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Author Samelius, G., Suryawanshi, K., Frank, J., Agvaantseren, B., Baasandamba, E., Mijiddorj, T., Johansson, O., Tumursukh, L., Mishra, C. url 
  Title Keeping predators out: testing fences to reduce livestock depredation at night-time corrals Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Oryx Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-7  
  Keywords Canis lupus, carnivore conservation, coexistence, conflict mitigation, conservation conflict, livestock depreda- tion, Panthera uncia, preventative measure  
  Abstract (up) Livestock depredation by large carnivores is a global conservation challenge, and mitigation measures to reduce livestock losses are crucial for the coexistence of large carnivores and people. Various measures are employed to reduce livestock depredation but their effectiveness has rarely been tested. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of tall fences to reduce livestock losses to snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus at night-time corrals at the winter camps of livestock herders in the Tost Mountains in southern Mongolia. Self-reported livestock losses at the fenced corrals were reduced from a mean loss of 3.9 goats and sheep per family and winter prior to the study to zero losses in the two winters of the study. In contrast, self-reported livestock losses in winter pastures, and during the rest of the year, when herders used different camps, remained high, which indicates that livestock losses were reduced because of the fences, not because of temporal variation in predation pressure. Herder attitudes towards snow leopards were positive and remained positive during the study, whereas attitudes towards wolves, which attacked livestock also in summer when herders moved out on the steppes, were negative and worsened during the study. This study showed that tall fences can be very effective at reducing night-time losses at corrals and we conclude that fences can be an important tool for snow leopard conservation and for facilitating the coexistence of snow leopards and people.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1492  
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Author Maheshwari, A., Sathyakumar, S. url 
  Title Patterns of Livestock Depredation and Large Carnivore Conservation Implications in the Indian Trans-Himalaya Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Journal of Arid Environments Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-5  
  Keywords Large carnivores Livestock depredation Participatory approach Snow leopard Kargil Himalaya  
  Abstract (up) Livestock is one of the major sources of livelihood for the

agro-pastoral communities in central and south Asia. Livestock

depredation by large carnivores is a wide-ranging issue that leads to

economic losses and a deviance from co-existence. We investigated the

grass root factors causing livestock depredation in Kargil, Ladakh and

tested the findings of diet analysis in validating reported livestock

depredation. Globally vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and more

common wolf (Canis lupus) were the two main wild predators. A total of

1113 heads of livestock were reportedly killed by wolf (43.6%) followed

by unknown predators (31.4%) and snow leopard (21.5%) in the study site

from 2009 to 2012, which comes to 2.8% annual livestock losses. Scat

analysis also revealed a significant amount of livestock in the diet of

snow leopard (47%) and wolf (51%). Poor livestock husbandry practices

and traditional livestock corrals were found to be the major drivers

contributing in the livestock depredation. Based on the research

findings, we worked with the local communities to sensitize them about

wildlife conservation and extended limited support for predator proof

livestock corrals at a small scale. Eventually it helped in reducing

conflict level and conserving the globally threatened carnivores. We

conclude that a participatory approach has been successful to generate

an example in reducing large carnivore-human conflict in the west

Himalaya.
 
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1609  
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Author Hameed, S., Din, J. U., Ali, H., Kabir, M., Younas, M., Rehman, E. U., Bari, F., Hao, W., Bischof, R., Nawaz, M. A. url 
  Title Identifying priority landscapes for conservation of snow leopards in Pakistan Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Plos One Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-20  
  Keywords  
  Abstract (up) Pakistan’s total estimated snow leopard habitat is about

80,000 km2 of which about half is considered prime habitat. However,

this preliminary demarcation was not always in close agreement with the

actual distribution the discrepancy may be huge at the local and

regional level. Recent technological developments like camera trapping

and molecular genetics allow for collecting reliable presence records

that could be used to construct realistic species distribution based on

empirical data and advanced mathematical approaches like MaxEnt. The

current study followed this approach to construct an accurate

distribution of the species in Pakistan. Moreover, movement corridors,

among different landscapes, were also identified through circuit theory.

The probability of habitat suitability, generated from 98 presence

points and 11 environmental variables, scored the snow leopard’s assumed

range in Pakistan, from 0 to 0.97. A large portion of the known range

represented low-quality habitat, including areas in lower Chitral, Swat,

Astore, and Kashmir. Conversely, Khunjerab, Misgar, Chapursan, Qurumber,

Broghil, and Central Karakoram represented high-quality habitats.

Variables with higher contributions in the MaxEnt model were

precipitation during the driest month (34%), annual mean temperature

(19.5%), mean diurnal range of temperature (9.8%), annual precipitation

(9.4%), and river density (9.2). The model was validated through

receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plots and defined thresholds.

The average test AUC in Maxent for the replicate runs was 0.933 while

the value of AUC by ROC curve calculated at 0.15 threshold was 1.00.

These validation tests suggested a good model fit and strong predictive

power. The connectivity analysis revealed that the population in the

Hindukush landscape appears to be more connected with the population in

Afghani- stan as compared to other populations in Pakistan. Similarly,

the Pamir-Karakoram population is better connected with China and

Tajikistan, while the Himalayan population was connected with the

population in India. Based on our findings we propose three model

landscapes to be considered under the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem

Protection Program (GSLEP) agenda as regional priority areas, to

safeguard the future of the snow leopard in Pakistan and the region.

These landscapes fall within mountain ranges of the Himalaya, Hindu Kush

and Karakoram-Pamir, respectively. We also identified gaps in the

existing protected areas network and suggest new protected areas in

Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan to protect critical habitats of snow

leopard in Pakistan.
 
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1617  
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Author Zhang, L., Lian, X., Yang, X url 
  Title Population density of snow leopards (Panthera Uncia) in the Yage Valley Region of the Sanjiangyuan National Park: Conservation Implications and future directions Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Artic, Antartic and Alpine Research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 52 Issue 1 Pages 541-550  
  Keywords Snow leopard; population density; camera trapping; Tibetan Plateau; alpine ecosystem  
  Abstract (up) Population-based studies on snow leopard (Panthera uncia) are of theoretical and practical sig- nificance for the conservation of alpine ecosystems, though geographic remoteness and isolation hinder surveys in many promising regions. The Sanjiangyuan National Park on the Tibetan Plateau is acknowledged as a main snow leopard habitat, but most of the region remains unexplored and unknown. We adopted a combined approach of route survey and camera trapping survey to explore the population density of snow leopard in the Yage Valley region of the Sanjiangyuan National Park. Results indicated that (1) large populations of blue sheep contributed to the major food supply for snow leopards, along with diverse prey species as dietary supplementations, and (2) a population density of four to six snow leopards per 100 km2 on the north bank was estimated, and nine to fourteen individuals within the valley core areas were identified. We also argue that under the potential impacts of hydropower dams, this valley ecosystem should be symbolized as a conservation hotspot and therefore merits prioritized conservation. We recommend further surveys combined with novel methods/techniques and advocate a sustainable ecotourism model for the first V-shaped valley along the Yangtze mainstream.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1619  
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Author Johansson, O., Samelius, G., Wikberg, E, Chapron, G., Mishra, C., Low, M url 
  Title Identification errors in camera- trap studies result in systematic population overestimation Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Scientific Reports Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 10 Issue 6393 Pages 1-10  
  Keywords  
  Abstract (up) Reliable assessments of animal abundance are key for successful conservation of endangered species. For elusive animals with individually-unique markings, camera-trap surveys are a benchmark standard for estimating local and global population abundance. Central to the reliability of resulting abundance estimates is the assumption that individuals are accurately identified from photographic captures. To quantify the risk of individual misidentification and its impact on population abundance estimates we performed an experiment under controlled conditions in which 16 captive snow leopards (Panthera uncia) were camera-trapped on 40 occasions and eight observers independently identified individuals and recaptures. Observers misclassified 12.5% of all capture occasions, resulting in systematically inflated population abundance estimates on average by one third (mean ± SD = 35 ± 21%). Our results show that identifying individually-unique individuals from camera-trap photos may not be as reliable as previously believed, implying that elusive and endangered species could be less abundant than current estimates indicate.  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1496  
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Author Atzeni, L., Cushman, S. A., Bai, D., Wang, J., Chen, P., Shi, K., Riordan, P. url 
  Title Meta-replication, sampling bias, and multi-scale model selection: A case study on snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in western China. Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Ecology and Evolution Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-27  
  Keywords MaxEnt, meta-replication, multi-scale, Panthera uncia, sampling bias, scale selection, snow leopard, species distribution model  
  Abstract (up) Replicated multiple scale species distribution models (SDMs)

have become increasingly important to identify the correct variables

determining species distribution and their influences on ecological

responses. This study explores multi-scale habitat relationships of the

snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in two study areas on the Qinghai–Tibetan

Plateau of western China. Our primary objectives were to evaluate the

degree to which snow leopard habitat relationships, expressed by

predictors, scales of response, and magnitude of effects, were

consistent across study areas or locally landcape-specific. We coupled

univariate scale optimization and the maximum entropy algorithm to

produce multivariate SDMs, inferring the relative suitability for the

species by ensembling top performing models. We optimized the SDMs based

on average omission rate across the top models and ensembles’ overlap

with a simulated reference model. Comparison of SDMs in the two study

areas highlighted landscape-specific responses to limiting factors.

These were dependent on the effects of the hydrological network,

anthropogenic features, topographic complexity, and the heterogeneity of

the landcover patch mosaic. Overall, even accounting for specific local

differences, we found general landscape attributes associated with snow

leopard ecological requirements, consisting of a positive association

with uplands and ridges, aggregated low-contrast landscapes, and large

extents of grassy and herbaceous vegetation. As a means to evaluate the

performance of two bias correction methods, we explored their effects on

three datasets showing a range of bias intensities. The performance of

corrections depends on the bias intensity; however, density kernels

offered a reliable correction strategy under all circumstances. This

study reveals the multi-scale response of snow leopards to environmental

attributes and confirms the role of meta-replicated study designs for

the identification of spatially varying limiting factors. Furthermore,

this study makes important contributions to the ongoing discussion about

the best approaches for sampling bias correction.
 
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1616  
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Author Bhatia, S., Suryawanshi, K., Redpath, S. M., Mishra, C url 
  Title Understanding people's responses toward predators in the Indian Himalaya Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Animal Conservation Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-8  
  Keywords human-wildlife conflict; human attitudes to wildlife; value orientation; carnivores; tolerance; human-wildlife relationships; risk perception; Himalaya  
  Abstract (up) Research on human–wildlife interactions has largely focused on the magnitude of wildlife‐caused damage, and the patterns and correlates of human attitudes and behaviors. We assessed the role of five pathways through which various correlates potentially influence human responses toward wild animals, namely, value orientation, social interactions (i.e. social cohesion and support), dependence on resources such as agriculture and livestock, risk perception and nature of interaction with the wild animal. We specifically evaluated their influence on people's responses toward two large carnivores, the snow leopard Panthera uncia and the wolf Canis lupus in an agropastoral landscape in the Indian Trans‐Himalaya. We found that the nature of the interaction (location, impact and length of time since an encounter or depredation event), and risk perception (cognitive and affective evaluation of the threat posed by the animal) had a significant influence on attitudes and behaviors toward the snow leopard. For wolves, risk perception and social interactions (the relationship of people with local institutions and inter‐community dynamics) were significant. Our findings underscore the importance of interventions that reduce people's threat perceptions from carnivores, improve their connection with nature and strengthen the conservation capacity of local institutions especially in the context of wolves.  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1630  
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Author Johansson, O., Ausilio, G., Low, M., Lkhagvajav, P., Weckworth, B., Sharma, K. url 
  Title The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs. Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Mammalian Biology Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Age of independence; Life-history trade-offs; Panthera uncia; Parental care; Pre-dispersal behavior; Separation; Subadult  
  Abstract (up) Significant knowledge gaps persist on snow leopard demography

and reproductive behavior. From a GPS-collared population in Mongolia,

we estimated the timing of mating, parturition and independence. Based

on three mother–cub pairs, we describe the separation phase of the cub

from its mother as it gains independence. Snow leopards mated from

January–March and gave birth from April–June. Cubs remained with their

mother until their second winter (20–22 months of age) when cubs started

showing movements away from their mother for days at a time. This

initiation of independence appeared to coincide with their mother mating

with the territorial male. Two female cubs remained in their mothers’

territory for several months after initial separation, whereas the male

cub quickly dispersed. By comparing the relationship between body size

and age of independence across 11 solitary, medium-to-large felid

species, it was clear that snow leopards have a delayed timing of

separation compared to other species. We suggest this may be related to

their mating behavior and the difficulty of the habitat and prey capture

for juvenile snow leopards. Our results, while limited, provide

empirical estimates for understanding snow leopard ecology and for

parameterizing population models.
 
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1613  
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Author Rode, J., Pelletier, A., Fumey, J., Rode, S., Cabanat, A. L., Ouvrard, A., Chaix, B., White, B., Harnden, M., Xuan, N. T., Vereshagin, A., Casane, D. url 
  Title Diachronic monitoring of snow leopards at Sarychat-Ertash State Reserve (Kyrgyzstan) through scat genotyping: a pilot study Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication bioRxiv Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-21  
  Keywords snow leopard, noninvasive genotyping, population dynamics, microsatellite, relatedness, diachronic monitoring, citizen science, Central Asia  
  Abstract (up) Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are a keystone species of Central Asia’s high mountain ecosystem. The species is listed as vulnerable and is elusive, preventing accurate population assessments that could inform conservation actions. Non-invasive genetic monitoring conducted by citizen scientists offers avenues to provide key data on this species that would otherwise be inaccessible. From 2011 to 2015, OSI-Panthera citizen science expeditions tracked signs of presence of snow leopards along transects in the main valleys and crests of the Sarychat-Ertash State Reserve (Kyrgyzstan). Scat samples were genotyped at seven autosomal microsatellite loci and at a X/Y locus for sex identification, which allowed estimating a minimum of 11 individuals present in the reserve from 2011 to 2015. The genetic recapture of 7 of these individuals enabled diachronic monitoring, providing indications of individuals’ movements throughout the reserve. We found putative family relationships between several individuals. Our results demonstrate the potential of this citizen science program to get a precise description of a snow leopard population through time.  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1602  
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Author Johansson, O., Ullman, K., Lkhagvajav, P., Wiseman, M., Malmsten, J., Leijon, M. url 
  Title Detection and Genetic Characterization of Viruses Present in Free-Ranging Snow Leopards Using Next-Generation Sequencing Type Journal Article
  Year 2020 Publication Frontiers in Veterinary Science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 7 Issue 645 Pages 1-9  
  Keywords snow leopard, free-ranging, virome, Mongolia, rectal swabs, next-generating sequencing, Panthera unica  
  Abstract (up) Snow leopards inhabit the cold, arid environments of the high

mountains of South and Central Asia. These living conditions likely

affect the abundance and composition of microbes with the capacity to

infect these animals. It is important to investigate the microbes that

snow leopards are exposed to detect infectious disease threats and

define a baseline for future changes that may impact the health of this

endangered felid. In this work, next-generation sequencing is used to

investigate the fecal (and in a few cases serum) virome of seven snow

leopards from the Tost Mountains of Mongolia. The viral species to which

the greatest number of sequences reads showed high similarity was

rotavirus. Excluding one animal with overall very few sequence reads,

four of six animals (67%) displayed evidence of rotavirus infection. A

serum sample of a male and a rectal swab of a female snow leopard

produced sequence reads identical or closely similar to felid

herpesvirus 1, providing the first evidence that this virus infects snow

leopards. In addition, the rectal swab from the same female also

displayed sequence reads most similar to feline papillomavirus 2, which

is the first evidence for this virus infecting snow leopards. The rectal

swabs from all animals also showed evidence for the presence of small

circular DNA viruses, predominantly Circular Rep-Encoding

Single-Stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses and in one case feline anellovirus.

Several of the viruses implicated in the present study could affect the

health of snow leopards. In animals which are under environmental

stress, for example, young dispersing individuals and lactating females,

health issues may be exacerbated by latent virus infections.
 
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Serial 1612  
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