9 research outputs found
Glucocorticoid stress responses of reintroduced tigers in relation to anthropogenic disturbance in Sariska Tiger Reserve in India
Tiger (Panthera tigris), an endangered species, is under severe threat from poaching, habitat
loss, prey depletion and habitat disturbance. Such factors have been reported causing
local extermination of tiger populations including in one of the most important reserves in
India, namely Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) in northwestern India. Consequently, tigers
were reintroduced in STR between 2008 and 2010, but inadequate breeding success was
observed over the years, thus invoking an investigation to ascertain physiological correlates.
In the present study, we report glucocorticoid stress responses of the reintroduced tigers
in relation to anthropogenic disturbance in the STR from 2011 to 2013. We found
anthropogenic disturbance such as encounter rates of livestock and humans, distance to
roads and efforts to kill domestic livestock associated with an elevation in fecal glucocorticoid
metabolite (fGCM) concentrations in the monitored tigers. In this regard, female tigers
seem more sensitive to such disturbance than males. It was possible to discern that tiger’s
fGCM levels were significantly positively related to the time spent in disturbed areas. Resulting
management recommendations include relocation of villages from core areas and restriction
of all anthropogenic activities in the entire STR.S1 Fig. Parallelism between pooled serial dilution of tiger’s fecal extract (square) and respective
cortisol standard (circle).S2 Fig. Different levels of anthropogenic disturbance and ST2 tigress movements prior to
scat deposition during the study period in Sariska Tiger Reserve (May 2011—January
2013).S3 Fig. Different levels of anthropogenic disturbance and ST3 tigress movements prior to
scat deposition during the study period in Sariska Tiger Reserve (May 2011—January
2013).S4 Fig. Different levels of anthropogenic disturbance and ST4 tiger movements prior to
scat deposition during the study period in Sariska Tiger Reserve (May 2011—January
2013).S5 Fig. Different levels of anthropogenic disturbance and ST5 tigress movements prior to
scat deposition during the study period in Sariska Tiger Reserve (May 2011—January
2013).S6 Fig. Different levels of anthropogenic disturbance and ST6 tiger movements prior to
scat deposition during the study period in Sariska Tiger Reserve (May 2011—January
2013).National Tiger Conservation Authority of
India (NTCA), Central Zoo Authority of India,
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of
India, Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) and the Ministry of Science and
Technology.http://www.plosone.orgam201
Multiscale spatially explicit modelling of livestock depredation by reintroduced tiger (Panthera tigris) to predict conflict risk probability
Understanding the causal factors associated with human/livestock-large carnivore conflict and distribution of conflict risk is key to designing effective preventative and mitigation strategies. Spatial modelling of human-carnivore conflict has recently gained traction, and predictive maps have become a great tool to understand the distribution of present and future conflict risk. However, very few such studies consider scale and use appropriate spatial modelling tools. We aimed to understand the ecological correlates of human-tiger (Panthera tigris) conflict, predict livestock predation risk by reintroduced tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve, Central India and understand the prey-predator dynamics behind the conflict. We modelled livestock kill as a function of various tiger relevant ecological variables at multiple scales employing spatially explicit statistical tools. As a first step, we used geostatistical modelling to create raster layers of covariates (prey, cover, human activities), following which we did univariate scaling. We then modelled livestock loss by tiger using a geoadditive model. Employing this model, we predicted and mapped conflict risk probabilities within our study site. It was found that prey and shrub cover both selected at a fine scale, were key ecological determinants of human-tiger conflict. Prey showed an inverse relationship while shrub showed non-linear relationship with livestock predation. Which lead us to conclude that in habitats where optimum ambush cover is available but prey presence is low at fine-scale, carnivores are more likely to depredate domestic livestock since livestock have lost most of their anti-predator behaviours. Livestock kill by tiger is thus a culmination of predator choice and foraging tactics, and prey vulnerability and defence mechanism. The spatially explicit predation risk map produced in this study can guide adequate human-tiger conflict prevention measures
The study area, Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India.
<p>The study area, Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India.</p
Generalized linear model (with Poisson distribution and identity function) of factors that influenced fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in tigers of Sariska Tiger Reserve (2011–2013).
<p>*—Beta or Coefficient</p><p><sup>#-</sup> Degrees of Freedom</p><p><sup>$</sup>Sig. is Significant level at 95% Confidence Interval</p><p>Generalized linear model (with Poisson distribution and identity function) of factors that influenced fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in tigers of Sariska Tiger Reserve (2011–2013).</p
Percentage of radio location of tigers in different disturbed areas and respective (subset figures) mean faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentration in Sariska Tiger Reserve.
<p>(Red- high disturbance, yellow—medium disturbance, green—less disturbance zones and blue—overall mean +/- SE).</p