Spatio-temporal overlap of leopard and prey species in the foothills of Shiwalik, Himalaya

Sehgal, Janam Jai; Kumar, Deepak; Kalsi, Rajiv S.; Allen, Maximilian L.; Singh, Randeep

doi:10.1007/s10344-022-01568-9

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“… Jiang et al, 2015 ; Allen et al, 2020 ; Searle et al, 2020 ; Snider et al, 2021 ; Loveridge et al, 2022 ), and predator-prey overlap ( e.g . Dias, de Campos & Rodrigues, 2018 ; Havmøller et al, 2020 ; Palei et al, 2022 ; Sehgal et al, 2022 ; Zaman et al, 2022 ), have been performed worldwide. However, until relatively recently, few studies have investigated African leopard ( P. p. pardus ) ecology in human-disturbed landscapes (see Marker & Dickman, 2005 ; Williams et al, 2017 ; Strampelli et al, 2018 )—particularly in commercial agricultural regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitation of a free-roaming apex predator in working lands: evaluating factors that influence leopard spatial dynamics and prey availability in a South African biodiversity hotspot

Greyling

Comley

Cherry

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Apex predators ideally require vast intact spaces that support sufficient prey abundances to sustain them. In a developing world, however, it is becoming extremely difficult to maintain large enough areas to facilitate apex predators outside of protected regions. Free-roaming leopards (Panthera pardus) are the last remaining apex predator in the Greater Cape Floristic Region, South Africa, and face a multitude of threats attributable to competition for space and resources with humans. Using camera-trap data, we investigated the influence of anthropogenic land modification on leopards and the availability of their natural prey species in two contrasting communities—primarily protected (Cederberg) and agriculturally transformed (Piketberg). Potential prey species composition and diversity were determined, to indicate prey availability in each region. Factors influencing spatial utilisation by leopards and their main prey species were also assessed. Estimated potential prey species richness (Cederberg = 27, Piketberg = 26) and diversity indices (Cederberg—H′ = 2.64, Ds = 0.90; Piketberg—H′ = 2.46, Ds = 0.89), supported by both the Jaccard’s Index (J = 0.73) and Sørensen’s Coefficient (CC = 0.85), suggested high levels of similarity across the two regions. Main leopard prey species were present in both regions, but their relative abundances differed. Grey rhebok, klipspringer, and rock hyrax were more abundant in the Cederberg, while Cape grysbok, Cape porcupine, chacma baboon, and common duiker were more abundant in Piketberg. Leopards persisted across the agriculturally transformed landscape despite these differences. Occupancy modelling revealed that the spatial dynamics of leopards differed between the two regions, except for both populations preferring areas further away from human habitation. Overall, anthropogenic factors played a greater role in affecting spatial utilisation by leopards and their main prey species in the transformed region, whereas environmental factors had a stronger influence in the protected region. We argue that greater utilisation of alternative main prey species to those preferred in the protected region, including livestock, likely facilitates the persistence of leopards in the transformed region, and believe that this has further implications for human-wildlife conflict. Our study provides a baseline understanding of the potential direct and indirect impacts of agricultural landscape transformation on the behaviour of leopards and shows that heavily modified lands have the potential to facilitate mammalian diversity, including apex predators. We iterate that conservation measures for apex predators should be prioritised where they are present on working lands, and encourage the collaborative development of customised, cost-effective, multi-species conflict management approaches that facilitate coexistence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitation of a free-roaming apex predator in working lands: evaluating factors that influence leopard spatial dynamics and prey availability in a South African biodiversity hotspot

Greyling

Comley

Cherry

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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“…Furthermore, Sharma & Saikia (2009) did a study on the faunal diversity of the SNP, in which they reported the presence of species in the National Park based on scales of a dead animal collected in June 2005, with no sightings or proof given. The Indian Pangolin has also been reported from the Kalesar National Park (KNP) in Haryana (Sehgal et al 2022), which borders our study area, i.e., SNP.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

First photographic evidence of Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata Geoffroy, 1803 (Mammalia: Pholidota: Manidae), in Colonel Sher Jung National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India

et al. 2023

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The Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata is ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. We report the first photographic evidence of its presence in Colonel Sher Jung National Park of Paonta Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Camera-traps (n = 64) were used to assess the diversity and abundance of terrestrial mammals. Over 1,912 trap nights, we documented 16 mammals, of which the Indian Pangolin was photo-captured at a single camera-trap station with two independent records. Although the presence of species has been indicated in a few studies conducted in the study area, no photographic evidence of the Indian Pangolin from the National Park has previously been reported. We strongly recommend additional fieldwork in and around the protected area to learn more about the Indian Pangolin’s distribution, habitat use, and ecology.

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“…It also exhibits a higher temporal and spatial overlap with the Leopard than other ungulates (Ghoddousi et al 2020;Kittle et al 2021;Sehgal et al 2022).…”

Section: Leopard Occupancymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Javan Leopard Panthera pardus melas (Cuvier, 1809) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in West Java, Indonesia: estimating population density and occupancy

Ario¹,

Mercusiana²,

Rustiadi³

et al. 2022

J. Threat. Taxa

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The Javan Leopard is endemic to the Indonesian island of Java and has been classified as Endangered. Reliable information about its population status, distribution, and density is lacking but are essential to guide conservation efforts and provide a benchmark for management decisions. Our study represents the first empirical density and occupancy estimates for the Leopard in West Java and provides baseline data for this region. We used camera trap data collected from February 2009 to October 2018 in six study areas comprising a sampling effort of 10,955 camera trap days in a total area of 793.5 km2. We identified 55 individual Leopards in these areas and estimated Leopard density using spatially explicit capture-recapture. Population density estimates range from 4.9 individuals/100 km2 in Gunung Guntur-Papandayan Nature Reserve to 16.04 individuals/100 km2 in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. Latter is among the globally highest Leopard densities. Based on detection data, we modelled single-season Leopard occupancy using three sampling covariates and eight site covariates. Modelling revealed that the two covariates forest cover and presence of Wild Boar are the strongest predictors for Leopard occupancy in our study areas. We recommend assessing and monitoring Leopard distribution, density and occupancy in other areas of Java and emphasize that a landscape approach for conservation of the Javan Leopard is imperative.

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Spatio-temporal overlap of leopard and prey species in the foothills of Shiwalik, Himalaya

Cited by 10 publications

References 36 publications

Facilitation of a free-roaming apex predator in working lands: evaluating factors that influence leopard spatial dynamics and prey availability in a South African biodiversity hotspot

Facilitation of a free-roaming apex predator in working lands: evaluating factors that influence leopard spatial dynamics and prey availability in a South African biodiversity hotspot

First photographic evidence of Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata Geoffroy, 1803 (Mammalia: Pholidota: Manidae), in Colonel Sher Jung National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India

The Javan Leopard Panthera pardus melas (Cuvier, 1809) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in West Java, Indonesia: estimating population density and occupancy

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