Habitat segregation between sympatric Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in the Indian Trans‐Himalaya

Abstract

Tibetan argali Ovis ammon hodgsoni and blue sheep Pseudois nayaur have almost completely overlapping distributions encompassing most of the Tibetan plateau and its margins. Such a sympatric distribution of related species with similar ecological requirements implies that there is some degree of resource partitioning. This may be accomplished on the basis of habitat and/or diet separation. This study evaluated such ecological separation on the basis of physical habitat partitioning by these two sympatric ungulates in Hemis High Altitude National Park, Ladakh, India, in an area where the argali established a small new population in 1978. Such separation was tested for on the basis of expected difference between the species in their proximity to cliffs, associated with species-specific anti-predator behaviour. Tibetan argali selected habitats away from cliffs while blue sheep selected habitats close to cliffs. Blue sheep also selected steep slopes whereas argali selected gentle slopes. The two species did not differ in their use of habitats in terms of elevation. They did, however, differ in their use of plant communities; blue sheep selected sub-shrub and grass-dominated communities whilst argali selected forb-dominated communities. We suggest that the two species coexist in this site as a result of the differential use of habitat associated with their species-specific anti-predator strategies.

Feeding habitats of blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) during winter and spring in Helan Mountains, China

“…The sheep maintained proximity to cliffs or bare rock (Wilson, 1981;Harris and Miller, 1995;Oli, 1996;Namgail et al, 2004). Similar results were obtained in this study but blue sheep from the present study showed no significant difference in slope direction and degree between winter and spring (Table 1).…”

“…It is unfortunate that these studies were restricted in some particular seasons (Harris and Miller, 1995;Namgail et al, 2004;Liu et al, 2005), in a few habitat variables (Wilson, 1981;Harris and Miller, 1995;Oli, 1996;Namgail et al, 2004), and in insufficient plots (Oli, 1996;Wilson, 1981;Harris and Miller, 1995). Due to the shift of food resources from winter to spring, we predict that winter foraging sites by blue sheep should show some differences from spring sites.…”

“…动物学研究] E-mail: xmwang@ecnu.edu.cn Although some authors have reported the habitat selection by blue sheep distributing in different regions (Wilson, 1981;Harris and Miller, 1995;Oli, 1996;Namgail et al, 2004;Liu et al, 2005), they did not study the feeding habitat used by sheep in particular. It is unfortunate that these studies were restricted in some particular seasons (Harris and Miller, 1995;Namgail et al, 2004;Liu et al, 2005), in a few habitat variables (Wilson, 1981;Harris and Miller, 1995;Oli, 1996;Namgail et al, 2004), and in insufficient plots (Oli, 1996;Wilson, 1981;Harris and Miller, 1995).…”

Identifying Potential Conservation Corridors Along the Mongolia-Russia Border Using Resource Selection Functions: A Case Study on Argali Sheep

“…Rachlow & Bowyer, 1998;Singh et al, 2009). Many mountain ungulates evade predation by fl eeing to precipitous, so called 'escape' terrain (Geist, 1971;Namgail et al, 2004). However, build as more of a coursing animal, argali typically descend from escape terrain and fl ee from potential predators (Namgail et al, 2004;Walker et al, 2007).…”

“…Many mountain ungulates evade predation by fl eeing to precipitous, so called 'escape' terrain (Geist, 1971;Namgail et al, 2004). However, build as more of a coursing animal, argali typically descend from escape terrain and fl ee from potential predators (Namgail et al, 2004;Walker et al, 2007). Predators, especially domestic dogs and wolves, represent the leading cause of mortality for argali sheep in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve on the northern edge of Mongolia's Gobi (Reading et al, 2009).…”