Month: May 2023

SLN Summer Exchange 2023; more details!

Summer Exchange 2023 Schedule

We are thrilled to showcase a diverse range of topics and resource persons from seven different organizations as part of our upcoming Summer Exchange. Each week, we will delve into various aspects of conservation and research, offering valuable insights and opportunities for knowledge sharing. Join us as we explore a wide array of tools, techniques, and approaches that play a crucial role in wildlife conservation and habitat protection.

To participate, please register through the following link, and we look forward to welcoming you to the event!

 

Register Today

 

Please note that all sessions take place at 14:00 pm, Bishkek time.

 

Tuesday, 13th June

SMART Tools

The use of technology in conservation efforts has revolutionized data collection and analysis. The Wildlife Conservation Society will present the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), a technology designed to monitor and protect wildlife in protected areas. Discover how SMART is applied in surveys for endangered species, such as snow leopard prey species. Learn about data collection methods, management, and analysis using the SMART survey tool.

Samantha Strindberg

is a Conservation Scientist and Wildlife Statistician at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). She specializes in wildlife survey techniques, statistical analysis, and conservation management. With a Ph.D. in Statistics focused on Wildlife Population Assessment, Samantha has extensive experience in the field.

 

Antony Lynam

is an ecologist and conservation scientist at WCS. With over 30 years of experience in wildlife conservation and management, he has pioneered the use of technology for conservation purposes. Antony has expertise in camera trapping, GPS navigation, and law enforcement monitoring databases.

 

 

Tuesday, 20th June

Intro to QGIS

Join our online workshop, Introduction to QGIS, and discover key tools for everyday data visualization, spatial analysis, and mapping. This concise introductory session focuses on practical skills using QGIS, a powerful geographic information system widely used in conservation and research. Engage in interactive activities and discussions to gain a solid understanding of essential QGIS tools and their applications in real-world projects.

Justine S Alexander

Justine Shanti Alexander is a Senior Conservation Scientist at the Snow Leopard Trust and the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Network. As a snow leopard conservationist, she frequently employs QGIS in her everyday work and has conducted training sessions on the software for field teams, including protected area staff, who have found the acquired skills highly useful for their conservation efforts.

Tuesday, 27th June

AI Camera Trap Management

Join us for an online workshop where the ShanShui Conservation team will introduce their newly developed software designed to streamline camera trap image processing. This software focuses on efficiently removing images that do not capture any animals and simplifying the creation of Excel sheets with the corresponding time and date information. While the workshop will not cover artificial intelligence for species or individual identification, it will provide valuable insights into the team’s ongoing efforts to develop software tools that will enhance camera trap data analysis in the future.

Wei Chunyue

started her journey in wildlife conservation from camera trap data processing and analysis working with Shan Shui Conservation Center. She then participated in snow leopard monitoring and conservation work on the Tibetan Plateau. Chunyue takes strong interests in applying technology tools to facilitate camera trap data management. Chunyue holds a BSc. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University and a MSc. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University.

Dong Zhengyi

has 6 years of experience in wildlife conservation on the Tibetan Plateau. He participated in many snow leopard surveys in the southeastern part of the Plateau. He is now dedicated to enhancing wildlife monitoring with cutting-edge technology and promoting the integration of biodiversity data across various fields. Zhengyi holds a BSc. in Biology Science from Peking University and a MSc. in Conservation Biology from Lund University.

Thursday, 06th July

Intro to Occupancy and SCR methods

Explore the PAWS toolbox, focusing on occupancy models and spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methods. Understand survey design, data collection, management, and analysis for assessing snow leopard distribution and abundance. Gain insights into interpreting and communicating results effectively.

Ian Durbach

is an ecological statistician with expertise in wildlife surveys. He has supported snow leopard camera trap surveys and provided design and analysis assistance across the PAWS network.

 

 

 

Koustubh Sharma

is an experienced wildlife conservationist and the International Coordinator of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program. With more than 20 years of experience, he coordinates snow leopard research and conservation efforts.

 

 

 

Thursday, 13th July

Conservation and People: Champion Networks

Learn about community-led conservation and the importance of building working relationships and trust with local communities. Deepshikha Sharma from the Nature Conservation Foundation – SLT India program will share experiences, challenges, and lessons learned in working with community champions in the trans-Himalayan mountains of India.

Deepshikha Sharma

Deepshikha Sharma is actively involved in community-led conservation in snow leopard habitats in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. She focuses on reducing human-wildlife conflict and raising awareness among local communities.

Thursday, 20th July

Data collection and visualization

This session explores the best practices for designing questionnaires and utilizing the data collection tool KoBoToolbox. Discover how to create well-structured surveys and efficiently collect data. Additionally, explore Looker, a powerful data analytics platform, and learn how to create interactive dashboards.

Altynai Adabaeva

is a freelancer specializing in environmental data analytics. She has extensive experience in conducting surveys and using data analysis for research and conservation projects.

Thursday, 27th July

Nature Education

Nature education plays a vital role in conservation efforts. This workshop highlights the theories and practices from education, ecology, and psychology that can be applied to design effective nature education projects. Engage in interactive discussions and activities to learn how to create content and resources that foster a deep connection with nature.

Vena Kapoor

founder of Nature Classrooms, collaborates with primary school teachers and educators, offering training workshops and co-developing nature learning activities. With expertise in conservation leadership and ecology, Vena holds an MPhil from the University of Cambridge and a Masters in Ecology from the University of Pondicherry.

 

Thank you to all the organizations and Resource Persons supporting the Summer Exchange!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Article to the Bibliography

Please find details below of a new article added to our Bibliography:

Title: Landscape resistance to gene flow in a snow leopard population from Qilianshan National Park, Gansu, China

Author: Atzeni, L., Wang, J., Riordan, P., Shi, K., Cushman, S. A.

Abstract: Context: The accurate estimation of landscape resistance to movement is important for ecological understanding and conservation applications. Rigorous estimation of resistance requires validation and optimization. One approach uses genetic data for the optimization or validation of resistance models. Objectives We used a genetic dataset of snow leopards from China to evaluate how landscape genetics resistance models varied across genetic distances and spatial scales of analysis. We evaluated whether landscape genetics models were superior to models of resistance derived from habitat suitability or isolation-by-distance.
Methods: We regressed genetically optimized, habitat-based, and isolation-by-distance hypotheses against genetic distances using mixed effect models. We explored all subset combinations of genetically optimized variables to find the most supported resistance scenario for each genetic distance.
Results: Genetically optimized models always out-performed habitat-based and isolation-by-distance hypotheses. The choice of genetic distances influenced the apparent influence of variables, their spatial scales and their functional response shapes, producing divergent resistance scenarios. Gene flow in snow leopards was largely facilitated by areas of intermediate ruggedness at intermediate elevations corresponding to small-to-large valleys within and between the mountain ranges.
Conclusions: This study highlights that landscape genetics models provide superior estimation of functional dispersal than habitat surrogates and suggests that optimization of genetic distance should be included as an optimization routine in landscape genetics, along with variables, scales, effect size and functional response shape. Furthermore, our study provides new insights on the ecological conditions that promote gene flow in snow leopards, which expands ecological knowledge, and we hope will improve conservation planning.

URL: https://snowleopardnetwork.org/b/show.php?record=1720

SLN Summer Exchange 2023; it’s happening!

We are delighted to announce that the Snow Leopard Network’s Summer Exchange will take place this summer, starting next month. We are excited to share with you the incredible lineup of scientists and conservationists who will be joining us to discuss practical and innovative approaches to safeguarding snow leopards and mountain ecosystems.

This free resource is designed to provide practitioners who are passionate about snow leopard conservation with the opportunity to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the field. We are deeply grateful to our snow leopard community for coming together to make this possible. Without the contributions and support of our members, we would not be able to provide this valuable resource to practitioners around the world.

SLN’s Summer Exchange will showcase a diverse lineup of experts from 8 different organizations. Topics include SMART tools, QGIS, upgraded camera trap data management, occupancy and spatial capture-recapture methods, training workshops, data management, and nature education.

Please register on the link before June 2nd and join us for this free resource. It is open to SLN and non SLN members. Stay tuned for more updates and details!

 

 

 

Ensuring a future for Kenya’s lions & other large carnivores through community-led conservation

 

Welcome to our next SLN webinar where we’re excited to introduce you to Ewaso Lions, a Kenya-based conservation organization working to promote coexistence between people and wildlife, specifically large carnivores such as lions. In an upcoming presentation, Ewaso Lions’ Founder & Executive Director, Shivani Bhalla, and Director of Impact and Operations, Toby Otieno, will share how their various community programs with pastoralist communities seek to build local agency and decision-making in carnivore conservation and promote human-carnivore coexistence. Ewaso Lions firmly believes that community-led conservation efforts are key to the success of lion conservation.