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Shi, K., Jun, Z. F. S., Zhigang, D., Riordan, P., & MacDonald, D. (2009). Reconfirmation of snow leopards in Taxkurgan Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China. Oryx, 43(2), 169–170.
Abstract: China may hold a greater proportion of the global snow leopard Panthera uncia population than any other country, with the area of good quality suitable habitat, estimated at nearly 300,000 km2, comprising .50% of that available across the species' entire range. We can now reconfirm the presence of snow leopard in the Taxkurgan area of Xinjiang Province in north-west China after a period of 20 years.
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Atzeni, L., Cushman, S. A., Wang, J., Riordan, P., Shi, K., Bauman, D. (2021). Evidence of spatial genetic structure in a snow leopard population from Gansu, China. Heredity, . Retrieved July 3, 2024, from http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-021-00483-0
Abstract: Understanding the spatial structure of genetic diversity provides insights into a populations’ genetic status and enables assessment of its capacity to counteract the effects of genetic drift. Such knowledge is particularly scarce for the snow leopard, a conservation flagship species of Central Asia mountains. Focusing on a snow leopard population in the Qilian mountains of Gansu Province, China, we characterised the spatial genetic patterns by incorporating spatially explicit indices of diversity and multivariate analyses, based on different inertia levels of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We compared two datasets differing in the number of loci and individuals. We found that genetic patterns were significantly spatially structured and were characterised by a broad geographical division coupled with a fine-scale cline of differentiation. Genetic admixture was detected in two adjoining core areas characterised by higher effective population size and allelic diversity, compared to peripheral localities. The power to detect significant spatial relationships depended primarily on the number of loci, and secondarily on the number of PCA axes. Spatial patterns and indices of diversity highlighted the cryptic structure of snow leopard genetic diversity, likely driven by its ability to disperse over large distances. In combination, the species’ low allelic richness and large dispersal ability result in weak genetic differentiation related to major geographical features and isolation by distance. This study illustrates how cryptic genetic patterns can be investigated and analysed at a fine spatial scale, providing insights into the spatially variable isolation effects of both geographic distance and landscape resistance.
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Alexander, J., S., Gopalaswamy, A., M., Shi, K., Hughes, J., Riordan, P. (2016). Patterns of Snow Leopard Site Use in an Increasingly Human-Dominated Landscape. PLoS ONE, , 1–15.
Abstract: Human population growth and concomitant increases in demand for natural resources pose threats to many wildlife populations. The landscapes used by the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and their prey is increasingly subject to major changes in land use. We aimed to assess the influence of 1) key human activities, as indicated by the presence of mining and livestock herding, and 2) the presence of a key prey species, the blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), on probability of snow leopard site use across the landscape. In Gansu Province, China, we conducted sign surveys in 49 grid cells, each of 16 km2 in size, within a larger area of 3392 km2. We analysed the data using likelihood-based habitat occupancy models that explicitly account for imperfect detection and spatial auto-correlation between survey transect segments. The model-averaged estimate of snow leopard occupancy was high [0.75 (SE 0.10)], but only marginally higher than the naïve estimate (0.67). Snow leop- ard segment-level probability of detection, given occupancy on a 500 m spatial replicate, was also high [0.68 (SE 0.08)]. Prey presence was the main determinant of snow leopard site use, while human disturbances, in the form of mining and herding, had low predictive power. These findings suggest that snow leopards continue to use areas very close to such disturbances, as long as there is sufficient prey. Improved knowledge about the effect of human activity on large carnivores, which require large areas and intact prey populations, is urgently needed for conservation planning at the local and global levels. We highlight a number of methodological considerations that should guide the design of such research.
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Suryawanshi, K. (2011). An encounter in snow. FRONTLINE, 28(10).
Abstract: In the trans-Himalayan region, a conservation effort has reduced conflicts between snow leopards and pastoralists. Photographs & text by author.
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Guoliang, P., Alexander, J. S., Riordan, P., Shi, K., Kederhan, Yang, H. (2016). Detection of a snow leopard population in northern Bortala, Xinjiang, China. Cat News, (63).
Abstract: We substantiate the presence of snow leopards Panthera uncia using camera
traps within the Dzungarian Alatau range in Bortala Mongolia Autonomous Prefecture,
Xinjiang Province, China. A total of 13 camera trap stations were set up in
2012 and a total of 14 camera trap stations in 2013 within an area of 192 km2. A total
of 11-15 individual adult snow leopards and two sub adults were identified from
photo captures of sufficient quality. A range of human activities were noted within
and surrounding the survey area, including livestock herding and mining. We recommend
more large scale and intensive camera trap surveys to further assess the
population status of the snow leopard within this area
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Sharma, R. K., Sharma, K., Borchers, D., Bhatnagar, Y V., Suryawanshi, K. R., Mishra, C. (2021). Spatial variation in population-density of snow leopards in a multiple use landscape in Spiti Valley, Trans-Himalaya.
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 km2. Our best model estimated an overall density of 0.5 (95% CI: 0.31–0.82) mature snow leopards per 100 km2. Using AIC, our best model showed the density of snow leopards to depend on estimated 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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