Snow Leopard Conversations – Not all large carnivores are the same: predators, prey and the snow leopard

The Snow Leopard Network is pleased to announce a continuation of our series entitled “Snow Leopard Conversations”. This new series aims to showcase the latest science and research related to snow leopards. These conversations are aimed to cover unexplored themes and emphasises interdisciplinary approaches. We hope to promote more such talks and discussions in future.
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Francesco Ferretti  and Dr. Sandro Lovari who will explore a number of hypothesises on how snow leopard interact with prey and other carnivores.  

About the talk:

Access to adequate large prey and avoidance of competition with larger predators are two major determinants of behaviour and ecology of carnivores. Moreover, predators and prey are constantly involved in an evolutionary arms race, aiming at maximising prey capture rate and minimising predation, respectively. Man-induced habitat manipulation and prey depletion alter these natural dynamics. The way these factors interact is crucial to enhance conservation of large carnivores.

This talk will combine recently published and ongoing meta-analyses on food habits of large terrestrial carnivores and studies on predator-prey interactions, to explore the role of prey diversity in influencing carnivore coexistence as well as favouring their persistence. In particular, implications for a better understanding of the ecology of the snow leopard and its interactions with competitors and prey will be discussed.

About our Speakers:

We wish to introduce Dr. Francesco Ferretti who is mainly interested in behavioural ecology and management of large mammals, with an emphasis on mechanisms of interspecific interactions (including competition, facilitation and predator-prey relationships). He has worked on different species of ungulates (several deer species, wild boar, Apennine chamois, Alpine chamois) and carnivores (wolf, red fox and large cats such as snow leopard, common leopard and tiger). He is on the editorial board of Mammalian Biology and Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, as well as member of the Caprinae Specialist Group of the IUCN. Currently he is an Associate Professor in the University of Siena.
Francesco will be joined by Dr Sandro Lovari as facilitator.

 

Date/Time

Tuesday September 29th 2020; 10:00am Italy Central Europe Time

Register

Register to attend through the following link:

ZOOM Registration

    • If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
    • During the talk, please keep your microphone muted.
    • Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
    • The Zoom event is limited to 100 participants. Please register for the event and also sign in early to ensure your place.

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