Understanding key ecological adaptations, such as foraging, when a predator is almost extinct is complex. Nonetheless, that information is vital for the recovery of the persisting individuals. ...Therefore, reviewing historical, ethnobiological and recent records can assist in exploring the species behavioral ecology. We applied this approach to Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), which once roamed most west and central Asian countries but now is confined to a few dozens in Iran, at historical (pre-1970) and recent (post-1970) scales. We addressed a widely popular perception that Asiatic cheetahs were subjected to prey shifts from gazelles (Gazella spp.) in open plains areas to urial (Ovis vignei) in mountains because of gazelle populations declines due to anthropogenic influences. We also quantified recent prey choice of Asiatic cheetahs and their behavioral plasticity in foraging different prey species types. Although ethnobiological and historical records suggested that gazelle species were the main prey for cheetahs across their Asian range. However, urial were also commonly reported to be hunted by cheetahs across their historical Asian range, showing that the predation on mountain ungulates is not an emerging hunting behavior in Asiatic cheetahs. We found spatiotemporal plasticity in recent hunting behavior of cheetahs with selective predation on adult urial males. There was temporal overlap in hunting times for plains dwelling versus mountain ungulates, albeit with some minor differences with morning mostly for gazelles while the predation on mountain ungulates was predominantly post-midday. We provided three management implications for the recovery and restoration of cheetahs in Asia. Our work highlighted the importance of historical studies in informing the behavioral ecology of rare species.
The composition of local mammalian carnivore communities has far‐reaching effects on terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. To better understand how carnivore communities are structured, we analysed ...camera trap data for 108 087 trap days across 12 countries spanning five continents. We estimate local probabilities of co‐occurrence among 768 species pairs from the order Carnivora and evaluate how shared ecological traits correlate with probabilities of co‐occurrence. Within individual study areas, species pairs co‐occurred more frequently than expected at random. Co‐occurrence probabilities were greatest for species pairs that shared ecological traits including similar body size, temporal activity pattern and diet. However, co‐occurrence decreased as compared to other species pairs when the pair included a large‐bodied carnivore. Our results suggest that a combination of shared traits and top‐down regulation by large carnivores shape local carnivore communities globally.
Understanding the space use and movement ecology of apex predators, particularly in mosaic landscapes encompassing different land-uses, is fundamental for formulating effective conservation policy. ...The top extant big cat in the Middle East and the Caucasus, the Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor, has disappeared from most of its historic range. Its spatial ecology in the areas where it remains is almost unknown. Between September 2014 and May 2017, we collared and monitored six adult leopards (5 males and 1 female) using GPS-satellite Iridium transmitters in Tandoureh National Park (355 km2) along the Iran-Turkmenistan borderland. Using auto-correlated Kernel density estimation based on a continuous-time stochastic process for relocation data, we estimated a mean home range of 103.4 ± SE 51.8 km2 for resident males which is larger than has been observed in other studies of Asian leopards. Most predation events occurred in core areas, averaging 32.4 ± SE 12.7 km2. Although neighboring leopards showed high spatiotemporal overlap, their hunting areas were largely exclusive. Five out of six of leopards spent some time outside the national park, among human communities. Our study suggests that a national park can play an 'anchoring' role for individuals of an apex predator that spend some time in the surrounding human-dominated landscapes. Therefore, we envisage that instead of emphasizing either land sharing or land sparing, a combined approach can secure the viability of resilient large carnivores that are able to coexist with humans in the rugged montane landscapes of west and central Asia.
The leopard's (Panthera pardus) broad geographic range, remarkable adaptability, and secretive nature have contributed to a misconception that this species might not be severely threatened across its ...range. We find that not only are several subspecies and regional populations critically endangered but also the overall range loss is greater than the average for terrestrial large carnivores. To assess the leopard's status, we compile 6,000 records at 2,500 locations from over 1,300 sources on its historic (post 1750) and current distribution. We map the species across Africa and Asia, delineating areas where the species is confirmed present, is possibly present, is possibly extinct or is almost certainly extinct. The leopard now occupies 25-37% of its historic range, but this obscures important differences between subspecies. Of the nine recognized subspecies, three (P. p. pardus, fusca, and saxicolor) account for 97% of the leopard's extant range while another three (P. p. orientalis, nimr, and japonensis) have each lost as much as 98% of their historic range. Isolation, small patch sizes, and few remaining patches further threaten the six subspecies that each have less than 100,000 km(2) of extant range. Approximately 17% of extant leopard range is protected, although some endangered subspecies have far less. We found that while leopard research was increasing, research effort was primarily on the subspecies with the most remaining range whereas subspecies that are most in need of urgent attention were neglected.
Large carnivores, despite being sensitive to specific habitat conditions, are able to distribute in a wide range of natural habitats. Such pattern of distribution raises the question of whether ...ecoregional differences should be considered when developing habitat suitability models. We assessed habitat suitability of the Persian leopard (
Panthera pardus tulliana
) as an example of a wide-ranging predator across four different biogeographic zones of Iran. We used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to perform a general and ecoregion-specific habitat suitability model and projections of the future distribution of the species for the year 2050. The results showed that the habitat use of leopards in each ecoregion differed depending on the habitat conditions and that, due to smoothing response curves of the explanatory variables, the ecoregion-specific distribution models were suppressed in the general model. Topographic ruggedness, access to prey, NDVI, and human presence affect species' habitat suitability in different orders and gradients across the four ecoregions. We also found that the leopard's response to future climate change varies depending on ecoregions and climate change scenarios. While habitat loss is greater than habitat gain in Hyrcanian and Saharo-Sindian regions, this pattern reversed in Irano-Turanian and Zagros ecoregions. We argued that zoning across wide geographical ranges in niche modelling of widespread species, while may underestimate their environmental tolerance, allows for proper judgments on the required conservation measures in different ecoregions.
The Asiatic cheetah’s road to extinction Mohammadi, Alireza; Ranjbaran, Ali; Farhadinia, Mohammad S. ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
10/2023, Volume:
382, Issue:
6669
Journal Article
Ranging across montane areas of west Asia, the endangered Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor is a flagship species for biodiversity conservation in the Caucasus Eco-region. Despite recent ...reduction in occupancy and number within the range countries, the subspecies still exists in large areas within Iran, including the northwest which is considered the only promising source from which this leopard might recolonize its former range. In this context, we sought to elucidate the species' status and habitat requirements, and to evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas in safeguarding its long-term persistence. We report 150 locations where the Persian leopard was recorded across six provinces in the Iranian Caucasus Eco-region. These records informed a consensus species distribution modeling approach using 14 uncorrelated environmental variables (landcover, topographic, anthropogenic and climatic features) to explore the distribution of habitats suitable for the leopards. Using electrical-circuit theory we then explored connectivity between the usable habitats as revealed by this model. Unsurprisingly, our models confirmed that prey availability and the avoidance of humans were the primary influences on leopard distribution in the region. Two main landscapes were revealed to be suitable for the leopard but only 30% of their 20,026.9km2 area is officially protected. The Alborz landscape hosted the larger population nucleus and majority of breeding occurrences. Modeled connectivity revealed that persistence of the Persian leopard population in the boundary landscape and the broader Lesser Caucasus Mountains is dependent on trans-boundary movements through southern Azerbaijan. We conclude that it is a priority that international collaboration secures the Persian leopard's conservation in the wider landscape spanning the borders of Caucasian countries.
The population densities of leopards vary widely across their global range, influenced by prey availability, intraguild competition and human persecution. In Asia, particularly the Middle East and ...the Caucasus, they generally occur at the lower extreme of densities recorded for the species. Reliable estimates of population density are important for understanding their ecology and planning their conservation. We used a photographic spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methodology incorporating animal movement to estimate density for the endangered Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor in three montane national parks, northeastern Iran. We combined encounter history data arising from images of bilaterally asymmetrical left- and right-sided pelage patterns using a Bayesian spatial partial identity model accommodating multiple "non-invasive" marks. We also investigated the effect of camera trap placement on detection probability. Surprisingly, considering the subspecies' reported low abundance and density based on previous studies, we found relatively high population densities in the three national parks, varying between 3.10 ± SD 1.84 and 8.86 ± SD 3.60 individuals/100 km
. The number of leopards detected in Tandoureh National Park (30 individuals) was larger than estimated during comparable surveys at any other site in Iran, or indeed globally. Capture and recapture probabilities were higher for camera traps placed near water resources compared with those placed on trails. Our results show the benefits of protecting even relatively small mountainous areas, which accommodated a high density of leopards and provided refugia in a landscape with substantial human activity.
Establishing and maintaining protected areas (PAs) are key tools for biodiversity conservation. However, this approach is insufficient for many species, particularly those that are wide-ranging and ...sparse. The cheetah Acinonyx jubatus exemplifies such a species and faces extreme challenges to its survival. Here, we show that the global population is estimated at ∼7,100 individuals and confined to 9% of its historical distributional range. However, the majority of current range (77%) occurs outside of PAs, where the species faces multiple threats. Scenario modeling shows that, where growth rates are suppressed outside PAs, extinction rates increase rapidly as the proportion of population protected declines. Sensitivity analysis shows that growth rates within PAs have to be high if they are to compensate for declines outside. Susceptibility of cheetah to rapid decline is evidenced by recent rapid contraction in range, supporting an uplisting of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List threat assessment to endangered. Our results are applicable to other protection-reliant species, which may be subject to systematic underestimation of threat when there is insufficient information outside PAs. Ultimately, conserving many of these species necessitates a paradigm shift in conservation toward a holistic approach that incentivizes protection and promotes sustainable human–wildlife coexistence across large multiple-use landscapes.
Human activities can degrade landscape connectivity and disrupt ecological flows, jeopardising the functional integrity of processes. This study presents a quantitative assessment of Asia’s protected ...areas’ (PAs) structural connectivity using landscape metrics, as well as analyses of the Cost-Effective Zones’ (CEZs). Using nine landscape metrics, we assessed connectivity at zonal (country borders and interior), national, regional, and geographical (islands and continent) levels. The results showed that the structural connectivity of Asia’s PAs network measured by a Connectance index was very low (0.08% without country borders and 9.06% for the average country analysis). In general, connectivity was higher within borders (0.36%) than within the countries (0.22%). Islands exhibited significantly higher Area-weighted mean patch area, Proximity index and Largest patch index, suggesting more integrity and connectiveness. When comparing Asian regions, Western Asia presented the lowest values for Percentage of landscape and Proximity index. We found that only 15% of the CEZs in Asia were under PAs designation, and more CEZs are located in the interior, but the majority with the highest priority was in the borders (9%). We advocate that expanding PAs coverage, specifically targeting areas that increase connectivity (e.g., through transboundary PAs), should be a priority to maintain their ecological function.
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