Abstract
Background
The species checklists for Bhutan published in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) were originally collated for the publication ‘Biodiversity Statistics of Bhutan 2017, A Preliminary Baseline’ (BSB 2017). This document was published in 2019 and is the first comprehensive overview of Bhutan's species richness, recording more than 11,000 species across all five kingdoms. Collation of biodiversity checklists has been limited in Bhutan. Thus, this paper and its associated data provide an overview of all species from the kingdoms Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, Chromista and Eubacteria in the country that have been recorded in scientific publications.
New information
The checklists showcase 11,175 species from the kingdoms Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, Chromista and Eubacteria. Research conducted into identifying species from the kingdoms Protista and Archaebacteria revealed zero records. These checklists include at least 33 species new to science and 566 species new to Bhutan, discovered between 2009 and 2017. Unidentified species are not taken into account in this publication.
Keywords: checklist, Bhutan, plants, animals, insects, vertebrates, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, fungi, chromista, eubacteria, protista, biodiversity
Introduction
The Himalayan country of Bhutan is renowned for its rich biodiversity (Table 1) consisting of endemic, native and endangered flora and fauna which inhabit ecosystems including tropical/subtropical/temperate forests, tropical/subtropical grasslands, alpine meadows and scree. A total of 70.46% of the nation's land is protected habitat and the elevation ranges from 100 metres above sea level (masl) to 7,570 masl at the peak of Gangkhar Phuensum. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List has categorised 131 species from the kingdoms Animalia and Plantae as being threatened with extinction: 24 species are critically endangered, 47 species endangered and 60 species vulnerable (IUCN 2021).
Table 1.
Number of species in Bhutan compared to the world (Mora et al. 2011).
| Kingdom | World | Bhutan | Bhutan % |
| Animalia | 1124516 | 5063 | 0.45 |
| Plantae | 224244 | 5347 | 2.38 |
| Fungi | 44368 | 690 | 1.56 |
| Chromista | 17892 | 57 | 0.32 |
| Protista | 16236 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Eubacteria | 11010 | 18 | 0.16 |
| Archaebacteria | 503 | 0 | 0.00 |
While the biodiversity found in these diverse habitats has been recorded both formally and informally over time, the collaboration of stakeholders interested in the conservation of these species and collation of related data have been limited. Therefore, in December 2016, the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) in Thimphu, Bhutan, began the coordination and gathering of species checklists from various taxonomic experts and specialist institutions in Bhutan. The taxonomic data were discussed over multiple workshops before being finalised by a range of contributors from government agencies, universities, local and international non-government organisations, as well as other private institutions and colleges. Comprehensive literature reviews were conducted to collect as much information as possible to develop the checklists.
General description
Purpose
The checklists were created to provide biodiversity statistics baselines for Bhutan. These species checklists can now be updated regularly with new species records and discoveries made within the country. As the nation's first comprehensive biodiversity list, these data deliver a reliable reference point for Bhutan's species, available for use by scientists, researchers, civil servants and the general public.
Project description
Title
Biodiversity checklists for Bhutan
Personnel
National Biodiversity Centre
Study area description
Bhutan - eastern Himalayas
Design description
Biodiversity data were obtained from various sources and a national biodiversity checklist was developed and published in 2019 as the BSB 2017, by the National Biodiversity Centre (National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) 2019). This checklist has been divided into categories taxonomically and all species have been registered with GBIF. The Plantae and Animalia kingdoms account for a majority 93.2% of the total number of species found in Bhutan (Table 2).
Table 2.
Number and percentage of species by kingdom.
| Kingdom | Number | Percentage |
| Animalia | 5063 | 45.31 |
| Plantae | 5347 | 47.85 |
| Fungi | 690 | 6.17 |
| Chromista | 57 | 0.51 |
| Protista | 0 | 0.00 |
| Eubacteria | 18 | 0.16 |
| Archaebacteria | 0 | 0.00 |
Funding
BIFA - GBIF (BIFA5_008)
Sampling methods
Study extent
Bhutan
Sampling description
Data sources include: NBC; Sherubtse College; College of Natural Resources; Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (The Netherlands); Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environmental Research; Department of Forests and Park Services; Department of Livestock; National Mushroom Centre; National Plant Protection Centre; National Herbarium and the National Invertebrate Repository Centre at the NBC. Comprehensive literature reviews were conducted in order to access all available scientific publications containing information on species records.
Quality control
Data were validated using published resources, such as peer-reviewed journals, books, institutional databases, theses and museum specimens located at the NBC and other national taxonomic agencies. Online databases, such as the Catalogue of Life, IUCN, BirdLife, GBIF and Australian Plant Name Index, were also used for nomenclature and taxonomic classification verification.
Species records from media sources, such as newspapers, magazines, television and social media, as well as anecdotal and non-scientific sources, were not included. Additionally, a lack of access to paid scientific publications and limited publishing of new records in peer-reviewed journals and other scientifically-robust modes of communication by local researchers could have led to some new records and discoveries being overlooked. Unidentified species have also not been taken into account.
Step description
Data collected from various sources, literature reviews conducted and draft checklists produced.
Cross-checked and conducted quality control of draft checklists against validation resources.
Two national stakeholder workshops conducted with attendees from all relevant agencies and institutions across Bhutan gathering to discuss the first and second drafts of the checklists. Relevant experts who were unable to attend the workshops were also requested to review the checklists before they were finalised.
BSB 2017 (National Biodiversity Centre (NBC) 2019) published.
Registered checklists (with minor revisions) with GBIF.
Geographic coverage
Description
Bhutan, entire country
Coordinates
and 27°31'53.11" Latitude; and 90°26'9.07" Longitude.
Taxonomic coverage
Taxa included
| Rank | Scientific Name | |
|---|---|---|
| kingdom | Animalia | |
| kingdom | Plantae | |
| kingdom | Fungi | |
| kingdom | Chromista | |
| kingdom | Eubacteria |
Temporal coverage
Formation period: Data collected until end 2017.
Usage licence
Usage licence
Creative Commons Public Domain Waiver (CC-Zero)
Data resources
Data package title
Biodiversity Checklists for Bhutan
Number of data sets
6
Data set 1.
Data set name
Bhutan: Chromista & Eubacteria species
Download URL
https://doi.org/10.15468/rsvcsf; https://cloud.gbif.org/bifa/resource?r=bhutan_chromista_eubacteria
Description
A total of 75 records including diatom, brown algae, cyanobacteria, bacteria and protozoa species (Gyeltshen and Prasad 2022b).
Data set 1.
| Column label | Column description |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Kingdom |
| Phylum | Phylum |
| Class | Class |
| Order | Order |
| Family | Family |
| Scientific Name | Species / subspecies / variety name |
| Vernacular Name | Common name |
| Scientific Name Authorship | Scientific name authorship |
Data set 2.
Data set name
Bhutan: Fungi species
Download URL
https://doi.org/10.15468/x49n78; https://cloud.gbif.org/bifa/resource?r=bhutan_fungi
Description
A total of 690 records including insect-fungi, Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, Oomycota and lichen species (Gyeltshen and Prasad 2022a).
Data set 2.
| Column label | Column description |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Kingdom |
| Phylum | Phylum |
| Class | Class |
| Order | Order |
| Family | Family |
| Scientific Name | Species / variety name |
| Vernacular Name | Common name |
| Scientific Name Authorship | Scientific name authorship |
Data set 3.
Data set name
Bhutan: Invertebrate species
Download URL
https://doi.org/10.15468/rjuepc; https://cloud.gbif.org/bifa/resource?r=bhutan_invertebrates
Description
A total of 3,917 records including crab, spider, Psocoptera, mite, snail, slug and nematode species (Gyeltshen and Prasad 2022c).
Data set 3.
| Column label | Column description |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Kingdom |
| Phylum | Phylum |
| Class | Class |
| Order | Order |
| Scientific Name | Family / genus / species / subspecies name |
Data set 4.
Data set name
Bhutan: Nonvascular plant species
Download URL
https://doi.org/10.15468/kv2xcp; https://cloud.gbif.org/bifa/resource?r=nonvascular_plants
Description
A total of 801 records including fern, liverwort, hornwort, moss and algae species (Gyeltshen and Prasad 2022f).
Data set 4.
| Column label | Column description |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Kingdom |
| Phylum | Phylum |
| Class | Class |
| Order | Order |
| Family | Family |
| Scientific Name | Genus / species / subspecies / variety name |
| Scientific Name Authorship | Scientific name authorship |
Data set 5.
Data set name
Bhutan: Vascular plant species
Download URL
https://doi.org/10.15468/p82afy; https://cloud.gbif.org/bifa/resource?r=v_plants
Description
A total of 4,546 records of seed plant species (Gyeltshen and Prasad 2022e).
Data set 5.
| Column label | Column description |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Kingdom |
| Phylum | Phylum |
| Class | Class |
| Order | Order |
| Family | Family |
| Scientific Name | Genus / species / subspecies / variety name |
Data set 6.
Data set name
Bhutan: Vertebrate species
Download URL
https://doi.org/10.15468/n6jv4s; https://cloud.gbif.org/bifa/resource?r=bhutan_vertebrates
Description
A total of 1,146 records including mammal, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species (Gyeltshen and Prasad 2022d).
Data set 6.
| Column label | Column description |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Kingdom |
| Phylum | Phylum |
| Class | Class |
| Scientific Name | Species / subspecies name |
Funding Statement
BIFA - GBIF (BIFA5_008)
References
- Gyeltshen C., Prasad K. National Biodiversity Centre via GBIF.org; 2022. Bhutan: Fungi species. Version 1.1. Checklist dataset. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- Gyeltshen C., Prasad K. National Biodiversity Centre via GBIF.org; 2022. Bhutan: Chromista & Eubacteria species. Version 1.1. Checklist dataset. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- Gyeltshen C., Prasad K. National Biodiversity Centre via GBIF.org; 2022. Bhutan: Invertebrate species. Checklist dataset. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- Gyeltshen C., Prasad K. National Biodiversity Centre via GBIF.org; 2022. Bhutan: Vertebrate species. Checklist dataset. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- Gyeltshen C., Prasad K. National Biodiversity Centre via GBIF.org; 2022. Bhutan: Vascular plant species. Checklist dataset. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- Gyeltshen C., Prasad K. National Biodiversity Centre via GBIF.org; 2022. Bhutan: Nonvascular plant species. Checklist dataset. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- IUCN, editor. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-3. https://www.iucnredlist.org https://www.iucnredlist.org
- Mora C., Tittensor D. P., Adl S., Simpson A. G., Worm B. How many species are there on Earth and in the ocean? PLoS Biol. 2011;9(8):1001127. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- (NBC) National Biodiversity Centre., editor. Biodiversity Statistics of Bhutan 2017, a preliminary baseline. 2019. http://biodiversity.bt/biodiv/content/documents/document-0f89f358-790f-40a2-bbca-2da3ee6d8efd/630.pdf http://biodiversity.bt/biodiv/content/documents/document-0f89f358-790f-40a2-bbca-2da3ee6d8efd/630.pdf