Modeling Distribution and Habitat Suitability for the Snow Leopard in Bhutan

Lham, Dechen; Cozzi, Gabriele; Sommer, Stefan; Thinley, Phuntsho; Wangchuk, Namgay; Wangchuk, Sonam; Özgül, Arpat

doi:10.3389/fcosc.2021.781085

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Using precise locations from GPS tracking, our data provide a robust description of habitat selection that considers individual and seasonal variations. Habitat use in our study is consistent with previous studies on snow leopards showing that both males and females select for similar terrain [16,21,22,24,27,28,84], preferring higher elevations (2500-4000 m) with steep slopes (20-60˚) and a generally southwest exposure (180˚-270˚). Although subtle, some seasonal differences in habitat selection between males and females were apparent in our study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…From a conservation perspective, understanding suitable habitat for a species is critical for its future conservation [5,[16][17][18][19]. Information on whether a habitat is suitable provides insight into habitat protection, helps in identifying areas that require conservation focus, and is fundamental in determining the existence of barriers to movement and the establishment of ecological corridors in the face of colonization of former range and new areas [16][17][18][19]. Habitat modeling of snow leopards has been a frequent research topic [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Habitat modeling of snow leopards has been a frequent research topic [2]. Research in China, Nepal, and Mongolia has shown that terrain (slope, ruggedness, and aspect), elevation, and prey availability determine snow leopard habitat selection [7,11,14,16,18,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. However, habitat selection is often derived from expert opinion and from indirect signs of presence (e.g., scrapes and feces).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal space use and habitat selection of GPS collared snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the Mongolian Altai range

Rosenbaum¹,

Poyarkov

Munkhtsog

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Although the home range and habitat selection of animal species is among the fundamental pieces of biological information collected by research projects during recent decades, published information on the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) home range is limited. The Altai Mountains of central Asia contain some of the largest and most important remaining conservation landscapes for snow leopards globally, but there is a limited understanding of the species’ ecology in this region. First, we used the data from 5 snow leopards equipped with GPS collars at four study sites in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia to broadly characterize patterns of home range use between 2013 and 2019. The data was used to calculate home range size from a 10 month period using three different estimators: minimum convex polygons (MCP), kernel density distributions (KDE), and local convex hulls (LoCoH). Second, ten data sets from 8 individual snow leopards were combined to cover all 12 months of a year and to generate a general additive mixed model of seasonal home range use and seasonal resource use. We found 1) large variation in home ranges between sites during the monitoring period ranging minimally between 26.1 and 395.3km2 (MCP); 2) Local convex hull home ranges were smaller compared to home ranges based on minimum convex polygons and kernels and yielded more biologically appropriate home range estimates; 3) monthly home ranges of males were larger than females; 4) female monthly home ranges decreased in summer, while male monthly range use remained stable throughout the year; and, 5) while both sexes shared similar habitat preference in winter (steep south-western slopes at high elevation), our data suggest different habitat preferences between sexes in summer. Knowledge of the space use of threatened species is crucial for their conservation, and this is especially true for apex predators who often provide benefits for an entire ecosystem. Our study provides a preliminary understanding of the spatial ecology of this important species in an area of critical conservation concern.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal space use and habitat selection of GPS collared snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the Mongolian Altai range

Rosenbaum¹,

Poyarkov

Munkhtsog

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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“…In 2021, Mongolia became the first one who has completed nation-wide snow leopard abundance surveys using methods compliant to the PAWS guidelines (Bayandonoi et al 2021). Before that, Bhutan and Russia finished their national programs for monitoring snow leopard populations (Lham et al 2016;The Altai Project 2021). India also initiated its country-range survey in 2019 (PIB Delhi 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial density estimate of the snow leopard,Panthera uncia, in the Central Tibetan Plateau, China

Bian

Liang²,

Weckworth

et al. 2022

Integr. Zool.

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Knowledge of large carnivore population abundance is essential for wildlife management and conservation, but these data are often difficult to obtain in inherently low‐density species. In particular, the snow leopard, Panthera uncia, an enigmatic cat occupying remote mountains in Central Asia, has received insufficient assessments of its population abundance because of logistical and methodological challenges. Here, we aimed to develop a robust density estimation of snow leopards based on 81 days of camera trapping within a contiguous and previously unsurveyed 1950 km2 area of habitat on the Tibetan Plateau (Mayue Township, Shenzha County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China). By applying spatially explicit capture–recapture models, we produced an estimate of 1.40 (95%CI: 1.06–1.84) individuals per 100 km2. Results also suggested sex‐specific variation in the range of movement around activity centers, with male (N = 10, σ = 4.02) movement considerably greater than female (N = 8, σ = 1.84) movement. The findings can serve as a reliable baseline reference for assessing the population trends of this endangered felid species with future estimates. This study will provide context to contribute toward a better understanding of ecological factors shaping the distribution and abundance of snow leopards and the related conservation measures needed to sustain their long‐term survival on the Tibetan Plateau.

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“…The attribute values of all influencing factors were obtained using the spatial analyst tool in ArcGIS. SPSS was used to analyse the Pearson correlation coefficient of the attribute values of all variables for avoiding random error and uncertainty in the model (Lham et al, 2021). Variables having coefficient values equal to and greater than 0.75 were excluded from the habitat suitability analysis.…”

Section: Database and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Prediction of potential habitat suitability of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and niche overlap in the parts of western Himalayan region

Islam

Sahana

Areendran

et al. 2023

Geography and Environment

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The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) are the inhabitants of remote areas at higher altitudes with extreme geographic and climatic conditions. The habitats of these least‐studied species are crucial for sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem. We employed the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) species distribution model to predict the potential habitat suitability of snow leopards and blue sheep and extracted common overlapped niches. For this, we utilised presence location, bio‐climatic and environmental variables, and correlation analysis was applied to reduce the negative impact of multicollinearity. A total of 134 presence locations of snow leopards and 64 for blue sheep were selected from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The annual mean temperature (Bio1) was found to be the most useful and highly influential factor to predict the potential habitat suitability of snow leopards. Annual mean temperature, annual precipitation and isothermality were the major influencing factors for blue sheep habitat suitability. Highly influential bio‐climatic, topographic and environmental variables were integrated to construct the model for predicting habitat suitability. The area under the curve (AUC) values for snow leopard (0.87) and blue sheep (0.82) showed that the models are under good representation. Of the total area investigated, 47% was suitable for the blue sheep and 38% for the snow leopards. Spatial habitat assessment revealed that nearly 11% area from the predicted suitable habitat class of both species was spatially matched (overlapped), 48.6% area was unsuitable under niche overlap and 40.5% area was spatially mismatched niche. The presence of snow leopards and blue sheep in some highly suitable areas was not observed, yet such areas have the potential to sustain these elusive species. The other geographical regions interested in exploring habitat suitability may find the methodological framework adopted in this study useful for formulating an effective conservation policy and management strategy.

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Modeling Distribution and Habitat Suitability for the Snow Leopard in Bhutan

Cited by 9 publications

References 57 publications

Seasonal space use and habitat selection of GPS collared snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the Mongolian Altai range

Seasonal space use and habitat selection of GPS collared snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the Mongolian Altai range

Spatial density estimate of the snow leopard,Panthera uncia, in the Central Tibetan Plateau, China

Prediction of potential habitat suitability of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and niche overlap in the parts of western Himalayan region

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