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Srivathsa A, Ramachandran V, Saravanan P, Sureshbabu A, Ganguly D, Ramakrishnan U. Topcats and underdogs: intraguild interactions among three apex carnivores across Asia's forestscapes. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:2114-2135. [PMID: 37449566 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Intraguild interactions among carnivores have long held the fascination of ecologists. Ranging from competition to facilitation and coexistence, these interactions and their complex interplay influence everything from species persistence to ecosystem functioning. Yet, the patterns and pathways of such interactions are far from understood in tropical forest systems, particularly across countries in the Global South. Here, we examined the determinants and consequences of competitive interactions between dholes Cuon alpinus and the two large felids (leopards Panthera pardus and tigers Panthera tigris) with which they most commonly co-occur across Asia. Using a combination of traditional and novel data sources (N = 118), we integrate information from spatial, temporal, and dietary niche dimensions. These three species have faced catastrophic declines in their extent of co-occurrence over the past century; most of their source populations are now confined to Protected Areas. Analysis of dyadic interactions between species pairs showed a clear social hierarchy. Tigers were dominant over dholes, although pack strength in dholes helped ameliorate some of these effects; leopards were subordinate to dholes. Population-level spatio-temporal interactions assessed at 25 locations across Asia did not show a clear pattern of overlap or avoidance between species pairs. Diet-profile assessments indicated that wild ungulate biomass consumption by tigers was highest, while leopards consumed more primate and livestock prey as compared to their co-predators. In terms of prey offtake (ratio of wild prey biomass consumed to biomass available), the three species together harvested 0.4-30.2% of available prey, with the highest offtake recorded from the location where the carnivores reach very high densities. When re-examined in the context of prey availability and offtake, locations with low wild prey availability showed spatial avoidance and temporal overlap among the carnivore pairs, and locations with high wild prey availability showed spatial overlap and temporal segregation. Based on these observations, we make predictions for 40 Protected Areas in India where temporally synchronous estimates of predator and prey densities are available. We expect that low prey availability will lead to higher competition, and in extreme cases, to the complete exclusion of one or more species. In Protected Areas with high prey availability, we expect intraguild coexistence and conspecific competition among carnivores, with spill-over to forest-edge habitats and subsequent prey-switching to livestock. We stress that dhole-leopard-tiger co-occurrence across their range is facilitated through an intricate yet fragile balance between prey availability, and intraguild and conspecific competition. Data gaps and limitations notwithstanding, our study shows how insights from fundamental ecology can be of immense utility for applied aspects like large predator conservation and management of human-carnivore interactions. Our findings also highlight potential avenues for future research on tropical carnivores that can broaden current understanding of intraguild competition in forest systems of Asia and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arjun Srivathsa
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
- Wildlife Conservation Society-India, 551, 7th Main Road, 2nd Stage Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, 560097, India
| | - Vivek Ramachandran
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
- Wildlife Biology and Conservation Program, National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
| | - Pooja Saravanan
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
| | - Abhijith Sureshbabu
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
| | - Divyajyoti Ganguly
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
- Wildlife Biology and Conservation Program, National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
| | - Uma Ramakrishnan
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, 560065, India
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A systematic scoping review of tiger conservation in the Terai Arc Landscape and Himalayas. ORYX 2022. [DOI: 10.1017/s0030605322001156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In the last decade the tiger Panthera tigris population in the Terai Arc Landscape and Himalayas has increased, while populations in other countries have remained below their conservation targets. Although there has been some research on tiger conservation in the Terai Arc Landscape and the Himalayas, scientists and managers have not catalogued and characterized tiger research in the region, with empirical findings scattered among disparate document types, journals and countries. Without a review of the tiger research in the Terai Arc Landscape and Himalayan region, it is difficult to analyse or change conservation policies, develop adaptation strategies, prioritize research, allocate resources or develop conservation strategies potentially employable elsewhere. We therefore conducted a systematic scoping review to identify focal research areas, the spatial and temporal distribution of study sites, general publication trends, the extent of empirical studies, and gaps in tiger conservation research in this region (which spans Bhutan, India and Nepal). Since 2000, 216 studies have been published on issues associated with tiger conservation in the Terai Arc Landscape and Himalayas, with an increasing number over time. Most empirical studies have focused on tiger habitat, ecology and conflicts in protected areas in the region's foothills. There are research gaps in high-altitude landscapes, social science investigations, conservation economics, and policy and institutional analyses.
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How "science" can facilitate the politicization of charismatic megafauna counts. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2203244119. [PMID: 35544693 PMCID: PMC9171922 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2203244119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Widodo FA, Imron MA, Sunarto S, Giordano AJ. Carnivores and their prey in Sumatra: Occupancy and activity in human-dominated forests. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265440. [PMID: 35303739 PMCID: PMC8932565 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the effect of anthropogenic disturbance, and its interaction with carnivores and their prey, is crucial to support the conservation of threatened carnivores, particularly in rapidly changing landscapes. Based on systematic camera-trap sampling of four protected areas in Riau Province of central Sumatra, we assessed the habitat occupancy and spatiotemporal overlap between people, potential carnivore prey, and four threatened species of medium-sized or large carnivores: Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), dholes (Cuon alpinus), and Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi). To assess spatial overlap of target species, we used single-species occupancy models and applied a Species Interaction Factor (SIF) to conditional two-species occupancy models. We also used kernel density estimation (KDE) to assess temporal overlap among these species. Our habitat use models showed that altitude (elevation) strongly influenced the occupancy of all large carnivores and potential prey species. Except for Sunda clouded leopards, the occurrence of large carnivore species was positively related to the spatial co-occurrence of humans (SIF > 1). In addition, we found that sun bears and dholes both exhibited high spatial overlap with tigers, and that sun bears alone exhibited high temporal overlap with people. Our findings contribute to an improved understanding of the contemporary ecology of carnivores and their prey in rapidly changing, southeast Asian landscapes. Such knowledge is important to the conservation and recovery of large carnivores in conservation hotspots that are increasingly dominated by humans across Sumatra, as well as globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Febri Anggriawan Widodo
- World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia, Central Sumatra, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
- Wildlife Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- S.P.E.C.I.E.S. – The Society for the Preservation of Endangered Carnivores and their International Ecological Study, Ventura, California, United States of America
- International Development Studies, Faculty of Geoscience, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Muhammad Ali Imron
- Wildlife Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- S.P.E.C.I.E.S. – The Society for the Preservation of Endangered Carnivores and their International Ecological Study, Ventura, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Sunarto Sunarto
- Institute for Sustainable Earth and Resources (I-SER), University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia
| | - Anthony J. Giordano
- S.P.E.C.I.E.S. – The Society for the Preservation of Endangered Carnivores and their International Ecological Study, Ventura, California, United States of America
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Schoen JM, Neelakantan A, Cushman SA, Dutta T, Habib B, Jhala YV, Mondal I, Ramakrishnan U, Reddy PA, Saini S, Sharma S, Thatte P, Yumnam B, DeFries R. Synthesizing habitat connectivity analyses of a globally important human-dominated tiger-conservation landscape. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e13909. [PMID: 35288989 PMCID: PMC9545158 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
As ecological data and associated analyses become more widely available, synthesizing results for effective communication with stakeholders is essential. In the case of wildlife corridors, managers in human-dominated landscapes need to identify both the locations of corridors and multiple stakeholders for effective oversight. We synthesized 5 independent studies of tiger (Panthera tigris) connectivity in central India, a global priority landscape for tiger conservation, to quantify agreement on landscape permeability for tiger movement and potential movement pathways. We used the latter analysis to identify connectivity areas on which studies agreed and stakeholders associated with these areas to determine relevant participants in corridor management. Three or more of the 5 studies' resistance layers agreed in 63% of the study area. Areas in which all studies agree on resistance were of primarily low (66%, e.g., forest) and high (24%, e.g., urban) resistance. Agreement was lower in intermediate resistance areas (e.g., agriculture). Despite these differences, the studies largely agreed on areas with high levels of potential movement: >40% of high average (top 20%) current-flow pixels were also in the top 20% of current-flow agreement pixels (measured by low variation), indicating consensus connectivity areas (CCAs) as conservation priorities. Roughly 70% of the CCAs fell within village administrative boundaries, and 100% overlapped forest department management boundaries, suggesting that people live and use forests within these priority areas. Over 16% of total CCAs' area was within 1 km of linear infrastructure (437 road, 170 railway, 179 transmission line, and 339 canal crossings; 105 mines within 1 km of CCAs). In 2019, 78% of forest land diversions for infrastructure and mining in Madhya Pradesh (which comprises most of the study region) took place in districts with CCAs. Acute competition for land in this landscape with globally important wildlife corridors calls for an effective comanagement strategy involving local communities, forest departments, Appendix 1 and infrastructure planners. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay M. Schoen
- Department of EcologyEvolution and Environmental BiologyColumbia UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | | | | | - Trishna Dutta
- Wildlife Sciences, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest EcologyUniversity of GoettingenGöttingenGermany
| | | | | | | | - Uma Ramakrishnan
- The Biodiversity Collaborative, National Center for Biological SciencesTata Institute of Fundamental ResearchBangaloreIndia
| | | | | | - Sandeep Sharma
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity ResearchHalle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of BiologyMartin Luther University Halle‐WittenbergHalleGermany
| | | | | | - Ruth DeFries
- Department of EcologyEvolution and Environmental BiologyColumbia UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Network for Conserving Central IndiaGurgaonIndia
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Puri M, Srivathsa A, Karanth KK, Patel I, Kumar NS. Links in a sink: Interplay between habitat structure, ecological constraints and interactions with humans can influence connectivity conservation for tigers in forest corridors. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 809:151106. [PMID: 34688735 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Global land-use changes and rapid infrastructure development necessitate identification and conservation of wildlife corridors. Connectivity through corridors is shaped by species' structural, ecological and behavioral constraints. In multi-use landscapes, species' interactions with humans could additionally influence connectivity. Using the tiger Panthera tigris as a case study, we make simultaneous assessments of potential connectivity, habitat use and examine their links with the species' negative interactions with humans in central India. We assessed potential connectivity across 10, 000 sq. km of the Kanha-Pench forest corridor using graph-theoretic methods. Combining indirect sign surveys and occupancy models, we examined habitat use, and evaluated its congruence with potential connectivity. Next, we estimated spatial probabilities of livestock depredation through application of multi-state occupancy models to interview-based survey data from local residents. Habitat use by tigers was negatively associated with forest fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance. Livestock depredation was positively associated with size of settlements and areas most frequented by tigers, and negatively with anthropogenic disturbance within forests. We found high congruence between connectivity and habitat use (r = 0.80); but the strong correlation did not hold in areas with very high levels of livestock depredation levels. Our results indicate that when areas of high use by tigers are constrained by limited connectivity, there are higher chances of human-tiger conflict, and these areas may be ecological traps for the species. Interactions with humans can be crucial in mediating connectivity for large carnivores in shared habitats. Our findings present an opportunity to consolidate areas where carnivore conservation and local livelihood needs can be balanced. Our framework also provides a foundation for spatial prioritization that incorporates a plurality of dimensions, with utility for connectivity conservation of other wide-ranging carnivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahi Puri
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, India.
| | - Arjun Srivathsa
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Wildlife Conservation Society, India Program, Bengaluru, India; School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Krithi K Karanth
- Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, India; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Imran Patel
- Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, India
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Phumanee W, Steinmetz R, Phoonjampa R, Weingdow S, Phokamanee S, Bhumpakphan N, Savini T. Tiger density, movements, and immigration outside of a tiger source site in Thailand. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Worrapan Phumanee
- Conservation Ecology Program, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Bangkok Thailand
- WWF‐Thailand Bangkok Thailand
| | | | | | - Suthon Weingdow
- Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation Bangkok Thailand
| | - Surachai Phokamanee
- Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation Bangkok Thailand
| | | | - Tommaso Savini
- Conservation Ecology Program, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Bangkok Thailand
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Rodrigues RG, Srivathsa A, Vasudev D. Dog in the matrix: Envisioning countrywide connectivity conservation for an endangered carnivore. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan G. Rodrigues
- Wildlife Conservation Society–India Bengaluru India
- National Centre for Biological SciencesTIFR Bengaluru India
| | - Arjun Srivathsa
- Wildlife Conservation Society–India Bengaluru India
- School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Divya Vasudev
- Conservation Initiatives Guwahati India
- Centre for Wildlife Studies Bengaluru India
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Thinley P, Rajaratnam R, Morreale SJ, Lassoie JP. Assessing the adequacy of a protected area network in conserving a wide‐ranging apex predator: The case for tiger (
Panthera tigris
) conservation in Bhutan. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Phuntsho Thinley
- Center for Forest Science and Technology Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environmental Research Lamaigoenpa Bumthang Bhutan
- Ecosystem Management University of New England Armidale New South Wales Australia
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Lamichhane S, Khanal G, Karki JB, Aryal C, Acharya S. Natural and anthropogenic correlates of habitat use by wild ungulates in Shuklaphanta National Park, Nepal. Glob Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
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Phumanee W, Steinmetz R, Phoonjampa R, Bejraburnin T, Grainger M, Savini T. Occupancy‐based monitoring of ungulate prey species in Thailand indicates population stability, but limited recovery. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Worrapan Phumanee
- Conservation Ecology Program School of Bioresources and Technology King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Bangkhuntien Bangkok10150Thailand
- WWF‐Thailand 9 Pisit Building, Pradiphat Road Soi 10 Phayathai Bangkok10400Thailand
| | - Robert Steinmetz
- WWF‐Thailand 9 Pisit Building, Pradiphat Road Soi 10 Phayathai Bangkok10400Thailand
| | - Rungnapa Phoonjampa
- WWF‐Thailand 9 Pisit Building, Pradiphat Road Soi 10 Phayathai Bangkok10400Thailand
| | - Thawatchai Bejraburnin
- Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation 61 Phaholyothin Road Bangkok10900Thailand
| | | | - Tommaso Savini
- Conservation Ecology Program School of Bioresources and Technology King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Bangkhuntien Bangkok10150Thailand
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Carter N, Killion A, Easter T, Brandt J, Ford A. Road development in Asia: Assessing the range-wide risks to tigers. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaz9619. [PMID: 32494684 PMCID: PMC7190336 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz9619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Roads are proliferating worldwide at an unprecedented rate, with potentially severe impacts on wildlife. We calculated the extent and potential impacts of road networks across the 1,160,000-km2, 13-country range of the globally endangered tiger (Panthera tigris)-a conservation umbrella species. We found that roads were pervasive, totaling 134,000 km across tiger conservation landscapes (TCLs), even in tiger priority sites and protected areas. Approximately 43% of the area where tiger breeding occurs and 57% of the area in TCLs fell within the road-effect zone. Consequently, current road networks may be decreasing tiger and prey abundances by more than 20%. Nearly 24,000 km of new roads will be built in TCLs by 2050, stimulated through major investment projects such as China's Belt and Road Initiative. Given that roads will be a pervasive challenge to tiger recovery in the future, we urge decision-makers to make sustainable road development a top priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil Carter
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Alexander Killion
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Tara Easter
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jodi Brandt
- Human-Environment Systems, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83712, USA
| | - Adam Ford
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
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Johnson CA, Sutherland GD, Neave E, Leblond M, Kirby P, Superbie C, McLoughlin PD. Science to inform policy: Linking population dynamics to habitat for a threatened species in Canada. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl A. Johnson
- Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada Ottawa ON Canada
| | | | - Erin Neave
- Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada Ottawa ON Canada
| | - Mathieu Leblond
- Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada Ottawa ON Canada
| | - Patrick Kirby
- Science and Technology Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada Ottawa ON Canada
| | - Clara Superbie
- Department of Biology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK Canada
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Opportunity for Thailand's forgotten tigers: assessment of the Indochinese tiger Panthera tigris corbetti and its prey with camera-trap surveys. ORYX 2020. [DOI: 10.1017/s0030605319000589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractDramatic population declines threaten the Endangered Indochinese tiger Panthera tigris corbetti with extinction. Thailand now plays a critical role in its conservation, as there are few known breeding populations in other range countries. Thailand's Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex is recognized as an important tiger recovery site, but it remains poorly studied. Here, we present results from the first camera-trap study focused on tigers and implemented across all protected areas in this landscape. Our goal was to assess tiger and prey populations across the five protected areas of this forest complex, reviewing discernible patterns in rates of detection. We conducted camera-trap surveys opportunistically during 2008–2017. We recorded 1,726 detections of tigers in 79,909 camera-trap nights. Among these were at least 16 adults and six cubs/juveniles from four breeding females. Detection rates of both tigers and potential prey species varied considerably between protected areas over the study period. Our findings suggest heterogeneity in tiger distribution across this relatively continuous landscape, potentially influenced by distribution of key prey species. This study indicates that the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex is one of the few remaining breeding locations of the Indochinese tiger. Despite limitations posed by our study design, our findings have catalysed increased research and conservation interest in this globally important population at a critical time for tiger conservation in South-east Asia.
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Gopalaswamy AM, Karanth KU, Delampady M, Stenseth NC. How sampling‐based overdispersion reveals India's tiger monitoring orthodoxy. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arjun M. Gopalaswamy
- Statistics and Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore Centre Bengaluru India
- Global Conservation Program, BronxWildlife Conservation Society New York New York
| | - K. Ullas Karanth
- Global Conservation Program, BronxWildlife Conservation Society New York New York
- National Centre for Biological SciencesTata Institute of Fundamental Research Bengaluru India
- Centre for Wildlife Studies Bengaluru India
| | - Mohan Delampady
- Statistics and Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore Centre Bengaluru India
| | - Nils C. Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of BiosciencesUniversity of Oslo Oslo Norway
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