Blue sheep strongly affect snow leopard relative abundance but not livestock depredation in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

Large carnivores play key roles in their ecosystems, but their protection is a major challenge in biodiversity conservation due to conflicts with human interests. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is the top predator of Asian high-altitude landscapes and faces various threats including wild prey depletion and illegal killings as a consequence of livestock depredation. As the interactions between snow leopards, wild prey, and livestock are still insufficiently understood, we studied the effects of 1) wild prey (blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and Himalayan marmots Marmota himalayana) and domestic prey on snow leopard relative abundance, and of 2) these ecological parameters and intervention applications on livestock depredation by snow leopards. In the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, we monitored wildlife populations and livestock along transects (490.8 km) in 82 grid cells (4 ×4 km) in 2019 and 2021 and conducted questionnaire surveys to determine livestock depredation between 2018 and 2021 (n = 479 households). We applied generalized linear models (GLMs) and sample comparison testing to examine the effects of prey densities and other environmental and anthropogenic predictors on snow leopard relative abundance and livestock depredation. Blue sheep density strongly positively affected snow leopard relative abundance, which also increased with terrain ruggedness and decreased with increasing densities of livestock and the human population. The size of livestock holdings shaped depredation events of large livestock (yak, cattle and horse), whereas depredation events of sheep and goats, which accounted for most (68.6%) depredated animals, decreased with increasing human population density and marmot presence. The strong impact of blue sheep on snow leopard relative abundance supports demands for integrating this ungulate into conservation and management plans, including wild prey recovery and translocation. The rather weak evidence for effects of blue sheep on depredation events suggests that conflicts over livestock depredation by snow leopards would neither be inflicted nor solved by increasing wild prey abundance. This demonstrates the need to improve intervention strategies in the Annapurna region, such as predator-proofing corrals and optimizing daytime herding practices. We suggest further exploring the effects of marmots and other secondary prey on livestock depredation rates, and testing the suitability of additional interventions, e.g., dogs and deterrents, as conflict mitigation tools. Our results will support wildlife managers in setting conservation priorities to promote the long-term co-existence of local people and snow leopards.publishedVersio

Space use, interaction and recursion in a solitary specialized herbivore: a red panda case study

Better understanding of ecology is crucial for the success of an endangered species conservation program. There is little information available on space use, conspecific interactions and recursions by one such species, the red panda Ailurus fulgens. To address this deficiency we used GPS telemetry to examine their home range, core area, home-range overlap, dynamic interactions, and recursive movement, and investigated the effect of sex, age, and body mass on these behaviours across seasons. The median annual home range was 1.41 with nearly a quarter of this range being used as the core area. Sex and reproductive status were the key determinants of space use patterns on a seasonal scale, while body mass and age remained significant correlates for the core area. The home range of males was nearly double that of females, likely because of the polygynous mating system in red pandas. Females avoided overlapping home ranges while males overlapped home range with up to four females, and neighbouring males overlapped nearly half of their ranges. We found rare interactions between males and females outside the mating season. Red pandas showed site fidelity within their territory with seasonal variation across sex classes. We also observed high individual variation in patterns of both space use and recursion. Taken together, these results suggest that differences in biological requirements across seasons determine red panda space use patterns, conspecific interactions and recursion. But forage availability and quality, climatic factors, disturbances and habitat fragmentation are also likely to influence these behaviours, and these need to be investigated

TDMA scheduling in wireless sensor networks

In this thesis, we address the time slot scheduling problem that arises while utilizing time division multiple access (TDMA) as the medium access control (MAC) protocol for wireless sensor networks (WSN). We first propose two algorithms: Centralized link scheduling and channel assignment algorithm, and distributed broadcast TDMA scheduling algorithm (DB-TDMA), to solve the scheduling problem. The centralized link scheduling and channel assignment algorithm allocates receiving channels to each node and allocates time slot to each link between two nodes. Prior to link scheduling algorithm, a balanced tree formation algorithm is introduced to generate a balanced tree structured network topology. Another proposed scheduling algorithm is the distributed broadcast TDMA scheduling algorithm (DB-TDMA), that allows each node to select its own time slot based on the local two-hop neighbourhood information. Here, an option to obtain either global time framing or local time framing after .We focus on reducing the message transaction between the nodes without compromising the convergence time of the algorithm. We also present an extension to the distributed broadcasts scheduling algorithm to provide multiple time slots to some nodes. Finally, we present the performance analysis of the algorithms presented in this thesis. Our experimental results show that: 1) In centralized link scheduling and channel assignment algorithm, the schedule length decreases with the increase in number of available channels. The decrease is maximum when channel availability increases from one to two. However, the decrease in schedule length becomes -less significant when channel availability is more than two; 2) The DB-TDMA and its extension provides optimal time slot schedule with low message transactions within reasonable run time; 3) The performance of DB-TDMA is observed to better than previously proposed distributed algorithms; distributed randomized TDMA scheduling (DRAND) and deterministic distributed TDMA scheduling (DDTDMA) algorithms in terms of message actions required for scheduling

Characterization of CAP5.5 and CAP5.5V, atypical calpains in Trypanosoma brucei

Calpains are a group of calcium-dependent cysteine proteases with roles ranging from cytoskeletal remodelling to signal transduction. In Trypanosoma brucei, the causal agent of African sleeping sickness, an unusually large number of calpain- like proteins exist, whose functions remain unknown. Recently, the procyclic form- specific cytoskeleton associated protein 5.5 (CAP5.5) and its bloodstream-specific paralogous variant, CAP5.5V were discovered to be essential for the proper morphogenesis of the parasite. However, precise functional roles of these proteins remain unknown. In this MSc thesis, I employed a two-pronged approach combining cell biology studies of CAP5.5 and CAP5.5V in T. brucei with in vitro assays of recombinant calpains expressed in Escherichia coli to further characterize CAP5.5 and CAP5.5V. To resolve whether the function of CAP5.5 and CAP5.5V is dependent upon proteolytic activity, I expressed and purified recombinant CAP5.5V’s catalytic domain. I demonstrated that this domain did not have any detectable autolytic activity or activity against universal protease substrates such as casein. Ectopic expression of CAP5.5::YFP::Ty in procyclic trypanosomes led to nuclear mis-positioning among other morphological defects. Additionally, I demonstrated a cell cycle dependency on incorporation of CAP5.5::YFP::Ty into the cytoskeleton and corroborate previous data that suggest that CAP5.5 is built in from the dynamic, posterior end of the cell. Investigation of the molecular determinants in CAP5.5’s sequence such as motifs or domains suggested that CAP5.5’s domain IV may be the domain mediating association with the sub-pellicular cytoskeleton.This thesis is not currently available in ORA

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in free-ranging Red Panda Ailurus fulgens Cuvier, 1825 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Ailuridae) in Nepal

The Red Panda Ailurus fulgens is a small carnivore that is adapted to a mainly herbivorous diet.  The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of parasitic infections in a free-ranging population of Red Pandas in a community forest in Nepal.  A total of 23 faecal samples were collected and examined.  Protozoa infections were the most common and cestode infections occurred the least.  Our findings suggest that parasites might be a significant problem for the health of the Red Pandas in the study area.  Molecular methods should be used to further investigate the taxonomic position of the parasites and their role in threatening the resilience of Red Panda populations in Nepal.  </div

Rapid Assessment Biodiversity Grid Data for Snow Leopard and Pallas Cat habitats in Manang, Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, early June 2015

This dataset consists of a rapid biodiversity assessment at a Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) and Pallas Cat (Otocolobus manul) habitat site near Manang village in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), Nepal. The data include 25 plots spaced 100m apart from each other, and 5 additional random points. The geo-referencing was done with a GPS, a geographic datum of WGS84 was used with decinal degrees (5 decimals) of latitude and longitude. The bounding box of this data set is: 27.691960 to 28.287450 Northern latitude, and 84.004010 to 83.998410 Western longitude. The grid is located on a slope app. on 4200m above sea level and was visited three times on May 30th, May 31st and June 1st in 2015 allowing for occupancy and distance sampling abundance estimates. Point transects were carried out for bird sightings; animal tracks, insects (butterflies) and vegetation (flowers) were briefly assessed. Two photos were taken for each grid plot, and one sky shot to capture the atmospheric light conditions, e.g. for Remote Sensing work.Noteworthy are the high grazing pressures and strong occurrences of yaks, horses, and goats, as well the detection of bharal (blue sheep), Lammergeier, Himalaya Griffon, Golden Eagle, snow cock, cockoo, pipits and wagtails in this mountain high altitude landscape (all scientific names and details are provided in the taxonomic section of the metadata). Small white snails were found too. A snowleopard kill site (blue sheep and yak) was found, as well as tracks and a resting site on a nearby higher cliff site (where Pallas Cat was also observed earlier). This dataset consists of an MS Excel sheet and is less than 1MB in size

Camera Trapping Grid Data in Nepal Hindu Kush-Himalaya for regions of Humla 2015 , Manang 2014-2015 and Manang 2016-2017

This multi-year, multi-site and multi-species dataset describes Bushnell Camera Trap data from three locations in remote Nepal: Humla 2015, Manang 2014-2015 and Manang 2016-2017. The data from the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region comes from a geo-referenced survey grid and are stored in three MS Excel sheets, also combined and available in CSV consisting of 175658 records and 15 columns with a file size of 19MB. Species covered are Blue Sheep/Bharal (Pseudois nayaur Taxonomic Serial Number TSN 180596 ), Snow Leopard (Panthera unica, Uncia uncia TSN 183811), Beech Marten (Martes foina TSN 621941), Wolf (Canis lupus TSN 180596), birds (Aves Golden Eagle etc.),Pika (Ochotona), Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes TSN 180604), Mountain Weasel (Mustela altaica TSN 621947), Pallas�s Cat (Otocolobus manul, Felis manul TSN 183791), and Golden Jackal (Canis aureus TSN 183817