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

Abstract

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.

Insights into the spatial ecology of severely injured free‐living felids: Iberian lynx, bobcat, and snow leopard

“…The increase in movement post‐amputation shows that the individual did not have difficulties in his ranging behavior. The home ranges calculated from the seven‐month period of post‐amputation collar data fall within the ranges described in the literature for male snow leopards in the region, although there is extensive individual variation in sizes and data (Rosenbaum et al., 2023). Together, the home‐range estimates, daily distances traveled, and body weight of the snow leopard suggest that the individual compensated adequately for the missing limb.…”

“…For both the pre-and post-amputation releases, the daily distances traveled by the snow leopard shortly after release and 3-month post-release were similar, suggesting that daily movement of this snow leopards in the region, although there is extensive individual variation in sizes and data (Rosenbaum et al, 2023). Together, the home-range estimates, daily distances traveled, and body weight of the snow leopard suggest that the individual compensated adequately for the missing limb.…”

“…We defined the core area as the 50% isopleth of the kernel density estimator. Since recent snow leopard research refers to the local convex hull (LoCoH) as a more biologically appropriate home‐range estimate for this species (see Johansson et al., 2016; Rosenbaum et al., 2023), we also included this index in our snow leopard case. For this case, and after testing a range of values between 20 and 25, we selected a = 24.1 km, as the distance parameter, since a = 21 km (used by Rosenbaum et al., 2023) did not fit our snow leopard data.…”