phylum: Tracheophyta (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

Class: Magnoliopsida (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

Order: Poales (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

Family: Poaceae (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

Genus: Phyllostachys (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

Species: bissetii (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

IUCN Status: Not threatened (Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database, n.d.-b)

This type of bamboo is a dense, leafy stalk that is used for structural support in Sichuan, China—its native home—due to its strength (Red Pandazine, 2016) . The Red Panda eats this type of bamboo but not as often as yellow groove bamboo (Red Pandazine, 2016) . It can be differentiated from its relative P. aureosulcata by its stronger stalk (Red Pandazine, 2016).

Scientific Name: Panthera uncia (McCarthy et al., 2017)

Kingdom: Animalia (McCarthy et al., 2017)

Phylum: Chordata (McCarthy et al., 2017)

Class: Mammalia (McCarthy et al., 2017)

Order: Carnivora (McCarthy et al., 2017)

Family: Felidae (McCarthy et al., 2017)

Genus: Panthera (McCarthy et al., 2017)

Species: uncia (McCarthy et al., 2017)

IUCN Status: Vulnerable (McCarthy et al., 2017)

The snow leopard is an apex predator that occupies the same cold, rocky terrain of the Himalayas as the Red Panda (McCarthy et al., 2017). This mammal is known for its thick, whitish-grey rosette-spotted coat, which puts it at risk for poaching (Degnan, 2017). The snow leopard prefers the treeless tundra; however, it will hunt in the forests that the Red Panda occupies (McCarthy et al., 2017). Red panda will fall prey to the snow leopard (Australia Zoo, n.d.).

Scientific Name: Porcula salvania (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

Kingdom: Animalia (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

Phylum: Chordata (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

Class: Mammalia (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

Order: Cetartiodactyla (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

Family: Suidae (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

Genus: Porcula (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

Species: salvania (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017)

IUCN Status: Endangered (2016)/Critically Depleted (2022) (Meijaard et al., 2017; Deka et al., 2022)

This mammal is found around Manas National Park in northwestern Assam, where it overlaps with the Red Panda (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017; WWF-US Asia Program, 2005). According to the IUCN Red List website, it is "the smallest and rarest wild suid in the world" (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017). It mainly occupies the grasslands and riverine communities at the base of the Eastern Himalayas (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017). The suid is a short-bodied, redish-brown omnivorous mammal that plays an incredible ecological role in this ecosystem by controlling grasslands and insects and serving as prey to larger predators such as wild boar, pythons, monitors, (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017). In addition to these roles, the pygmy hog's digging and foraging create regeneration in the soil to allow better plant growth (Deka et al., 2022; Meijaard et al., 2017).

Scientific Name: Rhinopithecus roxellana (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Kingdom: Animalia (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Phylum: Chordata (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Class: Mammalia (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Order: Primates (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Family: Cercopithecidae (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Genus: Rhinopithecus (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Species: roxellana (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

IUCN Status: Endangered (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

This primate is a rarely seen resident of the Eastern Himalayas (Degnan, 2017; Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021). The Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey is well-adapted to the cold climate unlike other primates and resides primarily in montane coniferous forests (Degnan, 2017; Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021). It is an extant species in China (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021). It mainly feeds on lichens as a part of its folivorous diet, but also feeds on fruit, seeds, and bamboo like the Red Panda (Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021). Like the Red Panda, it is an arboreal, terrestrial mammal; however, it diurnal instead of crepuscular (Glatston et al., 2015; Yongcheng & Richardson, 2021)

Scientific Name: Gyps himalayensis (Bird Life International, 2021)

Kingdom: Animalia (Bird Life International, 2021)

Phylum: Chordata (Bird Life International, 2021)

Class: Aves (Bird Life International, 2021)

Order: Accipitriformes (Bird Life International, 2021)

Family: Accipitridae (Bird Life International, 2021)

Genus: Gyps (Bird Life International, 2021)

Species: himalayensis (Bird Life International, 2021)

IUCN Status: Near Threatened (Bird Life International, 2021)

This bird feasts on carrion and carcass dumps in South and South-East Asia (Bird Life International, 2021; Gill, 2015). The Himalayan vulture is also known as the Himalayan griffon (Bird Life International, 2021). It migrates further south during the winter and resides in higher montane terrain in the summer (Bird Life International, 2021). These are massive vultures with a stout bill, pale head, and cream to blackish feathers (Gill, 2015).

Scientific Name: Epiophlebia laidlawi (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Kingdom: Animalia (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Phylum: Arthropoda (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Class: Insecta (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Order: Odonata (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Family: Epiophlebiidae (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Genus: Epiophlebia (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Species: laidlawi (Clausnitzer, 2006)

IUCN Status: Near Threatened (Clausnitzer, 2006)

Not much is known about this insect besides the fact that it occupies freshwater wetlands and montane streams in Nepal, where its distribution overlaps with that of the Red Panda (Clausnitzer, 2006; WWF-US Asia Program, 2005). It is in particularly close contact with the pygmy hog, Ludlow's Bhutan swallowtail, and the pygmy hog sucking louse because all of these organisms remain near the wetlands for the majority of their lives (WWF-US Asia Program, 2005). It would most likely come in contact with the Red Panda quite often as the Red Panda prefers to be near water sources (Glatston et al., 2015; WWF-US Asia Program, 2005).

Scientific Name: Bhutanitis ludlowi (Fernando et al., 2020)

Kingdom: Animalia (Fernando et al., 2020)

Phylum: Arthropoda (Fernando et al., 2020)

Class: Insecta (Fernando et al., 2020)

Order: Lepidoptera (Fernando et al., 2020)

Family: Papilionidae (Fernando et al., 2020)

Genus: Bhutanitis (Fernando et al., 2020)

Species: ludlowi (Fernando et al., 2020)

IUCN Status: Endangered (Fernando et al., 2020)

Also known as Ludlow's Bhutan glory, this invertebrate primarily inhabits the alpine Eastern Himalayan forests of Bhutan (Fernando et al., 2020). It is considered a butterfly (Fernando et al., 2020). B. ludlowi's diet mostly consists of a plant that climbs the evergreens of its habitat (Fernando et al., 2020). Most of the Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex is within the range of B. ludlowi (WWF-US Asia Program, 2005).

Scientific Name: Haematopinus oliveri (Gerlach, 2014)

Kingdom: Animalia (Gerlach, 2014)

Phylum: Arthropoda (Gerlach, 2014)

Class: Insecta (Gerlach, 2014)

Order: Phthiraptera Gerlach, 2014)

Family: Haematopinidae (Gerlach, 2014)

Genus: Haematopinus (Gerlach, 2014)

Species: oliveri (Gerlach, 2014)

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered (Gerlach, 2014)

This invertebrate is an ectoparasite only infects the pygmy hog (Gerlach, 2014; WWF-US Asia Program, 2005). It used to have a wider distribution, but it has been limited with the limitation of its host's range (Gerlach, 2014; WWF-US Asia Program, 2005). The pygmy hog sucking louse can only be found around Manas National Park in northwestern Assam, where its range overlaps with the Red Panda (Gerlach, 2014). Because the pygmy hog sucking louse is limited to the host, improving the conservation status of the pygmy hog will also improve that of the louse (WWF-US Asia Program, 2005).

Scientific Name: Morchella esculenta (Philatax, n.d.)

Kingdom: Fungi (Philatax, n.d.)

Phylum: Ascomycota (Philatax, n.d.)

Class: Pezizomycetes (Philatax, n.d.)

Order: Pezizales (Philatax, n.d.)

Family: Morchellaceae (Philatax, n.d.)

Genus: Morchella (Philatax, n.d.)

Species: esculenta (Philatax, n.d.)

IUCN Status: Not Threatened (Philatax, n.d.)

M. esculenta is known as the common morel, yellow morel, true morel, or Gucchi mushroom (Paul et al., 2018; Philatax, n.d.). It can be identified by its conical, ovate shape and cream-yellow color (Philatax, n.d.). This fungi has a wide distribution, found almost globally (Philatax, n.d.). In the Eastern Himalayas, it is prized among villages for its delicacy (Paul et al., 2018). It grows in the forests of the Himalayas during the warmer months of the year (Paul et al., 2018).

The red panda has a very specialized, narrow niche (Qi et al., 2009). Like the giant panda with which it coexists the red panda occupies montane coniferous forests; however, the red panda is found in areas of sparse forests far from human contact or intervention (Qi et al., 2009). Strangely, the red panda and the giant panda share a diet of six of the 15 species of bamboo in their area including: Yushania brevipaniculata, Y. ailuropodina, Y. lineolata, Y. maculata, Qiongzhuea macrophylla, and Bashania faberi (Qi et al., 2009). As an obligate grazer, the red panda's health depends on the availability of the bamboo (Qi et al. 2009). The red panda actually will interact with different parts of the bamboo plants during different seasons based on what is most nutritious—shoots in the spring and leaves year-round (Qi et al. 2009). In most situations of coexistence, two species follow the competitive exclusion principle, which states that two species competing for the same resources at the same time and place will not coexist indefinitely (Fowler et al., 2013). This principle indicates that the red panda and the giant panda must have some difference in their niches or else they would be unable to coexist given the competition for the same food sources. When researchers tried to find the differences in niches between the two coexisting species, they found that although they overlap quite drastically, the red panda is a much more isolated animal than the giant panda (Qi et al., 2009). The giant panda prefers to feed on the edges of forests unlike the red panda, which gives some separation between niches (Qi et al., 2009). Red pandas show association with water sources and fir tree forests with a dissociation with environmental disturbances including roads, powerlines, timber collection, and livestock (Qi et al., 2009; Dendup et al., 2020). The diet of the red panda mainly consists of bamboo leaves and shoots, which it finds in its predominant habitat of mixed deciduous-coniferous temperate forests with bamboo thicket understories (Dendup et al., 2020; Tobgay & Mahavik, 2020). Water sources have been deemed such an important factor in the niches of red pandas due to their diet, which consists of mostly bamboo that carries little moisture (Dendup et al., 2020). In addition, the farther the water, the more energy the red panda must exert to travel and avoid predation (Dendup et al., 2020). As a mostly herbivorous carnivore, it is important that the red panda rest most of the day to conserve its energy and compensate for lack of nutrition (Tobgay & Mahavik, 2020). As for its role in the food chain, the red panda feeds mostly on producers like the various species of bamboo listed above and less often on consumers like insects and grubs, making the red panda predominantly a primary consumer (Dendup et al., 2020; Fowler et al., 2013). The red panda's primary predator in its ecosystem is the snow leopard as the higher level consumer on the food chain (Fowler et al., 2013; Australia Zoo, n.d.). Another seemingly unexpected interaction with the red panda is by feral dogs, which have become a major predator (Tobgay & Mahavik, 2020). These dogs travel from villages that surround the habitats of the red panda and attack the animals, severely reducing their populations (Tobgay & Mahavik, 2020). The red panda is a mainly arboreal mammal with its niche being limited by elevation and forest-type as well as resource availability such as shelter, food, and water (Tobgay & Mahavik, 2020). The red panda will use aspects of its environment such as stumps and logs to conceal its small body as it prefers isolation (Qi et al., 2009). Overall, the red panda interacts with several organisms within its niche as it tries to survive as a primary consumer who enjoys isolation.

mammal - “one of the groups of endothermic vertebrates that possess hair and mammary glands” (Fowler et al., 2013)

chordata- ”a phylum of animals distinguished by their possession of a notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail at some point during their development” (Fowler et al., 2013)

primate- “includes lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans” (Fowler et al., 2013)

conifer- ”the dominant division of gymnosperms with the most variety of species” (Fowler et al., 2013)

arthropoda- ”a phylum of Ecdysozoa with jointed appendages and segmented bodies” (Fowler et al., 2013)

competitive exclusion principle- “no two species within a habitat can coexist” indefinitely when they compete for the same resources at the same time and place” (Fowler et al., 2013)

environmental disturbance- “a change in the environment caused by natural disasters or human activities” (Fowler et al., 2013)

temperate forest- “a biome found in temperate regions with moderate rainfall and dominated structurally by deciduous trees” (Fowler et al., 2013)

food chain- “a linear sequence of trophic (feeding) relationships of producers, primary consumers, and higher level consumers” (Fowler et al., 2013)

producer- “the trophic level that obtains its energy from sunlight, inorganic chemicals, or dead or decaying organic material” (Fowler et al., 2013)

primary consumer- “the trophic level that obtains its energy from the producers of an ecosystem” (Fowler et al., 2013)

ecosystem- “a community of living organisms and their interactions with their abiotic environment’’ (Fowler et al., 2013)

Australia Zoo. (n.d.). Red Panda. https://www.australiazoo.com.au/wildlife/our-animals/red-panda/

Bird Life International. (2021). Gyps himalayensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22695215A204643889. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22695215A204643889.en.

Clausnitzer, V. (2006). Epiophlebia laidlawi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2006: e.T7896A12863095. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T7896A12863095.en.

Degnan, S. (2017, October 18). Animals that live with the giant panda. Pets on mom. https://animals.mom.com/animals-that-live-with-the-giant-panda-12353769.html

Deka, P., Hudson, M., Das, D., & Kennerley, R. (2022). Porcula salvania (Green Status assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T21172A2117220221.

Dundup, P., Humle, T., Bista, D., Penjor, U., Lham, C., & Gyeltshen, J. (2020). Habitat requirements of the Himalayan red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and threat analysis in Jigme Dorji National Park, Bhutan. Ecology and Evolution, 10(17), 9444-9453. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6632

Fernando, E., Jangid, A.K., Kehimkar, I., & Kunte, K. (2020). Bhutanitis ludlowi (amended version of 2019 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T2796A170536676. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T2796A170536676.en.

Fowler, S., Roush, R., & Wise, J. (2013). Concepts of Biology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/concepts-biology/pages/1-introduction

Gerlach, J. (2014). Haematopinus oliveri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T9621A21423551. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T9621A21423551.en.

Gill, A. (2015). Gyps himalayensis. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gyps_himalayensis/

Glatston, A., Wei, F., Than Zaw & Sherpa, A. (2015). Ailurus fulgens (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T714A110023718. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T714A45195924.en. Accessed on 22 November 2022.

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database. (n.d.-a). Report: Phyllostachys aureosulcata McClure. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=504356#null

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) on-line database. (n.d.-b). Report: Phyllostachys bisetti McClure. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=784587#null

McCarthy, T., Mallon, D., Jackson, R., Zahler, P., & McCarthy, K. (2017). Panthera uncia. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22732A50664030. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T22732A50664030.en.

Meijaard, E., Narayan, G., & Deka, P. (2019). Porcula salvania. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T21172A44139115. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T21172A44139115.en.

Paul, N., Slathia, P. S., Vaid, A., & Kumar, R. (2018). Traditional Knowledge of Gucchi, Morchella esculenta (Ascomycetes), in Doda District, Jammu and Kashmir, India. International journal of medicinal mushrooms, 20(5), 445–450. https://doi.org/10.1615/IntJMedMushrooms.2018025995

Philatax. (n.d.). Morchella Esculenta. https://philatax.pisceswebdesign.com/fungi/genus-species/morchella-esculenta

Qi, D., Hu, Y., Gu, X., Li, M., & Wei, F. (2009). Ecological niche modeling of the sympatric giant and red pandas on a mountain-rang scale. Biodiversity Conservation, 18, 2127-2141. DOI 10.1007/s10531-009-9577-7

Red Pandazine. (2016, February 8). Green bamboo for red pandas. https://redpandazine.com/2016/02/08/red-pandas-bamboo/

Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. (n.d.). Red Panda. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/red-panda#

Tobgay, S. & Mahavik, N. (2020). Potential habitat distribution of Himalayan red panda and their connectivity in Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan. Ecology and Evolution, 10(22), 12929-12939. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6874

WWF-US Asia Program. (2005, February). Ecosystem Profile: Eastern Himalayas Region. Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, 1-97. https://www.cepf.net/sites/default/files/final.ehimalayas.ep_.pdf

Yongcheng, L. & Richardson, M. 2021. Rhinopithecus roxellana (amended version of 2020 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T19596A196491153. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T19596A196491153.en. Accessed on 19 December 2022.