Rakhee Karumbaya – Page 10 – Snow Leopard Network

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

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.

New Article to the Bibliography

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

Title: Prediction of potential habitat suitability of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and niche overlap in the parts of western Himalayan region

Author: Islam, M., Sahana, M., Areendran, G., Jamir, C., Raj, K., Sajjad, H.

Abstract: The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) are the inhabitants of remote areas at higher altitudes with extreme geographic and climatic conditions. The habitats of these least-studied species are crucial for sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem. We employed the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) species distribution model to predict the potential habitat suitability of snow leopards and blue sheep and extracted common overlapped niches. For this, we utilised presence location, bio-climatic and environmental variables, and correlation analysis was applied to reduce the negative impact of multicollinearity. A total of 134 presence locations of snow leopards and 64 for blue sheep were selected from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The annual mean temperature (Bio1) was found to be the most useful and highly influential factor to predict the potential habitat suitability of snow leopards. Annual mean temperature, annual precipitation and isoth
ermality were the major influencing factors for blue sheep habitat suitability. Highly influential bio-climatic, topographic and environmental variables were integrated to construct the model for predicting habitat suitability. The area under the curve (AUC) values for snow leopard (0.87) and blue sheep (0.82) showed that the models are under good representation. Of the total area investigated, 47% was suitable for the blue sheep and 38% for the snow leopards. Spatial habitat assessment revealed that nearly 11% area from the predicted suitable habitat class of both species was spatially matched (overlapped), 48.6% area was unsuitable under niche overlap and 40.5% area was spatially mismatched niche. The presence of snow leopards and blue sheep in some highly suitable areas was not observed, yet such areas have the potential to sustain these elusive species. The other geographical regions interested in exploring habitat suitability may find the methodological framework adopted in thi
s study useful for formulating an effective conservation policy and management strategy.

URL: https://snowleopardnetwork.org/b/show.php?record=1719

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

Discover innovative community-led programs and gain valuable insights for successful conservation efforts, applicable not only to lions but also to snow leopards and other endangered species. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and work together towards our shared conservation goals.

About the talk

Ewaso Lions conserves Kenya’s lions and other large carnivores by promoting coexistence between people and wildlife. We firmly believe that the success of lion conservation hinges on the involvement of the local people who live alongside lions. In this talk, Shivani Bhalla, Founder & Executive Director, Ewaso Lions and Toby Otieno, Director of Impact and Operations, Ewaso Lions, will discuss the decline in the lion population across Africa before focusing on the ways in which Ewaso Lions’ various community programmes seek to promote human-carnivore coexistence and build local capacity for carnivore conservation. Learn how, as a result of community-led conservation, lions have started to make a comeback in the community areas where Ewaso Lions operates.

About our Guests

Shivani Bhalla. Born and raised in Kenya, Shivani believes the key to lion conservation is working in partnership with local communities. She founded Ewaso Lions in 2007 to promote coexistence between carnivores and people. Shivani is a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, African Lion Working Group, Kenya’s Large Carnivore Taskforce and a founding member of the Pride Lion Conservation Alliance. Shivani has a BSc. in Environmental Science from Lancaster University, received her MSc. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from Edinburgh Napier University and was awarded her DPhil in Zoology from Oxford University in 2017.Previously, she has worked for the Kenya Wildlife Service and Save The Elephants. Shivani moved to Samburu in 2002 and lives in the Ewaso Lions Camp in Westgate Conservancy with her two dogs Kura and Nanyori.

Toby Otieno has vast research and field experience throughout Kenya whilst working with the National Museums of Kenya’s mammalogy department and the Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia. Toby has applied his skills to implement research design, conduct field activities, write research proposals, and author publications in peer reviewed journals. As Ewaso Lions Director of Impact and Operations, Toby takes the lead role in all monitoring activities and research programme management in order to provide data to support our mission. Toby holds a BSc. in Wildlife Management and Conservation from University of Nairobi, and a MSc. in Wildlife Management from Karatina University.

Our Facilitator

Koustubh Sharma is the International Coordinator of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) and the Science & Conservation Director at the Snow Leopard Trust. With more than 20 years of experience in ecological research, wildlife conservation and training, he helps build collaborations and coordinate alliances at multiple levels for snow leopard research and conservation.

Date/Time

Friday, May 5th, at 14:00pm Bishkek time

Location

ZOOM, to join this talk, REGISTER HERE

Please note

If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.

Using ranger-based monitoring data for predicting poaching pressure

The webinar will focus on the pressing issue of illegal hunting and its impact on large herbivores, specifically mountain ungulates. Despite increased conservation efforts, many species are still at risk of extinction, and more effective interventions are needed. Our speaker, Arash Ghoddousi, will share his research on analysing ranger-based monitoring data to inform adaptive management. He will present a case study from Golestan National Park, where they identified the main determinants of illegal hunting, such as accessibility, law enforcement, and prey availability. Our discussant, Munib Khanyari, will also share his insights on human-nature relationships in the Trans-Himalayan region of India.

SLN Webinar: Using ranger-based monitoring data for predicting poaching pressure

We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming webinar on the topic of illegal hunting and wildlife conservation. The webinar will focus on the pressing issue of illegal hunting and its impact on large herbivores, specifically mountain ungulates. Despite increased conservation efforts, many species are still at risk of extinction, and more effective interventions are needed. Our speaker, Arash Ghoddousi, will share his research on analysing ranger-based monitoring data to inform adaptive management. He will present a case study from Golestan National Park, where they identified the main determinants of illegal hunting, such as accessibility, law enforcement, and prey availability. Our discussant, Munib Khanyari, will also share his insights on human-nature relationships in the Trans-Himalayan region of India.

The webinar is open to all and will take place on Tuesday, 11th April 2023 at 14:00 pm Bishkek time. We will discuss the important role of park rangers in wildlife conservation and how data collection can be used to make more effective decisions for conservation management. We hope to see you there!

About the talk

Poaching is driving many species toward extinction and large herbivores such as mountain ungulates are particularly at risk. Despite ever-increasing conservation efforts worldwide to combat poaching, the status of many target species is alarming and more effective interventions are needed. One of the main requirements for effective conservation measures against poaching is robust predictions of its prevalence and distribution. However, this information is often lacking due to inconsistent or complex data collection approaches. One of the often-untapped sources of data is ranger-based monitoring. In many protected areas, rangers are tasked with patrolling areas and noting their sightings either in analogue (e.g., logbooks) or digital (e.g., GPS) formats. However, in most cases these data are left not analyzed, failing to support adaptive management and decision-making processes.

1401:032016:13C:2566:CAMERA1:3 Illegal hunting in Golestan NP

In this study, we aimed to address this issue and developed a workflow for analyzing data on poaching and wildlife detections from analogue logbooks in an occupancy modelling framework to inform adaptive management. We used Golestan National Park as the case study. We obtained logbook data from nine ranger stations from 2014-2016, and digitized and geolocated 4800 daily patrols. We tested three hypotheses of (1) accessibility, (2) law enforcement, and (3) prey availability as the main determinants of poaching. Our results revealed a low probability (12%) of poacher detection during patrols. Poaching distribution was best explained by prey availability (especially urial), indicating that poachers target areas with high concentrations of ungulates. Poaching pressure was estimated to be high in 39% of our study area. To alleviate poaching pressure, we recommend ramping up patrolling intensity in 12% of the national park. Our approach illustrates the value of analogue ranger logbooks for evidence-based and adaptive planning of protected area management.

DCIM101GOPRO Ranger Patrols in Golestan NP

About our Guests

Arash Ghoddousi is a research fellow at Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany. His research interests lie in understanding the interaction of ecological and social factors in natural systems and how they impact the effectiveness of conservation interventions. The focus of his research is on understanding and improving the effectiveness of protected areas and law enforcement mechanisms, offering insight into human-wildlife conflict and poaching, as well as, improving methods of monitoring large mammals. Arash is particularly interested in the conservation of big cats and mountain ungulates with a special focus on southwest Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. He has close collaborations with conservation organizations around the world including various specialist groups of IUCN (e.g., Cat, Bear and Caprinae SGs), the Snow Leopard Network, and the Society for Conservation Biology – Europe Section.

Meet our discussant – Munib Khanyari – I recently completed my PhD that looked at investigating the impact of environmental and social factors on GIN transmission dynamics between interacting domestic and wild ungulates, exhibiting spatio-temporal dynamics, in temperate Asian rangelands. I now work with the Nature Conservation Foundation as a Program Manager. I work primarily across the Trans-Himalayan region of India, aiming to build positive human-nature relationships.

Date/Time

Tuesday, 11th April, 2023 at 14:00pm Bishkek time

Location

ZOOM, to join this talk, REGISTER HERE

Please note

If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.

Ranger patrols in Golestan NP

Understanding geographies of threat

The world’s biodiversity face persistent and changing threats, resulting in degradation of habitats and declines in species populations. Threats are dynamic factors that cause decline or destruction of habitat, population size, or biodiversity in any site of interest. Conducting a comprehensive analysis of threats can be more challenging than it may first appears. Threats can be direct, indirect, local or globally driven and they often vary over time with new threats emerging. The Snow Leopard Network is delighted to invite you to the webinar entitled “Understanding the geographies of Threat”. Our guest Alfredo Romero-Muñoz, from the Humboldt University, Berlin, will share how his team is analysing the impact of threats to wildlife and habitats across the Gran Chaco region in South America. The talk will be facilitated by Dr. Gustaf Samelius, followed by a discussion, with our discussant Dr. Ranjini Murali, on the geography of threats across snow leopard landscapes and exchange on approaches to assess them.

Building and exchanging capacities in snow leopard research and conservation

In 2022 two projects in India and Kyrgyzstan were supported by the Snow Leopard Network Training Grants Program:

“Volunteers for Nature: Developing and training local volunteers for nature education” led by Deepshikha Sharma and team from the Nature Conservation Foundation.

“Enhancing conservation awareness among youth through school visits by local rangers in Osh Oblast, Kyrgyzstan” led by Fatima Mannapbekova and colleagues from Panthera.

SLN invites you to a discussion with our 2022 Grantees to learn more about their projects and the lessons learned. We will ask our guests to share more about- What was achieved? What were the challenges and opportunities encountered in the implementation of the project? What did the teams learn that could help others wishing to do similar projects? How do teams see the results being applied to conservation? We will then open up the discussion with the audience to discuss effective and respectful strategies for building and exchanging capacities in snow leopard research and conservation among key stakeholders.

SLN Webinar: Understanding geographies of threat

The world’s biodiversity face persistent and changing threats, resulting in degradation of habitats and declines in species populations. Threats are dynamic factors that cause decline or destruction of habitat, population size, or biodiversity in any site of interest. Conducting a comprehensive analysis of threats can be more challenging than it may first appears. Threats can be direct, indirect, local or globally driven and they often vary over time with new threats emerging. The Snow Leopard Network is delighted to invite you to the webinar entitled “Understanding the geographies of Threat”. Our guest Alfredo Romero-Muñoz, from the Humboldt University, Berlin, will share how his team is analysing the impact of threats to wildlife and habitats across the Gran Chaco region in South America. The talk will be followed by a discussion, with our discussant Dr. Ranjini Murali, on the geography of threats across snow leopard landscapes and exchange on approaches to assess them.

About the Talk

This fascinating presentation describes research on the impacts of habitat destruction and hunting pressure across the 1.1 million km2 Gran Chaco region in South America – the world’s largest dry forests that has become a global deforestation hotspot. By analysing the impact of these threats in the habitats and populations of different species, we aimed to understand what is the relative impact of these threats, and how those impacts have changed over time. In addition, we explore how the two threats interact in space and what may be the implications of these interactions. The talk will be followed by a discussion and exchange on the geography of threats across snow leopard landscapes.

About our Guest – Alfredo Romero-Muñoz

Alfredo Romero-Muñoz is a researcher at Humboldt University Berlin focused on understanding the impacts that land use change brings to biodiversity, including through habitat destruction and hunting, and identifying opportunities for conserving biodiversity in changing regions.

Our Discussant – Ranjini Murali

Dr. Ranjini Murali has over ten years experience working in snow leopard landscapes. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Biography Lab in Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. She works on understanding the impacts sudden of institutional changes on large carnivore populations. She’s also a conservation scientist with the Snow Leopard Trust and affiliated with the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Programme (GSLEP).

Date/Time

Monday, March 6th, 2023 at 16:00 pm Bishkek time

Location

ZOOM, to join this talk, REGISTER HERE

Please note

If you have never used Zoom before, we recommend that you try the link 10 minutes before the start of the lecture.
Please feel free to write questions in the comment area and there will be time for questions/discussion at the end of the talk.
Please note that the session will be recorded and later featured on the SLN website. If you have concerns about this please let us know before the session.