Prioritizing livestock grazing right buyouts to safeguard Asiatic cheetahs from extinction

The article processing charge was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – 491192747 and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.Livestock husbandry exerts major pressures on wildlife across the world. Large carnivores are particularly at risk because they are often killed by pastoralists as a preventive or precautionary response to livestock depredation. Minimizing the overlap between pastures and carnivore habitat can thus be a conservation strategy, but it remains often unclear which pastures should be targeted to maximize conservation benefits given a limited budget. We addressed this question for the last viable population of the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) in northeastern Iran. By combining species distribution modeling with a spatial prioritization framework, we aimed to identify where grazing right buyouts should take place to reduce cheetah killing by herders and their dogs. We assessed the Asiatic cheetah habitat using species distribution models, highlighting large, contiguous areas that overlap with livestock pastures (5792 km2, equaling 72% of the total predicted suitable habitat). Subsequently, we used data on the number and distribution of livestock (~47,000 animals in 80 pastures) and applied a spatial prioritization method to identify pastures for grazing right buyouts for a range of budget scenarios (US$100,000–600,000). Pastures selected had a high level of irreplaceability and were generally stable across budget scenarios. Our results provide a novel approach to minimize encounter rates between cheetah and livestock, and thus the mortality risk, for one of the world's most endangered felids and highlight the potential of spatial prioritization as a tool to devise urgent conservation actions.Peer Reviewe

A novel approach to determining appropriate additive concentrations for stimulation of gas carbonate reservoirs

This comprehensive study delves into the intricate realm of matrix acidizing treatments within low-permeability gas reservoirs. The research scrutinizes the profound impact of various commercially available additives on acidizing processes, with a keen focus on optimizing their concentrations. By meticulously assessing compatibility, corrosion control, surface tension, and wettability alterations, the study evaluates additives' performance under ambient and reservoir conditions. Notably, four distinct acids—15% hydrochloric acid, 12% hydrochloric acid +3% hydrofluoric acid, 15% acetic acid, and 12% acetic acid +3% hydrofluoric acid—underwent testing with various additives. Through systematic analysis, it's evident that the chosen concentrations of additives yield impressive results: corrosion rates below 0.05 lb/ft2, low surface tension, absence of iron precipitation, and sustained water-wet wettability. The study provides invaluable insights into additive selection, concentrations, and their pivotal role in enhancing acidizing within low-permeability gas reservoirs, ultimately improving overall operational performance and minimizing unfavorable consequences

The Effect of Two Types of Silicone Insole on Selected Kinetic Variables on the Skill landing-Jumping-Landing Active Young Women with Flat foot

Introduction: Since the use of medical insole is recommended as one of the strategies to deal with the potential for joint injuries, Flatfoot is one of the most common abnormalities in body structure that Due to the decrease in the height of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot and its functional defect, the increases risk of joint damage due to changes in the transfer of ground reaction forces. One of the treatment options that is suggested is the use of a medical insole. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two different forms of silicone insoles on the peak of the ground reaction force, loading rate and time to stability in the landing-jumping-landing skill of active young women with flat foot. Materials and methods: 28 women with a history of regular activity exercise were divided into two groups of 14 (flat foot and normal foot). The subjects landed two legs on a level with a height of 0.5 m on the forwards of the first force plate, jumped without stopping and landed on second force plate. In this study, two types of silicone insoles were used that support the entire sole of the foot (type I), and only the inner portion of the foot and the medial longitudinal arch (Type II). The flat foot subjects performed without using the insole and using two types of insoles. The Data Analysis of data Evaluation of Variables were done by MATLAB software. Also its statistical analysis was done by using spss (P≤0.05). Results: The results of statistical analysis of variance analysis showed a significant difference in the amount of ground reaction forces in all three axes between normal and flat foot subjects, while the use of medical insoles only in outer medial- lateral & anterior- posterior directions has been significant. The rate of loading at the first landing showed a significant difference between the subjects with flat foot and normal foot. But there was no significant effect after using the medical insole. However, there was no significant difference between the time to stability in the two groups of flat foot and normal foot. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it can be said that flat foot abnormality in high intensity plometric skill has effect on the ground reaction forces in all three directions, and the use of a Type I insole can reduce the amount of force in all three directions. On the other hand, the decrease in the height of the longitudinal arch of the foot is associated with the rate of loading during the landing, which is identified as a risk factor for joint and muscular damage. But the use of silicone insoles cannot effect on the rate of loading. The results of this study indicate that the time to stability in active subject does not correlate with the height of the medial longitudinal arch, or the time to stability is corrected in the active subjects with flat feet with the help of compensatory mechanisms.Keywords: Flat Foot, Kinetic, Insol

Effects of shepherds and dogs on livestock depredation by leopards (Panthera pardus) in north-eastern Iran

Human-carnivore conflicts over livestock depredation are increasingly common, yet little is understood about the role of husbandry in conflict mitigation. As shepherds and guarding dogs are most commonly used to curb carnivore attacks on grazing livestock, evaluation and improvement of these practices becomes an important task. We addressed this issue by studying individual leopard (Panthera pardus) attacks on sheep and goats in 34 villages near Golestan National Park, Iran. We obtained and analyzed data on 39 attacks, which included a total loss of 31 sheep and 36 goats in 17 villages. We applied non-parametric testing, Poisson Generalized Linear Modelling (GLM) and model selection to assess how numbers of sheep and goats killed per attack are associated with the presence and absence of shepherds and dogs during attacks, depredation in previous years, villages, seasons, ethnic groups, numbers of sheep and goats kept in villages, and distances from villages to the nearest protected areas. We found that 95.5% of losses were inflicted in forests when sheep and goats were accompanied by shepherds (92.5% of losses) and dogs (77.6%). Leopards tended to kill more sheep and goats per attack (surplus killing) when dogs were absent in villages distant from protected areas, but still inflicted most losses when dogs were present, mainly in villages near protected areas. No other variables affected numbers of sheep and goats killed per attack. These results indicate that local husbandry practices are ineffectual and the mere presence of shepherds and guarding dogs is not enough to secure protection. Shepherds witnessed leopard attacks, but could not deter them while dogs did not exhibit guarding behavior and were sometimes killed by leopards. In an attempt to make practical, low-cost and socially acceptable improvements in local husbandry, we suggest that dogs are raised to create a strong social bond with livestock, shepherds use only best available dogs, small flocks are aggregated into larger ones and available shepherds herd these larger flocks together. Use of deterrents and avoidance of areas close to Golestan and in central, core areas of neighboring protected areas is also essential to keep losses down

Genetic characterization of free-ranging Asiatic wild ass in Central Asia as a basis for future conservation strategies

Loss of genetic diversity due to drift and inbreeding reduces a population’s ability to respond to environmental change and may result in inbreeding depression. The Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus), regionally also known as Gobi khulan, Turkmen kulan, or Persian onager, has become confined to less than 3% of its historic distribution range. Remaining populations in Central Asia outside of the Mongolian Gobi are small and fragmented. Questions concerning subpopulation status remain disputed and concerns over the viability of these populations have been raised because of small size, past bottlenecks, or recent founder events. We used non-invasive faecal samples to assess the genetic diversity and divergence among Turkmen kulan and Persian onager from five free-ranging and one captive population from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran and compared their genetic constitution to the large autochthonous population in the Mongolian Gobi. We observed loss of genetic diversity (drift and inbreeding) in the captive and reintroduced populations as well as in one rapidly declining autochthonous population. Population differentiation and structure using microsatellites and mtDNA based phylogenetic analysis do not support the current separation of the autochthonous populations of Turkmen kulan and Persian onager into different subspecies, but rather suggest a cline with the Iranian population in Bahram-e-Goor at the southern end and the Turkmen population in Badhyz at the northern end falling into two distinct clusters, and the northern Iranian population in Touran being intermediate. We compare our findings to other population genetics studies of equids and discuss the implications of our findings for the future conservation of the Asiatic wild ass in the region.acceptedVersio

Dissatisfaction with Veterinary Services Is Associated with Leopard (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) Predation on Domestic Animals

<div><p>Human-carnivore conflicts challenge biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods, but the role of diseases of domestic animals in their predation by carnivores is poorly understood. We conducted a human-leopard (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) conflict study throughout all 34 villages around Golestan National Park, Iran in order to find the most important conflict determinants and to use them in predicting the probabilities of conflict and killing of cattle, sheep and goats, and dogs. We found that the more villagers were dissatisfied with veterinary services, the more likely they were to lose livestock and dogs to leopard predation. Dissatisfaction occurred when vaccination crews failed to visit villages at all or, in most cases, arrived too late to prevent diseases from spreading. We suggest that increased morbidity of livestock makes them particularly vulnerable to leopard attacks. Moreover, conflicts and dog killing were higher in villages located closer to the boundaries of the protected area than in distant villages. Therefore, we appeal for improved enforcement and coordination of veterinary services in our study area, and propose several priority research topics such as veterinarian studies, role of wild prey in diseases of domestic animals, and further analysis of potential conflict predictors.</p></div

The significant effects of satisfaction with veterinary services on human-leopard (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) conflict, cattle killing, sheep and goat killing, and dog killing by leopards in villages around Golestan National Park, Iran.

<p>The significant effects of satisfaction with veterinary services on human-leopard (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) conflict, cattle killing, sheep and goat killing, and dog killing by leopards in villages around Golestan National Park, Iran.</p

Location of Golestan National Park (GNP), Ghorkhod Protected Area (GPA), Zav 1 Protected Area (ZAV1), Zav 2 Protected Area (ZAV2), Loveh Protected Area (LPA) and villages with or without human-leopard (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) conflict.

<p>Location of Golestan National Park (GNP), Ghorkhod Protected Area (GPA), Zav 1 Protected Area (ZAV1), Zav 2 Protected Area (ZAV2), Loveh Protected Area (LPA) and villages with or without human-leopard (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) conflict.</p

The effect of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with veterinary services on the probabilities of conflict, cattle killing, sheep and goat (shoat) killing and dog killing modeled by logistic regression.

<p>The error bars indicate standard error.</p

The models predicting the probabilities of human-leopard conflict and killing of cattle, sheep and goats, and dogs by leopards from the villagers’ satisfaction with veterinary services.

<p>Abbreviations: AUC–area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), p–probability of response variable, <i>P</i>–significance level, VS–satisfaction with veterinary services (1 if satisfied, 0 if not), %–percentage of correct classification.</p><p>The models predicting the probabilities of human-leopard conflict and killing of cattle, sheep and goats, and dogs by leopards from the villagers’ satisfaction with veterinary services.</p