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Alexander, J. S., Gopalswamy, A. M., Shi, K., Riordan, P. | ||||
| Title | Face Value: Towards Robust Estimates of Snow Leopard Densities | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2015 | Publication | Plos One | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | Issue | Pages | |||
| Keywords | Densities, Snow Leopard, Camera traps, Spatial Capture Recapture models | ||||
| Abstract | When densities of large carnivores fall below certain thresholds, dramatic ecological effects can follow, leading to oversimplified ecosystems. Understanding the population status of such species remains a major challenge as they occur in low densities and their ranges are wide. This paper describes the use of non-invasive data collection techniques combined with recent spatial capture-recapture methods to estimate the density of snow leopards Panthera uncia. It also investigates the influence of environmental and human activity indicators on their spatial distribution. A total of 60 camera traps were systematically set up during a three-month period over a 480 km2 study area in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve, Gansu Province, China. We recorded 76 separate snow leopard captures over 2,906 trapdays, representing an average capture success of 2.62 captures/100 trap-days. We identified a total number of 20 unique individuals from photographs and estimated snow leopard density at 3.31 (SE = 1.01) individuals per 100 km2. Results of our simulation exercise indicate that our estimates from the Spatial Capture Recapture models were not optimal to respect to bias and precision (RMSEs for density parameters less or equal to 0.87). Our results underline the critical challenge in achieving sufficient sample sizes of snow leopard captures and recaptures. Possible performance improvements are discussed, principally by optimising effective camera capture and photographic data quality. |
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | SLN @ rakhee @ | Serial | 1431 | ||
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Alexander, J., S., Gopalaswamy, A., M., Shi, K., Hughes, J., Riordan, P. | ||||
| Title | Patterns of Snow Leopard Site Use in an Increasingly Human-Dominated Landscape | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2016 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | Issue | Pages | 1-15 | ||
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| 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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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | SLN @ rakhee @ | Serial | 1440 | ||
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| Author |
Chetri, M., Odden, M., Wegge, P. | ||||
| Title | Snow Leopard and Himalayan Wolf: Food Habits and Prey Selection in the Central Himalayas, Nepal | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2017 | Publication | Plos | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | Issue | 12(2) | Pages | 2-16 | |
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| Abstract | Top carnivores play an important role in maintaining energy flow and functioning of the ecosystem, and a clear understanding of their diets and foraging strategies is essential for developing effective conservation strategies. In this paper, we compared diets and prey selection of snow leopards and wolves based on analyses of genotyped scats (snow leopards n = 182, wolves n = 57), collected within 26 sampling grid cells (5×5 km) that were distributed across a vast landscape of ca 5000 km2 in the Central Himalayas, Nepal. Within the grid cells, we sampled prey abundances using the double observer method. We found that interspecific differences in diet composition and prey selection reflected their respective habitat preferences, i.e. snow leopards significantly preferred cliff-dwelling wild ungulates (mainly bharal, 57% of identified material in scat samples), whereas wolves preferred typically plain-dwellers (Tibetan gazelle, kiang and argali, 31%). Livestock was consumed less frequently than their proportional availability by both predators (snow leopard = 27%; wolf = 24%), but significant avoidance was only detected among snow leopards. Among livestock species, snow leopards significantly preferred horses and goats, avoided yaks, and used sheep as available. We identified factors influencing diet composition using Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Wolves showed seasonal differences in the occurrence of small mammals/ birds, probably due to the winter hibernation of an important prey, marmots. For snow leopard, occurrence of both wild ungulates and livestock in scats depended on sex and latitude. Wild ungulates occurrence increased while livestock decreased from south to north, probably due to a latitudinal gradient in prey availability. Livestock occurred more frequently in scats from male snow leopards (males: 47%, females: 21%), and wild ungulates more frequently in scats from females (males: 48%, females: 70%). The sexual difference agrees with previous telemetry studies on snow leopards and other large carnivores, and may reflect a high-risk high-gain strategy among males. |
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | SLN @ rakhee @ | Serial | 1450 | ||
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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. | ||||
| 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 | ||
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| Abstract | 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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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Serial | 1617 | |||
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| Author |
Hanson, J. H., Schutgens, M., Leader-Williams, N. | ||||
| Title | What factors best explain attitudes to snow leopards in the Nepal Himalayas? | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2019 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | Issue | Pages | 1-19 | ||
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| Abstract | The snow leopard Panthera uncia is a vulnerable wild felid native to mountainous regions of 12 Asian countries. It faces numerous overlapping threats, including killings by herders retaliating against livestock losses, the illegal wildlife trade, loss of prey and habitat, infra- structure, energy and mining developments, and climate change. The species ranges over large territories that often lie outside of protected areas (PA), so coexistence with human populations across its range is key to its persistence. Human attitudes to snow leopards may be an important factor to consider in reducing overlapping threats to this species. How- ever, this nexus has not been widely studied to date. Attitudes to snow leopard conserva- tion, including actors and interventions, may also be a significant aspect of coexistence. These have also received limited empirical attention. This study therefore explored human attitudes to snow leopards and to snow leopard conservation, the motivations for these atti- tudes and the individual factors that best explained them. Using systematic sampling, a quantitative questionnaire was administered to 705 households at two sites in the Nepal Himalayas: Sagarmatha National Park, with a less decentralised governance model, and Annapurna Conservation Area, with a more decentralised model. Linear regression models were the main form of analysis. Based on these, attitudes to snow leopard conservation emerged as the strongest influence on local attitudes to snow leopards, and vice versa. This was true in both PAs, despite their differing management regimes. Other important explana- tory factors included numbers of livestock owned, years of education, household livelihoods and age. Furthermore, a positive intrinsic motivation was the most common reason given by respondents to explain their attitudes to both snow leopards and snow leopard conservation. These findings demonstrate that, in addition to the usual suite of factors that influence atti- tudes to a species, the way in which its conservation is pursued and perceived also needs consideration. How the snow leopard is conserved may strongly influence its coexistence with local communities. | ||||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | SLN @ rakhee @ | Serial | 1489 | ||
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Kinoshita, K., Inada, S., Seki, K., Sasaki, A., Hama, N., Kusunoki, H. | ||||
| Title | Long-Term Monitoring of Fecal Steroid Hormones in Female Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) during Pregnancy or Pseudopregnancy | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2011 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | 6 | Issue | 5 | Pages | e19314. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019314 |
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| Abstract | Knowledge of the basic reproductive physiology of snow leopards is required urgently in order to develop a suitable management conditions under captivity. In this study, the long-term monitoring of concentrations of three steroid hormones in fecal matter of three female snow leopards was performed using enzyme immunoassays: (1) estradiol-17β, (2) progesterone and (3) cortisol metabolite. Two of the female animals were housed with a male during the winter breeding season, and copulated around the day the estradiol-17β metabolite peaked subsequently becoming pregnant. The other female was treated in two different ways: (1) first housed with a male in all year round and then (2) in the winter season only. She did not mate with him on the first occasion, but did so latter around when estradiol-17β metabolite peaked, and became pseudopregnant. During pregnancy, progesterone metabolite concentrations increased for 92 or 94 days, with this period being approximately twice as long as in the pseudopregnant case (31, 42, 49 and 53 days). The levels of cortisol metabolite in the pseudopregnant female (1.35 µg/g) were significantly higher than in the pregnant females (0.33 and 0.24 µg/g) (P<0.05). Similarly, during the breeding season, the levels of estradiol-17β metabolite in the pseudopregnant female (2.18 µg/g) were significantly higher than those in the pregnant females (0.81 and 0.85 µg/g) (P<0.05). Unlike cortisol the average levels of estradiol-17β during the breeding season were independent of reproductive success. The hormone levels may also be related to housing conditions and the resulting reproductive success in female leopards. The female housed with a male during the non-breeding season had high levels of cortisol metabolites and low levels of estradiol-17β in the breeding season, and failed to become pregnant. This indicates that housing conditions in snow leopards may be an important factor for normal endocrine secretion and resulting breeding success. |
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| Publisher | Texas A & M University | Place of Publication | United States of America | Editor | Sharon Gursky-Doyen |
| Language | English | Summary Language | Original Title | ||
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| Notes | PLoS ONE 6(5): e19314. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019314 | Approved | no | ||
| Call Number | SLN @ rana @ | Serial | 1317 | ||
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| Author |
Lyngdoh, S.,Shrotriya, S.,Goyal, S. P.,Clements, H.,Hayward, M. W.,Habib, B. | ||||
| Title | Prey Preferences of the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia): Regional Diet Specificity Holds Global Significance for Conservation | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2014 | Publication | Plos One | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | 9 | Issue | 2 | Pages | 1-11 |
| Keywords | snow leopard, prey species, prey consumption | ||||
| Abstract | The endangered snow leopard is a large felid that is distributed over 1.83 million km2 globally. Throughout its range it relies on a limited number of prey species in some of the most inhospitable landscapes on the planet where high rates of human persecution exist for both predator and prey. We reviewed 14 published and 11 unpublished studies pertaining to snow leopard diet throughout its range. We calculated prey consumption in terms of frequency of occurrence and biomass consumed based on 1696 analysed scats from throughout the snow leopard’s range. Prey biomass consumed was calculated based on the Ackerman’s linear correction factor. We identified four distinct physiographic and snow leopard prey type zones, using cluster analysis that had unique prey assemblages and had key prey characteristics which supported snow leopard occurrence there. Levin’s index showed the snow leopard had a specialized dietary niche breadth. The main prey of the snow leopard were Siberian ibex (Capra sibrica), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), argali (Ovis ammon) and marmots (Marmota spp). The significantly preferred prey species of snow leopard weighed 5565 kg, while the preferred prey weight range of snow leopard was 36–76 kg with a significant preference for Siberian ibex and blue sheep. Our meta-analysis identified critical dietary resources for snow leopards throughout their distribution and illustrates the importance of understanding regional variation in species ecology; particularly prey species that have global implications for conservation. |
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| Call Number | SLN @ rakhee @ | Serial | 1406 | ||
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Sharma, K., Bayrakcismith, R., Tumursukh, L., Johansson, O., Sevger, P., McCarthy, T., Mishra, C. | ||||
| Title | Vigorous Dynamics Underlie a Stable Population of the Endangered Snow Leopard Panthera uncia in Tost Mountains, South Gobi, Mongolia | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2014 | Publication | Plos One | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | 9 | Issue | 7 | Pages | |
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| Abstract | Population monitoring programmes and estimation of vital rates are key to understanding the mechanisms of population growth, decline or stability, and are important for effective conservation action. We report, for the first time, the population trends and vital rates of the endangered snow leopard based on camera trapping over four years in the Tost Mountains, South Gobi, Mongolia. We used robust design multi-season mark-recapture analysis to estimate the trends in abundance, sex ratio, survival probability and the probability of temporary emigration and immigration for adult and young snow leopards. The snow leopard population remained constant over most of the study period, with no apparent growth (l = 1.08+20.25). Comparison of model results with the ‘‘known population’’ of radio-collared snow leopards suggested high accuracy in our estimates. Although seemingly stable, vigorous underlying dynamics were evident in this population, with the adult sex ratio shifting from being male-biased to female-biased (1.67 to 0.38 males per female) during the study. Adult survival probability was 0.82 (SE+20.08) and that of young was 0.83 (SE+20.15) and 0.77 (SE +20.2) respectively, before and after the age of 2 years. Young snow leopards showed a high probability of temporary emigration and immigration (0.6, SE +20.19 and 0.68, SE +20.32 before and after the age of 2 years) though not the adults (0.02 SE+20.07). While the current female-bias in the population and the number of cubs born each year seemingly render the study population safe, the vigorous dynamics suggests that the situation can change quickly. The reduction in the proportion of male snow leopards may be indicative of continuing anthropogenic pressures. Our work reiterates the importance of monitoring both the abundance and population dynamics of species for effective conservation. |
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| Call Number | SLN @ rakhee @ | Serial | 1416 | ||
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Sharma, R. K., Sharma, K., Borchers, D., Bhatnagar, Y V., Suryawanshi, K. R., Mishra, C. | ||||
| Title | Spatial variation in population-density of snow leopards in a multiple use landscape in Spiti Valley, Trans-Himalaya | Type | Research Article | ||
| Year | 2021 | Publication | PloS One | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | Issue | Pages | 1-14 | ||
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| 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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| Call Number | Serial | 1637 | |||
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Shehzad, Wasim. McCarthy, Thomas Michael. Pompanon, Francois. Purejav, Lkhagvajav. Coissac, Eric. Riaz,Tiayyba. Taberlet, Pierre | ||||
| Title | Prey Preference of Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) in South Gobi, Mongolia | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2012 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | |
| Volume | Issue | Feb 2012 | Pages | ||
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| Abstract | Accurate information about the diet of large carnivores that are elusive and inhabit inaccessible terrain, is required to properly design conservation strategies. Predation on livestock and retaliatory killing of predators have become serious issues throughout the range of the snow leopard. These techniques have inherent limitation in their ability to properly identify both snow leopard feces and prey taxa, To examine the frequency of livestock prey and and nearly-threatened argali in the diet of the snow leopard, we employed the recently developed DNA-based diet approach to study a snow leopard population located in the Tost Mountains, South Gobi, Mongolia. After DNA was extracted from the feces, a region of ~100 bp long from mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene was amplified, making use of universal primers for vertebrates and a blocking oligonucleotide specific to snow leopard DNA. The amplicons were then sequenced using a next-generation sequencing platform. We observed a total of five different prey items from 81 fecal samples. Siberian ibex predominated the diet (in 70.4% of the feces), followed by domestic goat (17.3%) and argali sheep (8.6%). The major part of the diet was comprised of large ungulates (in 98.8% of the feces) including wild ungulates (79%) and domestic livestock (19.7%). The findings of the present study will help to understand the feeding ecology of the snow leopard, as well as to address the conservation and management issues pertaining to this wild cat. | ||||
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| Call Number | SLN @ rakhee @ | Serial | 1378 | ||
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