Visual attractiveness and rarity often results in large carnivores being adopted as flagship species for stimulating conservation awareness. Their hunting behaviour and prey selection can affect the population dynamics of their prey, which in turn affects the population dynamics of these large carnivores. Therefore, our understanding of their trophic ecology and foraging strategies is important for predicting their population dynamics and consequently for developing effective conservation programs. Here we concentrate on an endangered species of carnivores, the snow leopard, in the Himalayas. Most previous studies on snow leopard diet lack information on prey availability and/or did not genetically check, whether the identification of snow leopard scats is correct, as their scats are similar to those of other carnivores. We studied the prey of snow leopard in three Himalayan regions in Nepal (Sagarmatha National Park (SNP), Lower Mustang (LM) and Upper Manang (UM) in the Annapurna Conservation Area, during winter and summer in 2014-2016. We collected 268 scats along 139.3 km linear transects, of which 122 were genetically confirmed to belong to snow leopard. Their diet was identified by comparing hairs in scats with our reference collection of the hairs of potential prey. We determined prey availability using 32-48 camera-traps and 4,567 trap nights. In the SNP, the most frequent prey in snow leopard faeces was the Himalayan tahr in both winter and summer. In LM and UM, its main prey was blue sheep in winter, but yak and goat in summer. In terms of relative biomass consumed, yak was the main prey everywhere in both seasons. Snow leopard preferred large prey and avoided small prey in summer but not in winter, with regional differences. It preferred domestic to wild prey only in winter, and in SNP. Unlike most other studies carried out in the same area, our study uses genetic methods for identifying the source of the scat. Studies solely based on visual identification of samples may be strongly biased. Diet studies based on frequency of occurrence of prey tend to overestimate the importance of small prey, which may be consumed more often, but contribute less energy than large prey. However, even assessments based on prey biomass are unlikely to be accurate as we do not know whether the actual size of the prey consumed corresponds to the average size used to calculate the biomass eaten. For example, large adults may be too difficult to catch and therefore mostly young animals are consumed, whose weight is much lower. We show that snow leopard consumes a diverse range of prey, which varies both regionally and seasonally. We conclude that in order to conserve snow leopards it is also necessary to conserve its main wild species of prey, which will reduce the incidence of losses of livestock.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6281286 | PMC |
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0206310 | PLOS |
Biol Open
December 2024
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, Gauteng 2000, South Africa.
Felid bone morphology is highly influenced by factors such as locomotion, body size, and foraging behaviour. Understanding how these factors influence bone morphology is important for interpreting the behaviour and ecology of such species. This study aimed to determine the extent to which Panthera pardus (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcol Evol
December 2024
Wildlife Conservation Society New York New York USA.
Population density is a valuable metric used to manage wildlife populations. In the Russian Far East, managers use the Formozov- Malyushev-Pereleshin (FMP) snow tracking method to estimate densities of ungulates for hunting management. The FMP also informs Amur tiger () conservation since estimates of prey density and biomass help inform conservation interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnim Welf
December 2024
Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51006 Tartu, Estonia.
Tourism wildlife interactions are controversial, the debate hinging largely on the compromised welfare of the animals used. Despite this, lion cub () interactions are popular, and there is a need to understand what motivates interactors to participate in the activity, their perceptions and expectations. We surveyed the attitudes of 300 visitors to three lion cub interaction facilities in South Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
December 2024
Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing, Beijing, China.
Understanding of predator feeding ecology, interactions among co-occurring predator species, and seasonal changes is critical for conservation management given the important role that predators play in shaping their ecosystems, but is lacking for most regions of the world. Dietary studies have demonstrated varying conclusions in the role that resource partitioning plays in the maintenance of predator communities due to complex inter-related factors that may shape prey use. We used DNA metabarcoding on 581 scat samples to determine the dietary composition, similarity, diversity, and niche overlap of eight predator species (Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Tibetan brown bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), red fox (V.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Res
December 2024
Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical & Material Engineering Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, PR China. Electronic address:
Piezoelectric catalysis has emerged as a promising green technology for implementing pollutant degradation and HO production. The use of environment friendly and abundantly available piezocatalysts is critical for practical applications. This work presents the preparation of various morphological CaCO via a simple precipitation method in the absence or presence of different templates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!