Genetic diversity and population structure of Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) from Western Himalaya

Himalayan tahr is a group-living animal of high-altitude Himalaya, distributed all across the subalpine range that also formed an important prey base for large carnivores in Himalaya. The species is threatened due to habitat fragmentation, illegal poaching, and anthropogenic activities. We undertook population genetic assessment of Himalayan tahr from Western Himalaya and observed comparable genetic diversity at both mitochondrial and nuclear microsatellite loci. Bayesian skyline plots showed stable demography in the past several thousand years. We identified 27 unique individuals with a select panel of seven loci and the Bayesian structure analysis inferred two genetic clusters. The present study is the first report on the population genetic make-up of Himalayan tahr and can be used for long-term genetic monitoring of the species.

Does predation risk affect spatial use in an introduced ungulate species? The case of a Mediterranean mouflon alpine colony

Predation risk is known to affect the spatial use of prey species, imposing a trade-off between feeding requirements and predation avoidance. As a result, prey species can leave high-quality forage areas to use sub-optimal, but safer, habitat patches, defined as “refuge areas.” In this study, we describe changes in the spatial use of an introduced ungulate species, the Mediterranean mouflon Ovis aries musimon, following the recolonization (in 1996) of wolves Canis lupus into the Albergian Hunting Estate (Italian Western Alps). Since 1988, we monitored the mouflon population by spring counts from vantage points. We georeferenced all observations and recorded the size and structure of the spotted groups. Finally, we identified available refuges by selecting patches characterized by (i) the presence of rocks and (ii) high values of steepness and ruggedness. We found that mouflons significantly reduced the average distance from refuge areas over the years, with the yearly average distance from refuges being 56% lower after wolves recolonized the area (i.e., 93.8 ± 32.1 vs. 213.1 ± 40.9 m). The analysis of orographic parameters showed that mouflons used patches with higher values in elevation, slope, ruggedness, and a significant difference in all three parameters when comparing years pre and post wolf return. Both sexes were significantly affected, but ewes were particularly sensitive and selected patches closer to refuge areas (75.8 ± 30.3 m) than males (131.0 ± 53.6 m). Our results suggest that the presence of new predators can alter the distribution of an introduced species such as the Mediterranean mouflon, triggering the resurgence of anti-predation behavior.

Analysis of Conservation Gaps and Landscape Connectivity for Snow Leopard in Qilian Mountains of China

Human modification and habitat fragmentation have a substantial influence on large carnivores, which need extensive, contiguous habitats to survive in a landscape. The establishment of protected areas is an effective way to offer protection for carnivore populations by buffering them from anthropogenic impacts. In this study, we used MaxEnt to model habitat suitability and to identify conservation gaps for snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in the Qilian Mountains of China, and then assessed the impact of highways/railways and their corridors on habitat connectivity using a graph-based landscape connectivity model. Our results indicated that the study area had 51,137 km2 of potentially suitable habitat for snow leopards and that there were four protection gaps outside of Qilian Mountain National Park. The findings revealed that the investigated highway and railway resulted in a decrease in connectivity at a regional scale, and that corridor development might enhance regional connectivity, which strengthens the capacity of central habitat patches to act as stepping stones and improve connections between western and eastern habitat patches. This study emphasized the need for assessing the impact of highways and railways, as well as their role in corridor development, on species’ connectivity. Based on our results, we provide some detailed recommendations for designing protection action plans for effectively protecting snow leopard habitat and increasing habitat connectivity.

Variation in anti-predator behaviors of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in a multi-predator system

Anti-predator responses to perceived predation risk can influence population demography. Understanding the relative effect of predator exposure and intraspecific interactions across a variety of anti-predator behaviors provides important insight into inter- and intra-specific drivers of species-specific behaviors. We merged classical behavioral observation methods with camera trapping techniques to examine anti-predator behaviors of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) relative to variation in predator exposure and interspecific interactions. We coded 772 behavioral observations from >180 000 images spanning 605 trap-nights. Seasonal differences in behavioral responses to diminishing returns on foraging effort indicated that deer are risk-averse foragers and are more likely to exhibit risky behaviors in the presence of a concentrated food resource when the nutritional value of food resources are high. However, deer tended to spend less time at a site as resources diminished, supporting marginal value theories of habitat use. Intraspecific interaction predicted vigilance and the amount of time spent at a site. Similar to many other species, deer tended to be less vigilant and spend more time at a site as group size increased. Our research suggests that white-tailed deer in Wisconsin make foraging decisions based on factors associated with individual fitness, presence of conspecifics, and habitat characteristics.

A systematic survey of the integration of animal behavior into conservation

The role of behavioral ecology in improving wildlife conservation and management has been the subject of much recent debate. We sought to answer 2 foundational questions about the current use of behavioral knowledge in conservation: To what extent is behavioral knowledge used in wildlife conservation and management, and how does the use of animal behavior differ among conservation fields in both frequency and types of use? We searched the literature for intersections between key fields of animal behavior and conservation and created a systematic heat map (i.e., graphical representation of data where values are represented as colors) to visualize relative efforts. Some behaviors, such as dispersal and foraging, were commonly considered (mean [SE] of 1147.38 [353.11] and 439.44 [108.85] papers per cell, respectively). In contrast, other behaviors, such as learning, social, and antipredatory behaviors were rarely considered (mean [SE] of 33.88 [7.62], 44.81 [10.65], and 22.69 [6.37] papers per cell, respectively). In many cases, awareness of the importance of behavior did not translate into applicable management tools. Our results challenge previous suggestions that there is little association between the fields of behavioral ecology and conservation and reveals tremendous variation in the use of different behaviors in conservation. We recommend that researchers focus on examining underutilized intersections of behavior and conservation themes for which preliminary work shows a potential for improving conservation and management, translating behavioral theory into applicable and testable predictions, and creating systematic reviews to summarize the behavioral evidence within the behavior-conservation intersections for which many studies exist.

Predicting the distributions of predator (snow leopard) and prey (blue sheep) under climate change in the Himalaya

Future climate change is likely to affect distributions of species, disrupt biotic interactions, and cause spatial incongruity of predator–prey habitats. Understanding the impacts of future climate change on species distribution will help in the formulation of conservation policies to reduce the risks of future biodiversity losses. Using a species distribution modeling approach by MaxEnt, we modeled current and future distributions of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and its common prey, blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), and observed the changes in niche overlap in the Nepal Himalaya. Annual mean temperature is the major climatic factor responsible for the snow leopard and blue sheep distributions in the energy‐deficient environments of high altitudes. Currently, about 15.32% and 15.93% area of the Nepal Himalaya are suitable for snow leopard and blue sheep habitats, respectively. The bioclimatic models show that the current suitable habitats of both snow leopard and blue sheep will be reduced under future climate change. The predicted suitable habitat of the snow leopard is decreased when blue sheep habitats is incorporated in the model. Our climate‐only model shows that only 11.64% (17,190 km²) area of Nepal is suitable for the snow leopard under current climate and the suitable habitat reduces to 5,435 km² (reduced by 24.02%) after incorporating the predicted distribution of blue sheep. The predicted distribution of snow leopard reduces by 14.57% in 2030 and by 21.57% in 2050 when the predicted distribution of blue sheep is included as compared to 1.98% reduction in 2030 and 3.80% reduction in 2050 based on the climate‐only model. It is predicted that future climate may alter the predator–prey spatial interaction inducing a lower degree of overlap and a higher degree of mismatch between snow leopard and blue sheep niches. This suggests increased energetic costs of finding preferred prey for snow leopards – a species already facing energetic constraints due to the limited dietary resources in its alpine habitat. Our findings provide valuable information for extension of protected areas in future.

Selection of food patches by sympatric herbivores in response to concealment and distance from a refuge

Small herbivores face risks of predation while foraging and are often forced to trade off food quality for safety. Life history, behaviour, and habitat of predator and prey can influence these trade-offs. We compared how two sympatric rabbits (pygmy rabbit, Brachylagus idahoensis; mountain cottontail, Sylvilagus nuttallii) that differ in size, use of burrows, and habitat specialization in the sagebrush-steppe of western North America respond to amount and orientation of concealment cover and proximity to burrow refuges when selecting food patches. We predicted that both rabbit species would prefer food patches that offered greater concealment and food patches that were closer to burrow refuges. However, because pygmy rabbits are small, obligate burrowers that are restricted to sagebrush habitats, we predicted that they would show stronger preferences for greater cover, orientation of concealment, and patches closer to burrow refuges. We offered two food patches to individuals of each species during three experiments that either varied in the amount of concealment cover, orientation of concealment cover, or distance from a burrow refuge. Both species preferred food patches that offered greater concealment, but pygmy rabbits generally preferred terrestrial and mountain cottontails preferred aerial concealment. Only pygmy rabbits preferred food patches closer to their burrow refuge. Different responses to concealment and proximity to burrow refuges by the two species likely reflect differences in perceived predation risks. Because terrestrial predators are able to dig for prey in burrows, animals like pygmy rabbits that rely on burrow refuges might select food patches based more on terrestrial concealment. In contrast, larger habitat generalists that do not rely on burrow refuges, like mountain cottontails, might trade off terrestrial concealment for visibility to detect approaching terrestrial predators. This study suggests that body size and evolutionary adaptations for using habitat, even in closely related species, might influence anti-predator behaviors in prey species.

Introduction to the Symposium: Towards a General Framework for Predicting Animal Movement Speeds in Nature

Speed of movement is fundamental to animal behavior-defining the intensity of a task, the time needed to complete it, and the likelihood of success-but how does an animal decide how fast to move? Most studies of animal performance measure maximum capabilities, but animals rarely move at their maximum in the wild. It was the goal of our symposium to develop a conceptual framework to explore the choices of speed in nature. A major difference between our approach and previous work is our move toward understanding optimal rather than maximal speeds. In the following series of papers, we provide a starting point for future work on animal movement speeds, including a conceptual framework, a simple optimality model, an evolutionary context, and an exploration of the various biomechanical and energetic constraints on speed. By applying a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of the choice of speed-as we have done here-we can reveal much about the way animals use habitats, interact with conspecifics, avoid predators, obtain food, and negotiate human-modified landscapes.

Activity patterns of Eurasian lynx are modulated by light regime and individual traits over a wide latitudinal range

The activity patterns of most terrestrial animals are regarded as being primarily influenced by light, although other factors, such as sexual cycle and climatic conditions, can modify the underlying patterns. However, most activity studies have been limited to a single study area, which in turn limit the variability of light conditions and other factors. Here we considered a range of variables that might potentially influence the activity of a large carnivore, the Eurasian lynx, in a network of studies conducted with identical methodology in different areas spanning latitudes from 49°7′N in central Europe to 70°00′N in northern Scandinavia. The variables considered both light conditions, ranging from a day with a complete day–night cycle to polar night and polar day, as well as individual traits of the animals. We analysed activity data of 38 individual free-ranging lynx equipped with GPS-collars with acceleration sensors, covering more than 11,000 lynx days. Mixed linear additive models revealed that the lynx activity level was not influenced by the daily daylight duration and the activity pattern was bimodal, even during polar night and polar day. The duration of the active phase of the activity cycle varied with the widening and narrowing of the photoperiod. Activity varied significantly with moonlight. Among adults, males were more active than females, and subadult lynx were more active than adults. In polar regions, the amplitude of the lynx daily activity pattern was low, likely as a result of the polycyclic activity pattern of their main prey, reindeer. At lower latitudes, the basic lynx activity pattern peaked during twilight, corresponding to the crepuscular activity pattern of the main prey, roe deer. Our results indicated that the basic activity of lynx is independent of light conditions, but is modified by both individual traits and the activity pattern of the locally most important prey.