Animal behavior informed by history: Was the Asiatic cheetah an obligate gazelle hunter?

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

Understanding decision making in a food-caching predator using hidden Markov models

Financial support was provided by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz (ZGAP), Quagga Conservation Fund and IdeaWild.Background Tackling behavioural questions often requires identifying points in space and time where animals make decisions and linking these to environmental variables. State-space modeling is useful for analysing movement trajectories, particularly with hidden Markov models (HMM). Yet importantly, the ontogeny of underlying (unobservable) behavioural states revealed by the HMMs has rarely been verified in the field. Methods Using hidden Markov models of individual movement from animal location, biotelemetry, and environmental data, we explored multistate behaviour and the effect of associated intrinsic and extrinsic drivers across life stages. We also decomposed the activity budgets of different movement states at two general and caching phases. The latter - defined as the period following a kill which likely involves the caching of uneaten prey - was subsequently confirmed by field inspections. We applied this method to GPS relocation data of a caching predator, Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor in northeastern Iran. Results Multistate modeling provided strong evidence for an effect of life stage on the behavioural states and their associated time budget. Although environmental covariates (ambient temperature and diel period) and ecological outcomes (predation) affected behavioural states in non-resident leopards, the response in resident leopards was not clear, except that temporal patterns were consistent with a crepuscular and nocturnal movement pattern. Resident leopards adopt an energetically more costly mobile behaviour for most of their time while non-residents shift their behavioural states from high energetic expenditure states to energetically less costly encamped behaviour for most of their time, which is likely to be a risk avoidance strategy against conspecifics or humans. Conclusions This study demonstrates that plasticity in predator behaviour depending on life stage may tackle a trade-off between successful predation and avoiding the risks associated with conspecifics, human presence and maintaining home range. Range residency in territorial predators is energetically demanding and can outweigh the predator’s response to intrinsic and extrinsic variables such as thermoregulation or foraging needs. Our approach provides an insight into spatial behavior and decision making of leopards, and other large felids in rugged landscapes through the application of the HMMs in movement ecology.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Proximity and size of protected areas in Asian borderlands enable transboundary conservation

Asia has over 80% of the Earth’s border hotspots for threatened transboundary wildlife, yet only limited research has been done on the distribution of protected areas across international borders in the continent. To address this gap, we conducted a spatial analysis of protected areas across 42 Asian countries. Our study aimed to understand the distribution, proximity, and land-use changes within border protected areas. Two cases were examined, evaluating the spatial relationships at different buffer distances from international borders. Our findings revealed that Asian countries have larger protected areas in borderlands, particularly up to 50 km from borders, as compared to regions further away from the border. Importantly, the median distance between protected areas across international borders is nearly three times shorter than those within the same country. However, the rate of change in natural habitats within protected areas between 2001 and 2019 showed no correlation with their distance from the border. The proximity of protected areas across Asian borders offers opportunities for enhancing connectivity. A larger extent of multi-use protected areas (IUCN1-6+) near borders compared to strict protected areas (IUCN1-4) can facilitate the engagement of communities, which are crucial in transboundary conservation initiatives. Our results can help Asian countries as they work toward their commitments as part of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to protect at least 30% of the Earth’s surface area by 2030

Coat Polymorphism in Eurasian Lynx: Adaptation to Environment or Phylogeographic Legacy?

We studied the relationship between the variability and contemporary distribution of pelage phenotypes in one of most widely distributed felid species and an array of environmental and demographic conditions. We collected 672 photographic georeferenced records of the Eurasian lynx throughout Eurasia. We assigned each lynx coat to one of five phenotypes. Then we fitted the coat patterns to different environmental and anthropogenic variables, as well as the effective geographic distances from inferred glacial refugia. A majority of lynx were either of the large spotted (41.5%) or unspotted (uniform, 36.2%) phenotype. The remaining patterns (rosettes, small spots and pseudo-rosettes) were represented in 11.0%, 7.4%, and 3.9% of samples, respectively. Although various environmental variables greatly affected lynx distribution and habitat suitability, it was the effect of least-cost distances from locations of the inferred refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum that explained the distribution of lynx coat patterns the best. Whereas the occurrence of lynx phenotypes with large spots was explained by the proximity to refugia located in the Caucasus/Middle East, the uniform phenotype was associated with refugia in the Far East and Central Asia. Despite the widely accepted hypothesis of adaptive functionality of coat patterns in mammals and exceptionally high phenotypic polymorphism in Eurasian lynx, we did not find well-defined signs of habitat matching in the coat pattern of this species. Instead, we showed how the global patterns of morphological variability in this large mammal and its environmental adaptations may have been shaped by past climatic change.publishedVersio

Prey of the Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in a mixed forest-steppe landscape in northeastern Iran (Mammalia: Felidae)

We carried out a dietary analysis of Persian Leopards, Panthera pardus saxicolor, in a temperate region in north-eastern Iran, where the largest population nucleus exists across the subspecies range. We investigated 113 faecal samples collected between February 2009 and March 2010 in Golestan National Park. Faecal analysis revealed that leopards predominantly preyed upon wild ungulates, with the Wild Boar, Sus scrofa, being the most important prey species in terms of frequency and biomass. Eleven different prey items were identified, 7 of which were ungulates, comprising 99% of the total food items. We also found a spatial pattern in the prey composition of leopards: cervids were predominantly found in forest landscapes, whereas Wild Sheep, Ovis orientalis, was mainly found in steppe habitats, revealing the leopards' predation on medium-to large-sized ungulates. Livestock remains were mainly extracted from steppe samples, but the overall contribution to the leopard diet pattern (approximately 8.5% of consumed biomass) suggested that conflict with human communities, at least within the investigated core parts of the National Park, is not a major concern. The study provides the first illustration of the Persian Leopard's dietary composition in a temperate area with a relatively high diversity of available prey, and can be a baseline for future investigation and human-leopard interaction monitorin

Proximity and size of protected areas in Asian borderlands enable transboundary conservation

International audienceAsia has over 80% of the Earth’s border hotspots for threatened transboundary wildlife, yet only limited research has been done on the distribution of protected areas across international borders in the continent. To address this gap, we conducted a spatial analysis of protected areas across 42 Asian countries. Our study aimed to understand the distribution, proximity, and land-use changes within border protected areas. Two cases were examined, evaluating the spatial relationships at different buffer distances from international borders. Our findings revealed that Asian countries have larger protected areas in borderlands, particularly up to 50 km from borders, as compared to regions further away from the border. Importantly, the median distance between protected areas across international borders is nearly three times shorter than those within the same country. However, the rate of change in natural habitats within protected areas between 2001 and 2019 showed no correlation with their distance from the border. The proximity of protected areas across Asian borders offers opportunities for enhancing connectivity. A larger extent of multi-use protected areas (IUCN1-6+) near borders compared to strict protected areas (IUCN1-4) can facilitate the engagement of communities, which are crucial in transboundary conservation initiatives. Our results can help Asian countries as they work toward their commitments as part of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to protect at least 30% of the Earth’s surface area by 2030

Anchoring and adjusting amidst humans: Ranging behavior of Persian leopards along the Iran-Turkmenistan borderland.

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