Snow Leopard Survival Strategy - Panthera

Biek, R and M. Poss. 2002. Using phylogeography of
a microparasite to assess spatial population structure
in its mammalian carnivore host. Presentation at 2002
Society for Conservation Biology Annual Meeting,
Canterbury, UK.
Molecular approaches are widely used to infer spatial
population structure in conservation. However, the
genetic population structure of a species may reflect
processes on temporal scales much larger than those of
specific conservation interest, for example if populations
became fragmented relatively recently. In this study
we demonstrate that phylogenetic data of an endemic,
rapidly-evolving, and non-pathogenic retrovirus
commonly found in Rocky Mountain populations of
cougars, Puma concolor, can provide recent information
on population subdivision and movement of its host.
Based on sequence data from two viral genes, we show
that most infected cats within an area carry closely related
viruses and our data indicates that many such regional
virus variants circulate in Rocky Mountain cougars.
Further, using serial sampling of infected individuals we
estimated that the virus genes examined evolve at rates of
0.1-0.5% per year, suggesting that virus transmission that
occurred among cougar populations within the last few
decades should be detectable. This molecular technique
thus holds the promise to provide current information
about population connectivity, an issue of much interest
to conservation.
Breebaart, L., R. Bhikraj, T. G. O’Connor. 2002.
Dietary overlap between Boer goats and indigenous
browsers in a South African savanna. African Journal
of Range and Forage Science 19(1): 13-20.
The winter diet of free ranging Boer goats in Valley
Bushveld, KwaZulu-Natal, was determined by direct
observations and compared with the diet of indigenous
browsers (kudu, eland, giraffe, black rhinoceros) in
order to determine which browsers are most compatible
with goats for ensuring more efficient use of savanna
vegetation. Goats were predominantly browsers during
winter, spending 73% of their time eating woody plant
forage. Principal woody plant species in the diet included
Rhus pentheri. Acacia nilotica, Acacia karroo, Euclea
crispa and Ziziphus mucronata. Succulents (Aloe ferox
and Aloe maculata) were also readily eaten. Highly
preferred species were Capparis sepiaria, Phyllanthus
verrucosus and Scolopia zeyheri, while Rhoicissus
tridentata, Calpurnia urea, Acacia ataxacantha, Euclea
natalensis, Clerodendrum glabrum, Zanthoxylum
capense and Hippobromus paucifolia were strongly
avoided. Goats fed between ground level and 1m, with
an average feeding height of 0.67m. The diet and feeding
height of kudu and goats and of black rhinoceros and
goats overlapped to a large extent suggesting that they
are potential competitors for food resources. Similarly,
overlap in diet between giraffes and goats was extensive,
but overlap in feeding height was small. The potential
for competition appeared to be the least between goats
and eland because, despite feeding at similar heights,
they generally consumed different species. A mixed
farming system which includes goats, eland and giraffe is
proposed as a useful management tool for using savanna
vegetation more efficiently.
Carbone, C., S. Christie, K. Conforti, T. Coulson, N.
Franklin, J. R. Ginsberg, M. Griffiths, J. Holden, K.
Kawanishi, M. Kinnaird, R. Laidlaw, A. Lynam, D.
W. Macdonald, D. Martyr, C. McDougal, L. Nath, T.
O’Brien, J. Seidensticker, D. J. L. Smith, M. Sunquist,
R. Tilson and W. N. Wan Shahruddin. 2001. The use of
photographic rates to estimate densities of tigers and
other cryptic mammals. Animal Conservation 4:75–79
The monitoring and management of species depends
on reliable population estimates, and this can be both
difficult and very costly for cryptic large vertebrates
that live in forested habitats. Recently developed camera
trapping techniques have already been shown to be an
effective means of making mark–recapture estimates of
individually identifiable animals (e.g. tigers). Camera
traps also provide a new method for surveying animal
abundance. Through computer simulations, and an
analysis of the rates of camera trap capture from 19
studies of tigers across the species’ range, we show that
the number of camera days/tiger photograph correlates
with independent estimates of tiger density. This statistic
does not rely on individual identity and is particularly
useful for estimating the population density of species
that are not individually identifiable. Finally, we used
the comparison between observed trapping rates and the
computer simulations to estimate the minimum effort
required to determine that tigers, or other species, do not
exist in an area, a measure that is critical for conservation
planning.
Caro, T. and C. Stoner. 2003. The potential for
interspecific competition among African carnivores.
Biological Conservation 110(1):67-75
The general importance of interspecific competition as
an ecological factor for carnivores is unknown and its
conservation significance may have been inflated by
intensive research conducted on a few vulnerable species.
We therefore examined the potential for interspecific
competition across carnivores on one continent, Africa,
by calculating, for each of 70 carnivore species, the
number of other carnivore species that overlapped it
in geographic range, habitat, and diet, and that could
potentially kill the species in question. The average
carnivore in Africa shares some of its geographic range
and habitat with 26 other species suggesting competition
could be pervasive. More specifically, carnivores may
have to share food resources with 22 other carnivore
species, on average, although the potential for food
stealing is far lower. The average African carnivore may
be vulnerable to predation by 15 other species although it
is unlikely to be eaten by other carnivores. These analyses
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