Northern Range: Mongolia

Munkhtsog, Bariushaa; Lkhagvajav, Purevjav; McCarthy, Thomas M.; Bayrakçısmith, Rana

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-802213-9.00039-0

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Mongolia is home to the second largest population of the snow leopards in the world (Munkhtsog et al., 2016). It is estimated that there are approximately 1,000 snow leopards across the Mongolian Altai, Gobi Altai, Khangai mountain ranges, and isolated mountains of Trans‐Altai Gobi and Khuvsgul Mountains containing around 103,000 km 2 area (McCarthy, 2000; Munkhtsog et al., 2016). The snow leopard is protected and listed as a rare species in the Mongolian Wildlife Law and Mongolian Red Book (Shiirevdamba et al, 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia

Bayandonoi¹,

Sharma²,

Alexander

et al. 2021

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim Snow leopards are distributed across the mountains of 12 countries spread across 1.8 million km2 in Central and South Asia. Previous efforts to map snow leopard distributions have relied on expert opinions and modelling of presence‐only data. Expert opinion is subjective and its reliability is difficult to assess, while analyses of presence‐only data have tended to ignore the imperfect detectability of this elusive species. The study was conducted to prepare the first ever probabilistic distribution map of snow leopards across Mongolia addressing the challenge of imperfect detection. Location We conducted sign‐based occupancy surveys across 1,017 grid‐cells covering 406,800 km2 of Mongolia's potential snow leopard range. Methods Using a candidate model set of 31 ecologically meaningful models that used six site and seven sampling covariates, we estimate the probability of sites being used by snow leopards across the entire country. Results Occupancy probability increased with greater terrain ruggedness, with lower values of vegetation indices, with less forest cover, and were highest at intermediate altitudes. Detection probability was higher for segments walked on foot, and for those in more rugged terrain. Our results showed broad agreement with maps developed using expert opinion and presence‐only data but also highlighted important differences, for example in northern areas of Mongolia deemed largely unfavourable by previous expert opinion and presence‐only analyses. Main conclusions This study reports the first national‐level occupancy survey of snow leopards in Mongolia and highlights methodological opportunities that can be taken to scale and support national‐level conservation planning. Our assessments indicated that <12% of its entire land mass, and 42% of the potential snow leopard habitat in Mongolia has a high (>0.5) probability of being used by snow leopards. We emphasize the utility of occupancy modelling, which jointly models detection and site use, in achieving these goals.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia

Bayandonoi¹,

Sharma²,

Alexander

et al. 2021

Diversity and Distributions

Self Cite

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“…Small carnivores, such as Felis silvestris, Otocolobus manul, Mustela eversmanni, and Martes foina are also known to den amongst rocks (Allen, 1938;Batsaikhan et al, 2010). Finally, Panthera uncia, the snow leopard, hunts large prey (in addition to small mammals, birds, and insects) and frequently dens amongst rocks or in caves (Munkhtsog et al, 2016).…”

Section: J O U R N a L P R E -P R O O Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rodents and lagomorphs burrow and hibernate during this period (Batsaikhan et al, 2010). Top level terrestrial carnivores such as snow leopards, bears and wolves do not migrate, as they are particularly suited to cold climates and den in caves (Batsaikhan et al, 2010;Munkhtsog et al, 2016). Former glaciers and ice patches may have played a role in increasing the access to freshwater at high altitude (Taylor et al, 2020).…”

Section: Biotic Seasonalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological and environmental cave records in the Gobi-Altai Mountains, Mongolia

Vanwezer

Breitenbach

Gázquez

et al. 2021

Quaternary International

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“…Jointly managed and monitored programs for supporting research and maintaining conservation areas were established in the new millennium with support from national and international organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF 2012) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 2006), as well as organizations such as the Snow Leopard Conservancy (Munkhtsog et al 2016;Paltsyn et al 2017;Uluqpan and Knapp 2012). Initially, projects promoted European scientific knowledge to address local biodiversity concerns but, increasingly, research teams have shown interest in supporting local knowledge and devel- Ethnobiology 2019 39(3): 371-391 and mouth disease) can make daily life in rural regions difficult, but their tightly-knit, social-ecological systems have allowed them to continue to maintain their way of life.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%