Traditional Khmer Medicine and its role in wildlife use in modern-day Cambodia.

Individuals across Cambodia depend on the use of natural products in Traditional Khmer Medicine (TKM), a traditional medicine system in Cambodia that has been practiced for hundreds of years. Cambodia is rich in fauna and flora species, many of which have been, and continue to be, traded domestically for traditional medicine use. Combined with other known exploitative practices, such as snaring for wild meat consumption and international trade in wildlife, domestic trade in wildlife medicine threatens populations of regional conservation importance.

Longitudinal monitoring in Cambodia suggests higher circulation of alpha and betacoronaviruses in juvenile and immature bats of three species.

Recent studies suggest that coronaviruses circulate widely in Southeast Asian bat species and that the progenitors of the SARS-Cov-2 virus could have originated in rhinolophid bats in the region. Our objective was to assess the diversity and circulation patterns of coronavirus in several bat species in Southeast Asia. We undertook monthly live-capture sessions and sampling in Cambodia over 17 months to cover all phases of the annual reproduction cycle of bats and test specifically the association between their age and CoV infection status.

Nipah virus circulation at human-bat interfaces, Cambodia.

Objective: To better understand the potential risks of Nipah virus emergence in Cambodia by studying different components of the interface between humans and bats.

Methods: From 2012 to 2016, we conducted a study at two sites in Kandal and Battambang provinces where fruit bats () roost. We combined research on: bat ecology (reproductive phenology, population dynamics and diet); human practices and perceptions (ethnographic research and a knowledge, attitude and practice study); and Nipah virus circulation in bat and human populations (virus monitoring in bat urine and anti-Nipah-virus antibody detection in human serum).

Bear bile use at the intersection of maternal health in Cambodia.

Background: The consumption of bear gallbladders and bear bile in Southeast Asia is a persistent threat to bear populations. As part of a larger effort to understand the characteristics of bear part consumption in Cambodia, we uncovered a consumer base of women seeking treatment for post-partum and uterine ailments.

Methods: To better understand this aspect of consumption, we interviewed 122 women in seven different provinces in Cambodia, probing into the motivations and influences for using bear bile, as well as what types of ailments Cambodian women use it for.

Correction: Understanding the prevalence of bear part consumption in Cambodia: A comparison of specialised questioning techniques.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Correction: Understanding the prevalence of bear part consumption in Cambodia: A comparison of specialised questioning techniques.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Understanding the prevalence of bear part consumption in Cambodia: A comparison of specialised questioning techniques.

The trade in bear parts for medicine and for status is a conservation challenge throughout Asia. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) are endemic to this region, and populations are estimated to have declined throughout their ranges due to widespread illegal killing of bears and trade in parts, combined with loss of habitat. Previous studies have indicated that legislation alone is insufficient to prevent illegal hunting and trade, indicating instead a need to address demand for bear parts and products.

Insectivorous bat reproduction and human cave visitation in Cambodia: A perfect conservation storm?

Cave roosting bats represent an important component of Southeast Asian bat diversity and are vulnerable to human disturbance during critical reproductive periods (pregnancy, lactation and weaning). Because dramatic growth of cave tourism in recent decades has raised concerns about impacts on cave bats in the region, we assessed the reproductive phenology of two insectivorous species (Hipposideros larvatus sensu lato and Taphozous melanopogon) at three caves in Cambodia for 23 months in 2014-2016 and evaluated human visitation to these sites between 2007 and 2014. Despite the differing foraging strategies employed by the two taxa, the temporal consistency observed in proportions of pregnant, lactating and juvenile bats indicates that their major birth peaks coincide with the time of greatest cave visitation annually, particularly for domestic visitors and namely during the Cambodian new year in April.

The Diet of the Cave Nectar Bat ( Dobson) Suggests it Pollinates Economically and Ecologically Significant Plants in Southern Cambodia.

The importance of the cave nectar bat as a pollinator of economically significant crops and ecologically important plant species is increasingly documented, although information on the plants visited by this widely distributed bat species is currently confined to Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. We undertook a dietary study on by sampling faecal rain produced by a colony in Kampot, southern Cambodia each month for one year and identifying plant taxa visited by the bats by their pollen. Our results indicate the diet of in Cambodia includes at least 13 plant taxa, eight of which were identi ed to genus or species.