|
Records |
Links |
|
Author |
Changxi, X., Bai, D., Lambert, J. P., Li, Y., Cering, L., Gong, Z., Riordan, P., Shi, K. |
|
|
Title |
How Snow Leopards Share the Same Landscape with Tibetan Agro-pastoral Communities in the Chinese Himalayas |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2022 |
Publication |
Journal of Resources and Ecology |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
13 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
483-500 |
|
|
Keywords |
habitat use; landscape ecology; occupancy model; Qomolangma; Panthera uncia |
|
|
Abstract |
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits a human-altered alpine landscape and is often tolerated by residents in regions where the dominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism, including in Qomolangma NNR on the northern side of the Chinese Himalayas. Despite these positive attitudes, many decades of rapid economic development and population growth can cause increasing disturbance to the snow leopards, altering their habitat use patterns and ultimately impacting their conservation. We adopted a dynamic landscape ecology perspective and used multi-scale technique and occupancy model to better understand snow leopard habitat use and coexistence with humans in an 825 km2 communal landscape. We ranked eight hypothetical models containing potential natural and anthropogenic drivers of habitat use and compared them between summer and winter seasons within a year. HABITAT was the optimal model in winter, whereas ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCE was the top ranking in summer (AICcw≤2). Overall, model performance was better in the winter than in the summer, suggesting that perhaps some latent summer covariates were not measured. Among the individual variables, terrain ruggedness strongly affected snow leopard habitat use in the winter, but not in the summer. Univariate modeling suggested snow leopards prefer to use rugged land in winter with a broad scale (4000 m focal radius) but with a lesser scale in summer (30 m); Snow leopards preferred habitat with a slope of 22° at a scale of 1000 m throughout both seasons, which is possibly correlated with prey occurrence. Furthermore, all covariates mentioned above showed inextricable ties with human activities (presence of settlements and grazing intensity). Our findings show that multiple sources of anthropogenic activity have complex connections with snow leopard habitat use, even under low human density when anthropogenic activities are sparsely distributed across a vast landscape. This study is also valuable for habitat use research in the future, especially regarding covariate selection for finite sample sizes in inaccessible terrain. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1698 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
Author |
Xiao, C., Bai, D., Lambert, J. P., Li, Y., Cering, L., Gong, Z., Riordan, P., Shi, K. |
|
|
Title |
How Snow Leopards Share the Same Landscape with Tibetan Agro-pastoral Communities in the Chinese Himalayas |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2022 |
Publication |
Journal of Resources and Ecology |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
13 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
483-500 |
|
|
Keywords |
habitat use; landscape ecology; occupancy model; Qomolangma; Panthera uncia |
|
|
Abstract |
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits a human-altered alpine landscape and is often tolerated by residents in regions where the dominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism, including in Qomolangma NNR on the northern side of the Chinese Himalayas. Despite these positive attitudes, many decades of rapid economic development and population growth can cause increasing disturbance to the snow leopards, altering their habitat use patterns and ultimately impacting their conservation. We adopted a dynamic landscape ecology perspective and used multi-scale technique and occupancy model to better understand snow leopard habitat use and coexistence with humans in an 825 km2 communal landscape. We ranked eight hypothetical models containing potential natural and anthropogenic drivers of habitat use and compared them between summer and winter seasons within a year. HABITAT was the optimal model in winter, whereas ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCE was the top ranking in summer (AICcw≤2). Overall, model performance was better in the winter than in the summer, suggesting that perhaps some latent summer covariates were not measured. Among the individual variables, terrain ruggedness strongly affected snow leopard habitat use in the winter, but not in the summer. Univariate modeling suggested snow leopards prefer to use rugged land in winter with a broad scale (4000 m focal radius) but with a lesser scale in summer (30 m); Snow leopards preferred habitat with a slope of 22° at a scale of 1000 m throughout both seasons, which is possibly correlated with prey occurrence. Furthermore, all covariates mentioned above showed inextricable ties with human activities (presence of settlements and grazing intensity). Our findings show that multiple sources of anthropogenic activity have complex connections with snow leopard habitat use, even under low human density when anthropogenic activities are sparsely distributed across a vast landscape. This study is also valuable for habitat use research in the future, especially regarding covariate selection for finite sample sizes in inaccessible terrain. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1688 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
Author |
Khanyari, M., Robinson, S., Milner-Gulland, E. J., Morgan, E. R., Rana, R. S., Suryawanshi, K. R. |
|
|
Title |
Pastoralism in the high Himalayas: Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice Open Access Understanding changing practices and their implications for parasite transmission between livestock and wildlife |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2022 |
Publication |
Springer Open |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
12 |
Issue |
44 |
Pages |
1-16 |
|
|
Keywords |
Migratory, Transhumance, Livestock, Asiatic ibex, Capra sibirica, Pasture, Rangelands, Gastro-intestinal nematodes |
|
|
Abstract |
Rangelands are increasingly being affected by climatic variations, fragmentation and changes in livestock management practices. Along with resource competition between livestock and wildlife, disease transmission has implications for people and wildlife in these shared landscapes. We worked with two pastoral communities in the Western Indian Himalayas: the migratory Kinnauras that travel to the Trans‐Himalayan Pin valley in summer and the resident herders of Pin Valley. Asiatic ibex (Capra sibirica) is the predominant wild herbivore in Pin. The pastures in Pin are grazed by both livestock (migratory and resident) and ibex, with the potential for disease transmission. We investigate the effects of herding practices on livestock health and disease transmission, while focusing on gastro‐intestinal nematodes (GINs) as they can spread by sharing pasture between wild and domestic ungulates. Surveys were carried out between June and August 2019, the period when migratory Kinnauras, local herders and Asiatic Ibex are found in Pin Valley. We found that the Kinnaura flocks share pasture with ibex during their time in Pin, exhibiting significantly higher endo‐parasite burdens than sedentary livestock, and the Kinnaura flocks are increasing in number. This suggests GIN cross‐transmission is possible, as GINs have low host specificity and a free‐living, environmental stage that is trophically acquired. As local (sedentary) sheep and goats rarely share pasture with ibex, have low endo‐parasite burdens and are few in number, they are unlikely to transmit parasites to ibex. However, increasingly large local stock numbers may be contributing to pasture degradation which could cause nutritional stress and resource competition, exacerbating GIN impacts. We also find evidence for transhumance persisting, in spite of signs of pasture degradation that are seemingly affecting livestock productivity and potentially disease transmission. It is critical that proactive measures are taken, like participatory disease management with the Kinnauras, to align livelihoods with wildlife and rangeland conservation. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1703 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
Author |
Khanyari, M., Suryawanshi, K. R., Milner-Gulland, E. J., Dickinson, E., Khara, A., Rana, R. S., Vineer, H. R., Morgan, E. R. |
|
|
Title |
Predicting Parasite Dynamics in Mixed-Use Trans-Himalayan Pastures to Underpin Management of Cross-Transmission Between Livestock and Bharal |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2021 |
Publication |
Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
8 |
Issue |
714241 |
Pages |
1 - 21 |
|
|
Keywords |
disease, Trans-Himalaya, livestock, nematodes, bharal, model, ungulates, grazing |
|
|
Abstract |
The complexities of multi-use landscapes require sophisticated approaches to addressing disease transmission risks. We explored gastro-intestinal nematode (GINs) infections in the North India Trans-Himalayas through a socio-ecological lens, integrating parasite transmission modelling with field surveys and local knowledge, and evaluated the likely effectiveness of potential interventions. Bharal (blue sheep; Pseudois nayaur), a native wild herbivore, and livestock share pasture year-round and livestock commonly show signs of GINs infection. While both wild and domestic ungulates had GINs infections, egg counts indicated significantly higher parasite burdens in bharal than livestock. However, due to higher livestock densities, they contributed more to the total count of eggs and infective larvae on pasture. Herders also reported health issues in their sheep and goats consistent with parasite infections. Model simulations suggested that pasture infectivity in this system is governed by historical pasture use and gradually accumulated larval development during the summer, with no distinct short-term flashpoints for transmission. The most effective intervention was consequently predicted to be early-season parasite suppression in livestock using temperature in spring as a cue. A 1-month pause in egg output from livestock could lead to a reduction in total annual availability of infective larvae on pasture of 76%, potentially benefitting the health of both livestock and bharal. Modelling suggested that climate change over the past 33 years has led to no overall change in GINs transmission potential, but an increase in the relative influence of temperature over precipitation in driving pasture infectivity. Our study provides a transferable multi-pronged approach to investigating disease transmission, in order to support herders’ livelihoods and conserve wild ungulates. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1673 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
Author |
Arias, M., Coals, P., Ardiantiono, Elves-Powell, J., Rizzolo, J. B., Ghoddousi, A., Boron, V., da Silva, M., Naude, V., Williams, V., Poudel, S., Loveridge, A., Payan, E., Suryawanshi, K., Dickman, A. |
|
|
Title |
Reflecting on the role of human-felid conflict and local use in big cat trade |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2024 |
Publication |
Conservation Science and Practice |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
6 |
Issue |
e13030 |
Pages |
1-7 |
|
|
Keywords |
conflict, illegal trade, jaguar, leopard, lion, Panthera, snow leopard, tiger, wildlife crime |
|
|
Abstract |
Illegal trade in big cat (Panthera spp.) body parts is a prominent topic in scientific and public discourses concerning wildlife conservation. While illegal trade is generally acknowledged as a threat to big cat species, we suggest that two enabling factors have, to date, been under-considered. To that end, we discuss the roles of human-felid conflict, and “local” use in illegal trade in big cat body parts. Drawing examples from across species and regions, we look at generalities, contextual subtleties, ambiguities, and definitional complexities. We caution against underestimating the extent of “local” use of big cats and highlight the potential of conflict killings to supply body parts. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1745 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
Author |
Khanyari, M., Dorjay, R., Lobzang, S., Bijoor, A., Suryawanshi, K. |
|
|
Title |
Co-designing conservation interventions through participatory action research in the Indian Trans-Himalaya |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
4 |
Issue |
e12232 |
Pages |
1-14 |
|
|
Keywords |
Changthang, co-design, community, conservation, participatory |
|
|
Abstract |
1. Community-based conservation, despite being more inclusive than fortress conservation, has been criticized for being a top-down implementation of external ideas brought to local communities for conservation's benefit. This is particularly true for Changpas, the pastoral people of Changthang in trans-Himalayan India who live alongside unique wildlife.
2. Our main aim was to co-design conservation interventions through participatory action research. We worked with two Changpa communities, to understand the issues faced by them. Subsequently, we co-designed context-sensitive interventions to facilitate positive human–nature interactions. We did so by integrating the PARTNERS (Presence, Aptness, Respect, Transparency, Empathy, Responsiveness, Strategic Support) principles with the Trinity of Voice (Access, Standing and Influence).
3. In Rupsho, we facilitated focus group discussions (FGDs) led by the community. We found livestock depredation by wildlife was primarily facilitated by the weather. This led to co-designing of a new corral design, which was piloted with seven households, safeguarding 2385 pashmina goats and sheep. Approximating the value of each sheep/goat to be USD125, this intervention amounts to a significant economic protection of USD c. 42,500 for each household. This is along with intangible gains of trust, ownership and improved self-esteem.
4. In Tegazong, a restricted area adjoining the Indo-China border with no previous research records, we worked with 43 Changpa people to co-create research questions of mutual interest. Wildlife presence and reasons for livestock loss were identified as areas of mutual interest. The herders suggested they would record data in a form of their choice, for 6 months, while they live in their winter pastures. This participatory community monitoring revealed nutrition and hypothermia to be a key cause of livestock death. Subsequently, we delimited two previously untested interventions: lamb cribs and provisioning of locally sourced barley as a feed supplement. The wildlife monitoring recorded the first record of Tibetan Gazelle Procapra picticuadata, outside of their known distribution, in Tegazong.
5. We aim to highlight the benefits of co-designing projects with local communities that link research and conservation, while also discussing the challenges faced. Ultimately, such projects are needed to ensure ethical knowledge generation and conservation, which aims to be decolonial and inclusive. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1727 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
Author |
Suryawanshi, K. R., Bhatia, S., Bhatnagar, Y. V., Redpath, S., Mishra, C |
|
|
Title |
Multiscale Factors Affecting Human Attitudes toward Snow Leopards and Wolves |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2014 |
Publication |
Conservation biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
00 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
1-10 |
|
|
Keywords |
Canis lupus, carnivore, human–wildlife conflicts, Panthera uncia, wildlife acceptance |
|
|
Abstract |
The threat posed by large carnivores to livestock and humans makes peaceful coexistence between
them difficult. Effective implementation of conservation laws and policies depends on the attitudes of local
residents toward the target species. There are many known correlates of human attitudes toward carnivores,
but they have only been assessed at the scale of the individual. Because human societies are organized hierarchically, attitudes are presumably influenced by different factors at different scales of social organization, but this scale dependence has not been examined.We used structured interview surveys to quantitatively assess the attitudes of a Buddhist pastoral community toward snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and wolves (Canis lupus).
We interviewed 381 individuals from 24 villages within 6 study sites across the high-elevation Spiti Valley in
the Indian Trans-Himalaya. We gathered information on key explanatory variables that together captured
variation in individual and village-level socioeconomic factors.We used hierarchical linear models to examine how the effect of these factors on human attitudes changed with the scale of analysis from the individual to the community. Factors significant at the individual level were gender, education, and age of the respondent (for wolves and snow leopards), number of income sources in the family (wolves), agricultural production, and large-bodied livestock holdings (snow leopards). At the community level, the significant factors included the number of smaller-bodied herded livestock killed by wolves and mean agricultural production (wolves) and village size and large livestock holdings (snow leopards). Our results show that scaling up from the individual to higher levels of social organization can highlight important factors that influence attitudes of people toward wildlife and toward formal conservation efforts in general. Such scale-specific information can help managers apply conservation measures at appropriate scales. Our results reiterate the need for conflict management programs to be multipronged. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1417 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
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 ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
1 - 7 |
|
|
Keywords |
community conservation; gender; large carnivores; snow leopard; women |
|
|
Abstract |
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. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
SLN @ rakhee @ |
Serial |
1689 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
Author |
Sharma, K., Fiechter, M., George, T., Young, J., Alexander, J.
S., Bijoor, Suryawanshi, K., Mishra, C. |
|
|
Title |
Conservation and people: Towards an ethical code of conduct for
the use of camera traps in wildlife research |
Type |
Journal Article |
|
Year |
2020 |
Publication |
Ecological Solutions and Evidence |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
|
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
1-6 |
|
|
Keywords |
camera trap, code of conduct, ethics, human rights, law, PARTNERS principles for community- based conservation, privacy, snow leopard |
|
|
Abstract |
1. Camera trapping is a widely employed tool in wildlife
research, used to estimate animal abundances, understand animal
movement, assess species richness and under- stand animal behaviour. In
addition to images of wild animals, research cameras often record human
images, inadvertently capturing behaviours ranging from innocuous
actions to potentially serious crimes.
2. With the increasing use of camera traps, there is an urgent need to
reflect on how researchers should deal with human images caught on
cameras. On the one hand, it is important to respect the privacy of
individuals caught on cameras, while, on the other hand, there is a
larger public duty to report illegal activity. This creates ethical
dilemmas for researchers.
3. Here, based on our camera-trap research on snow leopards Panthera
uncia, we outline a general code of conduct to help improve the practice
of camera trap based research and help researchers better navigate the
ethical-legal tightrope of this important research tool. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
|
Serial |
1626 |
|
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
|
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 ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
|
Keywords |
Co-existence; land sharing; population-density; spatial capture recapture; Pseudois nayaur
Capra sibirica; ungulates; livestock. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
Address |
|
|
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
|
Call Number |
|
Serial |
1620 |
|
Permanent link to this record |