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Author Alexander, J. S., Bijoor, A., Gurmet, K., Murali, R., Mishra, C., Suryawanshi, K. R.
Title Engaging women brings conservation benefits to snow leopard landscapes Type Journal Article
Year 2022 Publication Environmental Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1 - 7
Keywords community conservation; gender; large carnivores; snow leopard; women
Abstract (up) Protection of biodiversity requires inclusive and gender-responsive programming. Evidence of success in engaging women in large carnivore conservation remains scarce, however, although women play an important role in caring for livestock at risk of predation and could contribute to large-carnivore conservation. We aimed to assess the performance of an income-generation and skills-building programme for women in Spiti Valley (India) that sought to engage women in local conservation action. Annual programme monitoring together with a one-time survey of attitudes, perceptions and social norms in eight communities exposed to the conservation programme and seven ‘control’ communities revealed: a keen interest and increasing levels of women’s participation over 7 years of programme operation; participant reports of multiple programme benefits including additional personal income, social networking and travel opportunities; and more positive attitudes towards snow leopards among programme participants than among non-participants in the control communities. Women from programme communities recorded in their diaries 33 self-directed conservation actions including improving livestock protection and preventing wildlife poaching. These results show a way forward to purposively engage women in conservation programming towards achieving sustainable and equitable outcomes in efforts to promote carnivore–human coexistence.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1689
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Author Li, J., McCarthy, T. M., Wang, H., Weckworth, B. V., Shaller, G. B., Mishra, C., Lu, Z., Beissinger, S. R
Title Climate refugia of snow leopards in High Asia Type Journal Article
Year 2016 Publication Biological Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue 203 Pages 188-196
Keywords Snow leopard, Habitat, Climate change, Refugia, High Asia, Conservation
Abstract (up) Rapidwarming in High Asia is threatening its unique ecosystemand endemic species, especially the endangered

snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Snow leopards inhabit the alpine zone between snow line and tree line, which

contracts and expands greatly during glacier-interglacial cycles. Here we assess impacts of climate change on

global snow leopard habitat from the last glacial maximum (LGM; 21 kyr ago) to the late 21st century. Based

on occurrence records of snow leopards collected across all snow leopard range countries from 1983 to 2015,

we built a snow leopard habitat model using the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt 3.3.3k). Then we

projected this model into LGM, mid-Holocene and 2070. Analysis of snow leopard habitat map from LGM to

2070 indicates that three large patches of stable habitat have persisted from the LGM to present in the Altai,

Qilian, and Tian Shan-Pamir-Hindu Kush-Karakoram mountain ranges, and are projected to persist through the

late 21st century. These climatically suitable areas account for about 35% of the snow leopard's current extent,

are large enough to support viable populations, and should function as refugia for snow leopards to survive

through both cold and warm periods. Existence of these refugia is largely due to the unique mountain environment

in High Asia, which maintains a relatively constant arid or semi-arid climate. However, habitat loss leading

to fragmentation in the Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains, as well as increasing human activities, will present

conservation challenges for snow leopards and other sympatric species.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1449
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Author Johansson, O., Samelius, G., Wikberg, E, Chapron, G., Mishra, C., Low, M
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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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1496
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Author Piaopiao, T., Suryawanshi, K. R., Lingyun, X., Mishra, C., Zhi, L., Alexander, J. S.
Title Factors shaping the tolerance of local Tibetan herders toward snow leopards Type Journal Article
Year 2022 Publication Journal for Nature Conservation Abbreviated Journal
Volume 71 (2023) Issue 126305 Pages 1-8
Keywords Attitude, Gender, Social-norms, Religion, Livestock, Community-based
Abstract (up) Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) have long co-existed with livestock herding people across Asia’s high mountains. Multiple use landscapes however imply potential competition for shared resources, livestock predation, and the risk of retaliatory killing of predators. Community-based conservation is a central pillar for supporting people’s livelihoods and safeguarding predators and their habitat. Based on the theory of planned behavior, we examined the factors that shape herders’ tolerance of snow leopards. Our questionnaire-based study was conducted in the Sanjiangyuan Region, China, encompassing four communities with varying livelihoods, experiences with live- stock depredation and levels of exposure to community conservation interventions. Our results showed that respondents generally held positive views towards snow leopards, although women tended to have relatively more negative views towards snow leopards compared with men. Current household income was largely dependent on caterpillar fungus rather than livestock. Social norms around religion and the role of community leaders in our study area seemed to be the main determinants of the generally benign association of people with wildlife, overshadowing potential influences of community-based conservation interventions. Our work suggests that conservations programs will be aided through collaborations with communities and religious institutions, and that conservationists must proactively engage with women as significant actors in conservation.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1713
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Author Murali, R., Lkhagvajav, P., Saeed, U., Kizi, V. A., Nawaz, M. A., Bhatnagar, Y. V., Sharma, K., Mishra, C.
Title VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN SNOW LEOPARD LANDSCAPES OF ASIA Type Report
Year 2017 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-46
Keywords
Abstract (up) Snow leopards occur in Asia�s high mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Pamir, Tien Shan, Kunlun, Altai and Sayan. In all the 12 countries where they occur, snow leopards face intensifying threats to their survival, including habitat fragmentation and degradation due to increasing human populations, mining and developmental projects, poaching and illegal wildlife trade, weak law enforcement, inadequate involvement of local people in conservation efforts, and depletion of natural prey populations due to hunting by people and overgrazing by livestock.

To address the urgent needs of conservation of the snow leopard and the sustainable development of mountain peoples, the Governments of snow leopard range countries came together and agreed to invest efforts to conserve snow leopards in 23 large landscapes across its range under the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).

These landscapes where the snow leopards occur are inhabited by agro-pastoral and pastoral peoples who depend on well functioning ecosystems for ecosystem services, i.e., the benefits that humans derive from nature. Many threats that impact snow leopards also impact the well-being of people living in these landscapes. However, till date, there have been no studies that have attempted to quantify peoples� dependence on ecosystem services in snow leopard landscapes, or understand the impacts that alternate land-use decisions such as mining or infrastructure can have on the ecosystem services and on the local people who are dependent on them.

In this report, we provide the first assessment of the economic value of provisioning ecosystem services � the material goods from ecosystems � used by local people in five study sites from four GSLEP landscapes: Spiti Valley and Changtang region of Ladakh in India�s Hemis-Spiti Landscape, Gurez Valley in the Himalayan Landscape of Pakistan, Tost Nature Reserve in the South Gobi Landscape of Mongolia, and the Sarychat region in the Central Tien Shan Landscape of Kyrgyzstan. In study sites that had both pastoral and agro-pastoral communities, we estimated ecosystem services separately for the two production systems.The average value (± SE) of ecosystem services per household amongst the agro-pastoral

communities of Gurez Valley (4125 ± 190 USD/HH/yr) was 2.5 times the average local household income. In the agro-pastoral communities of Spiti Valley (3964 ± 334.8 USD/HH/yr) it was 3.6 times the average local household income, while it was 3.7 times amongst the agro-pastoral communities of Changtang (15083 ± 1656 USD/HH/yr). Amongst the pastoral communities, the value of ecosystem services used by households was several times higher than the average household income: it was 26.1 times amongst the pastoral communities of Changtang (79303 ± 9204 USD HH/yr), 38.7 times among communities in Tost Nature Reserve (150100 ± 13290 USD/HH/yr), and 7.4 times among the pastoral communities of Sarychat (25473 ± 5236 USD/HH/yr). It was lower, although still substantial at 0.6 times, for the downstream agro-pastoral communities living outside the landscape boundary in Sarychat (2094 ± 189 USD/HH/yr).

Our work reveals substantially high levels of dependence of local communities on ecosystem services provided by snow leopard landscapes of Asia. The estimated economic value of provisioning ecosystem services used by human households in these landscapes ranged from 0.6 to up to 40 times the local annual household incomes. This economic support that nature provides people is critical for humanity but remains hidden and unaccounted for. Land use change decisions, especially those that are damaging for nature and biodiversity, must start accounting for the value of ecosystem services in their cost-benefit analyses.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1458
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Author Johansson, O., Koehler, G., Rauset, G. R.< Samelius, G., Andren, H., Mishra, C., Lhagvarsuren, P., McCarthy, T., Low, M.
Title Sex specific seasonal variation in puma and snow leopard home range utilization Type Journal Article
Year 2018 Publication Ecosphere Abbreviated Journal
Volume 9 Issue 8 Pages 1-14
Keywords Cougar, female choice, LoCoH, mating tactics, Panthera Uncia, Puma concolor, spacing pattern, territoriality
Abstract (up) Territory size is often larger for males than for females in species without biparental care. For large solitary carnivores, this is explained by males encompassing a set of female territories to monopolize their reproduction during mating (area maximization). However, males are expected to behave more like females outside of breeding, with their area utilization being dependent on the range required to secure food resources (area minimization). To examine how male and female solitary carnivores adjust their spatial organization during the year as key resources (mates and prey) change, we radio&#8208;collared 17 pumas (Puma concolor; nine males and eight females) and 14 snow leopards (Panthera uncia; seven males and seven females) and estimated home range size and overlap on two temporal scales (annual vs. monthly). Contrary to expectation, we found no evidence that males monopolized females (the mean territory overlap between females and the focal male during the mating season was 0.28 and 0.64 in pumas and snow leopards, respectively). Although male&#65533;male overlap of annual home ranges was comparatively high (snow leopards [0.21] vs. pumas [0.11]), monthly home range overlaps were small (snow leopards [0.02] vs. pumas [0.08]) suggesting strong territoriality. In pumas, both males and females reduced their monthly home ranges in winter, and at the same time, prey distribution was clumped and mating activity increased. In snow leopards, females showed little variation in seasonal home range size, following the seasonal stability in their primary prey. However, male snow leopards reduced their monthly home range utilization in the mating season. In line with other studies, our results suggest that female seasonal home range variation is largely explained by changes in food resource distribution. However, contrary to expectations, male territories did not generally encompass those of females, and males reduced their home ranges during mating. Our results show that male and female territorial boundaries tend to intersect in these species, and hint at the operation of female choice and male mate guarding within these mating systems.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1471
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Author Tumursukh, L., Suryawanshi, K. R., Mishra, C., McCarthy, T. M., Boldgiv, B.
Title Status of the mountain ungulate prey of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia in the Tost Local Protected Area, South Gobi, Mongolia Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication Oryx Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-6
Keywords Argali, Central Asia, double-observer survey, ibex, Panthera uncia, snow leopard, ungulate prey
Abstract (up) The availability of wild prey is a critical predictor of carnivore density. However, few conservation pro- grammes have focused on the estimation and monitoring of wild ungulate populations and their trends, especially in the remote mountains of Central Asia. We conducted double-observer surveys to estimate the populations of ibex Capra sibirica and argali Ovis ammon in the mountain- ous regions of Tost Local Protected Area, South Gobi prov- ince, Mongolia, which is being considered for designation as a Nature Reserve. We also conducted demographic surveys of the more abundant ibex to examine their sex-ratio and the survival of young during &#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63282;–&#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63283;. The estimated ibex population remained stable in &#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63282; and &#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63283; and the es- timated argali population increased from &#63281;&#63280;&#63288; in &#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63282; to &#63282;&#63283;&#63280; in &#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63283;. The biomass of wild ungulates was c. &#63286;% that of live- stock. Mortality in young ibex appeared to increase after weaning, at the age of &#63281;&#63282; months. We estimated the popula- tion of wild ungulates was sufficient to support &#63281;&#63284;–&#63281;&#63288; adult snow leopards Panthera uncia. The adult snow leopard population in our study area during &#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63282;–&#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63283;, estimated independently using camera-trap-based mark–recapture methods, was &#63281;&#63282;–&#63281;&#63284;. Based on our results we identify the Tost Local Protected Area as an important habitat for the conservation of these ungulates and their predator, the Endangered snow leopard, and recommend elevation of its status to a Nature Reserve.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1425
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Author Johansson, O., Mishra, C., Chapron, G., Samelius, G., Lkhagvajav, P., McCarthy, T., Low, M.
Title Seasonal variation in daily activity patterns of snow leopards and their prey Type Journal Article
Year 2022 Publication Nature Portfolio Abbreviated Journal
Volume 12 Issue 21681 Pages 1-11
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Abstract (up) The daily and seasonal activity patterns of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are poorly understood, limiting our ecological understanding and hampering our ability to mitigate threats such as climate change and retaliatory killing in response to livestock predation. We fitted GPS-collars with activity loggers to snow leopards, Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica: their main prey), and domestic goats (Capra hircus: common livestock prey) in Mongolia between 2009 and 2020. Snow leopards were facultatively nocturnal with season-specific crepuscular activity peaks: seasonal activity shifted towards night- sunrise during summer, and day-sunset in winter. Snow leopard activity was in contrast to their prey, which were consistently diurnal. We interpret these results in relation to: (1) darkness as concealment for snow leopards when stalking in an open landscape (nocturnal activity), (2) low-intermediate light preferred for predatory ambush in steep rocky terrain (dawn and dusk activity), and (3) seasonal activity adjustments to facilitate thermoregulation in an extreme environment. These patterns suggest that to minimise human-wildlife conflict, livestock should be corralled at night and dawn in summer, and dusk in winter. It is likely that climate change will intensify seasonal effects on the snow leopard’s daily temporal niche for thermoregulation in the future.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1710
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Author Taubmann, J., Sharma, K., Uulu, K Z., Hines, J. E., Mishra, C.
Title Status assessment of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia and other large mammals in the Kyrgyz Alay, using community knowledge corrected for imperfect detection Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication Fauna & Flora International Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-11
Keywords Capra sibirica, local knowledge, Lynx lynx, occupancy modelling, Ovis ammon polii, Panthera uncia, Ursus arctos
Abstract (up) The Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia occurs

in the Central Asian Mountains, which cover c. &#63282; million

km&#63282;. Little is known about its status in the Kyrgyz Alay

Mountains, a relatively narrow stretch of habitat connecting

the southern and northern global ranges of the species. In

&#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63280; we gathered information on current and past (&#63281;&#63289;&#63289;&#63280;,

the last year of the Soviet Union) distributions of snow leopards

and five sympatric large mammals across &#63281;&#63284;,&#63280;&#63280;&#63280; km&#63282;

of the Kyrgyz Alay.We interviewed &#63289;&#63285; key informants from

local communities. Across &#63284;&#63289; &#63284;&#63280;&#63280;-km&#63282; grid cells we obtained

&#63281;,&#63286;&#63280;&#63286; and &#63289;&#63286;&#63282; records of species occurrence (site

use) in &#63281;&#63289;&#63289;&#63280; and &#63282;&#63280;&#63281;&#63280;, respectively. The data were analysed

using themulti-season site occupancy framework to incorporate

uncertainty in detection across interviewees and time

periods. High probability of use by snow leopards in the past

was recorded in .&#63287;&#63280;% of the Kyrgyz Alay. Between the two

sampling periods &#63283;&#63289;% of sites showed a high probability of

local extinction of snow leopard. We also recorded high

probability of local extinction of brown bear Ursus arctos

(&#63288;&#63284;% of sites) and Marco Polo sheep Ovis ammon polii

(&#63284;&#63287;% of sites), mainly in regions used intensively by people.

Data indicated a high probability of local colonization by

lynx Lynx lynx in &#63284;&#63281;% of the sites. Although wildlife has

declined in areas of central and eastern Alay, regions in

the north-west, and the northern and southern fringes

appear to retain high conservation value.
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Call Number SLN @ rakhee @ Serial 1432
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Author Sharma, R. K., Sharma, K., Borchers, D., Bhatnagar, Y. V., Suryawanshi, K. S., Mishra, C.
Title Spatial variation in population-density, movement and detectability of snow leopards in 2 a multiple use landscape in Spiti Valley, Trans-Himalaya Type Journal Article
Year 2020 Publication bioRxiv Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords Co-existence; land sharing; population-density; spatial capture recapture; Pseudois nayaur Capra sibirica; ungulates; livestock.
Abstract (up) The endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia occurs in human use landscapes in the mountains of South and Central Asia. Conservationists generally agree that snow leopards must be conserved through a land-sharing approach, rather than land-sparing in the form of strictly protected areas. Effective conservation through land-sharing requires a good understanding of how snow leopards respond to human use of the landscape. Snow leopard density is expected to show spatial variation within a landscape because of variation in the intensity of human use and the quality of habitat. However, snow leopards have been difficult to enumerate and monitor. Variation in the density of snow leopards remains undocumented, and the impact of human use on their populations is poorly understood. We examined spatial variation in snow leopard density in Spiti Valley, an important snow leopard landscape in India, via spatially explicit capture recapture analysis of camera trap data. We camera trapped an area encompassing a minimum convex polygon of 953 km . We estimated an overall density of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.39-0.73) adult snow leopards per 100 km . Using AIC, our best model showed the density of snow leopards to depend on wild prey density, movement about activity centres to depend on altitude, and the expected number of encounters at the activity centre to depend on topography. Models that also used livestock biomass as a density covariate ranked second, but the effect of livestock was weak. Our results highlight the importance of maintaining high density pockets of wild prey populations in multiple use landscapes to enhance snow leopard conservation.
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Call Number Serial 1620
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