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Bhatnagar, Y. V. (1997). Ranging and Habitat Use by Himalayan Ibex (Capra ibex sibirica) in Pin Valley National Park. Ph.D. thesis, Saurashtra University, .
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Sharma, R. K., Sharma, K., Borchers, D., Bhatnagar, Y. V., Suryawanshi, K. S., Mishra, C. (2020). Spatial variation in population-density, movement and detectability of snow leopards in
2 a multiple use landscape in Spiti Valley, Trans-Himalaya. bioRxiv, .
Abstract: 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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Bagchi, S., Sharma, R. K., Bhatnagar, Y.V. (2020). Change in snow leopard predation on livestock after revival of wild prey in the Trans-Himalaya. Wildlife Biology, , 1–11.
Abstract: Human–wildlife conflict arising from livestock-losses to large carnivores is an important challenge faced by conservation. Theory of prey–predator interactions suggests that revival of wild prey populations can reduce predator’s dependence on livestock in multiple-use landscapes. We explore whether 10-years of conservation efforts to revive wild prey could reduce snow leopard’s Panthera uncia consumption of livestock in the coupled human-and-natural Trans-Himalayan ecosystem of northern India. Starting in 2001, concerted conservation efforts at one site (intervention) attempted recovery of wild- prey populations by creating livestock-free reserves, accompanied with other incentives (e.g. insurance, vigilant herding). Another site, 50km away, was monitored as status quo without any interventions. Prey remains in snow leopard scats were examined periodically at five-year intervals between 2002 and 2012 to determine any temporal shift in diet at both sites to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation interventions. Consumption of livestock increased at the status quo site, while it decreased at the intervention-site. At the intervention-site, livestock-consumption reduced during 2002–2007 (by 17%, p = 0.06); this effect was sustained during the next five-year interval, and it was accompanied by a persistent increase in wild prey populations. Here we also noted increased predator populations, likely due to immigration into the study area. Despite the increase in the predator population, there was no increase in livestock-consumption. In contrast, under status quo, dependence on livestock increased during both five-year intervals (by 7%, p=0.08, and by 16%, p=0.01, respectively). These contrasts between the trajectories of the two sites suggest that livestock-loss can potentially be reduced through the revival of wild prey. Further, accommodating counter-factual scenarios may be an important step to infer whether conservation efforts achieve their targets, or not.
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Murali, R., Ikhagvajav, P., Amankul, V., Jumabay, K., Sharma,
K., Bhatnagar, Y. V., Suryawanshi, K., Mishra, C. (2020). Ecosystem service dependence in livestock and crop-based. Journal of Arid Environments, 180, 1–10.
Abstract: Globally, in semi-arid and arid landscapes, there is an
ongoing transition from livestock-production systems to crop-production
systems, and in many parts of Asia's arid mountains, mining for minerals
is also increasing. These changes are accompanied by a change in the
generation and quality of ecosystem services (ES), which can impact
human well-being. In this study, to better understand the impacts of
such transitions, we quantified ES in two crop-based and three
livestock-based production systems in the arid and semi-arid landscapes
of the High Himalaya and Central Asia, specifically in the Indian
Himalaya, Kyrgyz Tien Shan, and Mongolian Altai. Our results showed 1)
high economic dependence (3.6–38 times the respective annual household
income) of local farmers on provisioning ES, with the economic value of
ES being greater in livestock-production systems (7.4–38 times the
annual household income) compared to crop-production systems (3.6–3.7
times the annual household income); 2) ES input into cashmere
production, the main commodity from the livestock-production systems,
was 13–18 times greater than the price of cashmere received by the
farmer; and 3) in the livestock production systems affected by mining,
impacts on ES and quality of life were reported to be negative by
majority of the respondents. We conclude that livestock-based systems
may be relatively more vulnerable to degrading impacts of mining and
other ongoing developments due to their dependence on larger ES resource
catchments that tend to have weaker land tenure and are prone to
fragmentation. In contrast to the general assumption of low value of ES
in arid and semi-arid landscapes due to relatively low primary
productivity, our study underscores the remarkably high importance of ES
in supporting local livelihoods.
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Suryawanshi, K. R., Bhatnagar, Y., & Mishra, C. (2009). Why should a grazer browse? Livestock impact on winter resource use by bharal Pseudois nayaur
. Oecologia, , 1–10.
Abstract: Many mammalian herbivores show a temporal diet variation between graminoid-dominated and browse dominated diets. We determined the causes of such a diet shift and its implications for conservation of a medium sized ungulate-the bharal Pseudois nayaur. Past studies show that the bharal diet is dominated by graminoids (>80%) during summer, but the contribution of graminoids declines to about 50% in winter. We tested the predictions generated by two alternative hypotheses explaining the decline: low graminoid availability during winter causes bharal to include browse in their diet; bharal include browse, with relatively higher nutritional quality, in their diet to compensate for the poor quality of graminoids during winter. We measured winter graminoid availability in areas with no livestock grazing, areas with relatively moderate livestock grazing, and those with intense livestock grazing pressures. The chemical composition of plants contributing to the bharal diet was analysed. The bharal diet was quantiWed through signs of feeding on vegetation at feeding locations. Population structures of bharal populations were recorded using a total count method. Graminoid availability was highest in areas without livestock grazing, followed by areas with moderate and intense livestock grazing. The bharal diet was dominated by graminoids (73%) in areas with highest graminoid availability. Graminoid contribution to the bharal diet declined monotonically (50, 36%) with a decline in graminoid availability. Bharal young to female ratio was 3 times higher in areas with high graminoid availability than areas with low graminoid availability. The composition of the bharal winter diet was governed predominantly by the availability of graminoids in the rangelands. Our results suggest that bharal include more browse in their diet during winter due to competition from livestock for graminoids. Since livestock grazing reduces graminoid availability, creation of livestock-free areas is necessary for the conservation of grazing species such as the bharal and its predators including the endangered snow leopard in the Trans-Himalaya.
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Raghavan, B., Bhatnagar, Y., & Qureshi, Q. (2003). Interactions between livestock and Ladakh urial (Ovis vignei vignei); final report.
Abstract: The Ladakh urial (Ovis vignei vignei) is a highly endangered animal (IUCN Red List 2000) listed in the Appendix 1 of CITES and Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Its numbers had been reduced to a few hundred individuals in the 1960s and 70s through hunting for trophies and meat (Fox et al. 1991, Mallon 1983, Chundawat and Qureshi 1999, IUCN Red List 2000). However, with the protection bestowed by the IWPA 1972, and resultant decrease in hunting, the population seems to have shown a marginal increase to about 1000-1500 individuals in its range in Ladakh (Chundawat and Qureshi 1999, IUCN Red List 2000). Although the species had in the past, been able to coexist with the predominantly Buddhist society of Ladakh, the recent increase in the population of both humans and their livestock has placed immense pressures on its habitat (Shackleton 1997, Chundawat and Qureshi 1999, Raghavan and Bhatnagar 2003). This is especially important considering that the Ladakh urial habitat coincides with the areas of maximum human activity in terms of settlements, agriculture, pastoralism and development, in Ladakh (Fox et al. 1991, Chundawat and Qureshi 1999, Raghavan and Bhatnagar 2003). Increased developmental activities such as construction of roads, dams, and military bases in these areas have also increased the access to their habitat. This has consequently made the species more vulnerable to the threats of poaching and habitat destruction (Fox et al. 1991, Chundawat and Qureshi 1999, Raghavan and Bhatnagar 2002). Pressure from increased livestock grazing is one of the major threats faced by the species today (Shackleton 1997, Fox et al. 1991, Mallon 1983, IUCN Red List 2000 Chundawat and Qureshi 1999, Raghavan and Bhatnagar 2003). In the impoverished habitat provided by the Trans-Himalayas, there is great competition for the scarce resources between various animal species surviving here (Fox 1996, Mishra 2001). The presence of livestock intensifies this competition and can either force the species out of its niche (competitive exclusion) by displacing it from that area or resource, or lead to partitioning of resources between the species, spatially or temporally, for coexistence (Begon et al. 1986, Gause 1934).
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Namgail, T., Fox, J., & Bhatnagar, Y. (2007). Habitat shift and time budget of the Tibetan argali: the influence of livestock grazing (Vol. 22).
Abstract: Livestock production is the primary source of livelihood and income in most of the high steppe and alpine regions of the Indian Trans-Himalaya. In some areas, especially those established or proposed for biodiversity conservation, recent increases in populations of domestic livestock, primarily sheep and goats, have raised concern about domestic animals competitively excluding wild herbivores from the rangelands. We
evaluated the influence of domestic sheep and goat grazing on the habitat use and time budget of the endangered Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni in the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh, India. We asked if the domestic sheep and goat grazing and collateral human activities relegate the argali to suboptimal habitats, and alter their foraging time budgets. Data were collected on habitat use and time budget of a population of c. 50 argalis before and after c. 2,000 sheep and goats moved onto their winter pasture in the Tsabra catchment of the aforementioned reserve. Following the introduction of domestic sheep and goats, argalis continued to use the same catchment but shifted to steeper habitats, closer to cliffs, with lower vegetation cover, thus abandoning previously used plant communities with denser cover. Argalis' active time spent foraging also decreased by 10% in response to the presence of livestock. These results suggest a clear disturbance effect of livestock on argalis, and indicate a potential for competition, conceivably a significant disadvantage for argalis in winter when forage availability is minimal.
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Namgail, T., Fox, J., & Bhatnagar, Y. (2007). Carnivore-Caused Livestock Mortality in Trans-Himalaya (Vol. 39).
Abstract: The loss of livestock to wild predators is an important livelihood concern among Trans-Himalayan pastoralists. Because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region, few studies have been carried out to quantify livestock depredation by wild predators. In the present study, we assessed the intensity of livestock depredation by snow leopard Uncia uncia, Tibetan wolf Canis lupus chanku, and Eurasian lynx Lynx l. isabellina in three villages, namely Gya, Rumtse, and Sasoma, within the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh, India. The three villages reported losses of 295 animals to these carnivores during a period of 2.5 years ending in early 2003, which represents an annual loss rate of 2.9% of their livestock holdings. The Tibetan wolf was the most important predator, accounting for 60% of the total livestock loss because of predation, followed by snow leopard (38%) and lynx (2%). Domestic goat was the major victim (32%), followed by sheep (30%), yak (15%), and horse (13%). Wolves killed horses significantly more and goats less than would be expected from their relative abundance. Snow leopards also killed horses significantly more than expected, whereas they killed other livestock types in proportion to their abundance. The three villages combined incurred an estimated annual monetary loss of approximately $USD 12,120 amounting to approximately $USD 190/household/y. This relatively high total annual loss occurred primarily because of depredation of the most valuable livestock types such as yak and horse. Conservation actions should initially attempt to target decrease of predation on these large and valuable livestock species.
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Namgail, T., Fox, J., & Bhatnagar, Y. V. (2004). Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Journal of Zoology, 262, 57–63.
Abstract: Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur have almost completely overlapping distributions encompassing most of the Tibetan plateau and its margins. Such a sympatric distribution of related species with similar ecological requirements implies that there is some degree of resource partitioning. This may be accomplished on the basis of habitat and/or diet separation. This study evaluated such ecological separation on the basis of physical habitat partitioning by these two sympatric ungulates in Hemis High Altitude National Park, Ladakh, India, in an area where the argali established a small new population in 1978. Such separation was tested for
on the basis of expected difference between the species in their proximity to cliffs, associated with species-specific anti-predator behaviour. Tibetan argali selected habitats away from cliffs while blue sheep selected habitats close to cliffs. Blue sheep also selected steep slopes whereas argali selected gentle slopes. The two species did not differ
in their use of habitats in terms of elevation. They did, however, differ in their use of plant communities; blue sheep selected sub-shrub and grass-dominated communities whilst argali selected forb-dominated communities. We suggest that the two species coexist in this site as a result of the differential use of habitat associated with their
species-specific anti-predator strategies.
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Bagchi, S., Mishra, C., & Bhatnagar, Y. (2004). Conflicts between traditional pastoralism and conservation of Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) in the Trans-Himalayan mountains. Animal Conservation, 7, 121–128.
Abstract: There is recent evidence to suggest that domestic livestock deplete the density and diversity of wild herbivores in the cold deserts of the Trans-Himalaya by imposing resource limitations. To ascertain the degree and nature of threats faced by Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) from seven livestock species, we studied their resource use patterns over space, habitat and food dimensions in the pastures of Pin Valley National Park in the Spiti region of the Indian Himalaya. Species diet profiles were obtained by direct observations. We assessed the similarity in habitat use and diets of ibex and livestock using Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling. We estimated the influence of the spatial distribution of livestock on habitat and diet choice of ibex by examining their co-occurrence patterns in cells overlaid on the pastures. The observed co-occurrence of ibex and livestock in cells was compared with null-models generated through Monte Carlo simulations. The results suggest that goats and sheep impose resource limitations on ibex and exclude them from certain pastures. In the remaining suitable habitat, ibex share forage with horses. Ibex remained relatively unaffected by other livestock such as yaks, donkeys and cattle. However, most livestock removed large amounts of forage from the pastures (nearly 250 kg of dry matter/day by certain species), thereby reducing forage availability for ibex. Pertinent conservation issues are discussed in the light of multiple-use of parks and current socio-economic transitions in the region, which call for integrating social and ecological feedback into management planning.
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