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Alexander, J. S., Zhang, C., Shi, K., Riordan, P. (2016). A spotlight on snow leopard conservation in China. Integrative Zoology, (11).
Abstract: China holds the greatest proportion of the snow leopard’s (Panthera uncia) global range and is central to their conservation. The country is also undergoing unprecedented economic growth, which increases both the threats to the snow leopard and the opportunities for its conservation. In this paper we aim to review published literature (from 1950 to 2014) in English and Mandarin on snow leopard ecology and conservation in China in order to identify thematic and geographic research gaps and propose research priorities. We first retrieved all publish items that considered snow leopards in China (n = 106). We extracted from these papers 274 reports of snow leopard presence in China. We then reviewed a subset of papers (n = 33) of this literature, which specifically focused on snow leopard ecology and conservation within China. We introduced a thematic framework that allows a structured and comprehensive assessment of findings. This framework recognizes 4 critical and interrelated topics underpinning snow leopard ecology and conservation: habitat (distribution and protected area coverage); prey (distribution and abundance, predator–prey relationships); human interactions (hunting and trade, livestock interactions and conflicts); and the underlying policy context. Significant gains in knowledge as well as research gaps and priorities are discussed with reference to our framework. The modest quantity and limited scope of published research on the snow leopard in China calls for a continued and intensified effort to inform and support national conservation policies.
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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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Alexander, S., A., Zhang, C., Shi, K., Riordan, P. (2016). A granular view of a snow leopard population using camera traps in Central China. Biological Conservation, (197), 27–31.
Abstract: Successful conservation of the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) relies on the effectiveness of monitoring programmes. We present the results of a 19-month camera trap survey effort, conducted as part of a longterm study of the snow leopard population in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve of Gansu Province, China. Weassessed the minimumnumber of individual snowleopards and population density across different sampling periods using spatial capture–recapture methods. Between 2013–2014, we deployed 34 camera traps across an area of 375 km2, investing a total of 7133 trap-days effort. Weidentified a total number of 17–19 unique individuals
from photographs (10–12 adults, five sub-adults and two cubs). The total number of individuals identified and estimated density varied across sampling periods, between 10–15 individuals and 1.46–3.29 snow leopards per 100 km2 respectively. We demonstrate that snow leopard surveys of limited scale and conducted over short sampling periods only present partial views of a dynamic and transient system.We also underline the challenges in achieving a sufficient sample size of captures and recaptures to assess trends in snow leopard population size and/or density for policy and conservation decision-making |
Chen, P., Gao, Y., Lee, A. T. L., Cering, L., Shi, K., Clark, S. G. (2016). Human–carnivore coexistence in Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) Nature Reserve, China: Patterns and compensation. Biological Conservation, (197), 18–26.
Abstract: Livestock depredation by large carnivores is frequently reported in Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) National Nature Reserve, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Seeking to minimize conflicts, we assessed depredation patterns and ways to upgrade the compensation program. We gathered 9193 conflict records over 2011–2013 to determine the extent and tempo-spatial patterns of the depredation.Weinterviewed 22 local officials and 94 residents to learn their views on depredations and to assess the adequacy of compensation. Data showed that wolves (Canis lupus), lynx (Lynx lynx), and snowleopards (Panthera uncia)were themajor livestock predators. Total livestock
loss accounted for 1.2% of the entire stockholding (n=846,707) in the region. Wolves and lynx tended to take sheep and goats,whereas snowleopards favored yaks and cattle in relation to their proportional abundance. Predation mostly occurred in March through July. Livestock depredation by all predators when combined was best explained by terrain ruggedness and density of small- and large-bodied livestock. Temporal and spatial predation patterns variedamong carnivores.Most respondents (74%) attributed depredation causes to an increase in carnivore abundance. Only 7% blamed lax livestock herding practice for predation losses. Five percent said that predation was the result of livestock population increases, while 11% had no idea. The compensation scheme was found to be flawed in all aspects—predation verification, application procedure, compensation standard, operational resource allocation, making payment, and other problems. To enhance management for human–carnivore coexistence, we recommend a problem-oriented, integrated, adaptive approach that targets the complex social context of the conflict and addresses the interconnected functions of decision-making process. |
Ferretti, F., Lovari, S. (2016). Predation may counteract climatic change as a driving force for movements of mountain ungulates.
Abstract: Temperature variations are expected to influence altitudinal movements of mountain herbivores and, in
turn, those of their predators, but relevant information is scarce. We evaluated monthly relationships between temperature and altitude used by a large mountain-dwelling herbivore, the Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, and its main predator, the snow leopard Panthera uncia, in an area of central Himalaya for five consecutive years (2006–2010). In contrast to expectations, there was no significant direct relationship between altitude of tahr sightings and temperature. The mean altitude of tahr sightings decreased by c. 200 m throughout our study. As expected, snow leopard movements tracked those of tahr, although the core area of the snow leopard did not move downwards. Tahr remained the staple of the snow leopard diet: we suggest that the former did not move upwards in reaction to higher temperature to avoid encounters with the latter. Avoidance of competition with the larger common leopard Panthera pardus at lower altitudes could explain why snow leopards did not shift their core area downwards. Apparently, interspecific interactions (predation; competition) influenced movements of Himalayan tahr and snow leopards more than climatic variations. |
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 |
Johansson, O., Rauset, G. R., Samelius, G., McCarthy, T., Andren, H., Tumursukh, L., Mishra, C. (2016). Land sharing is essential for snow leopard conservation. Biological Conservation, (203), 1–7.
Abstract: Conserving large carnivores in an increasingly crowded planet raises difficult challenges. A recurring debate is whether large carnivores can be conserved in human used landscapes (land sharing) or whether they require specially designated areas (land sparing). Here we show that 40% of the 170 protected areas in the global range of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) are smaller than the home range of a single adult male and only 4– 13% are large enough for a 90% probability of containing 15 or more adult females. We used data from 16 snow leopards equipped with GPS collars in the Tost Mountains of South Gobi, Mongolia, to calculate home range size and overlap using three different estimators: minimum convex polygons (MCP), kernel utility distributions (Kernel), and local convex hulls (LoCoH). Local convex hull home ranges were smaller and included lower proportions of unused habitats compared to home ranges based on minimum convex polygons and Kernels. Intra-sexual home range overlapwas low, especially for adult males, suggesting that snowleopards are territorial. Mean home range size based on the LoCoH estimates was 207 km2 ± 63 SD for adult males and 124 km2 ± 41 SD for adult females. Our estimates were 6–44 times larger than earlier estimates based on VHF technology when comparing similar estimators, i.e. MCP. Our study illustrates that protected areas alone will not be able to conserve predatorswith large home ranges and conservationists and managers should not restrict their efforts to land sparing.
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Lewis, M., Songster, E.E. (2016). Studying the snow leopard: reconceptualizing conservation across the China–India border. BJHS, Themes 1(1), 169–198.
Abstract: The snow leopard is a highly charismatic megafauna that elicits admiration, concern and donations from individuals and NGOs in the West. In its home territories, however, it is a threat to local communities’ livestock and a potential source of income for its pelt and parts. Conservation and study are further challenged by its range; snow leopards traverse the borders separating China, India and ten other countries with long histories of tension with each other as well as internal political and economic struggles. This transnational animal provides an ideal case study for the consideration of transnational conservation science in the recent past.
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Li, J., McCarthy, T. M., Wang, H., Weckworth, B. V., Shaller, G. B., Mishra, C., Lu, Z., Beissinger, S. R. (2016). Climate refugia of snow leopards in High Asia. Biological Conservation, (203), 188–196.
Abstract: 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. |
Li, J., Xiao, L., Lu, Z. (2016). Challenges of snow leopard conservation in China. Science China Life Sciences, 59(6), 637–639. |