CONSERVING MONGOLIA’S GRASSLANDS, WITH CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND LESSONS FOR NORTH AMERICA’S GREAT PLAINS

Mongolia and North America contain expansive grassland ecosystems that remain sparsely populated, dominated by agriculture, and support relatively isolated human communities dependent on natural resources. Until recently Mongolians raised livestock using extensive pastoralism without seriously threatening most of the region’s biodiversity. Yet that changed rapidly following the recent transition from a communist, command-control economy to a democratic, free-market economy. The main challenges to protecting biodiversity on grasslands in Mongolia include overgrazing, poaching, mining, and inadequate management, training, and resources. Mongolia and the Great Plains both retain great opportunities for biodiversity conservation that could also benefit local people. Mongolia has begun embracing nature-based tourism as a means of providing additional jobs and enhanced livelihoods to local communities on its steppe grasslands. Nature-based tourism development in Mongolia may provide a model for conserving biodiversity in the Great Plains. Similar developments are beginning in the Great Plains but have focused primarily on big game hunting and dude ranches. Expanding the model in the Great Plains to include Native American cultures and wildlife viewing may offer alternatives that help restore biodiversity and enhance livelihoods

Is Wildlife Going to the Dogs? Impacts of Feral and Free-roaming Dogs on Wildlife Populations

In human-populated landscapes, dogs (Canis familiaris) are often the most abundant terrestrial carnivore. However, dogs can significantly disrupt or modify intact ecosystems well beyond the areas occupied by people. Few studies have directly quantified the environmental or economic effects of free-roaming and feral dogs. Here, we review wildlife-dog interactions and provide a case study that focuses on interactions documented from our research in Mongolia to underscore the need for studies designed to best determine how dogs affect native wildlife and especially imperiled populations. We suggest additional research, public awareness campaigns, and the exclusion of dogs from critical wildlife habitat. The application of scientific findings to management and enhanced public outreach programs will not only facilitate recovery and maintenance of wildlife populations globally but also has the potential to reduce economic losses

Grouping Patterns of Argali in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia

G regariousness is a common behavioural trait observed in many large mammalian herbivores. Habitat characteristics, life history, spatio-temporal resource dynamics, population density, predation risk, competition with kin and social learning often determine gregariousness in a species. These factors may infl uence grouping patterns between species as well as between sexes within a species and several of these factors may be interrelated. In this study we examined the temporal dynamics of grouping behaviour and sexual segregation in argali ( Ovis ammon ) using eight years of observations in Ikh-Nart reserve, Mongolia. We measured monthly and yearly variations in typical group sizes and used a sexual segregation and aggregation statistic to assess sexual segregation. The typical group size observed was 14.97±2.74. The largest groups within the year occurred during lambing (May-June) and mating periods (November-December). On an average, females formed larger groups than males. The sexes were segregated all year round except for the mating period and this pattern was consistent for all years. Argali grouping behaviour in Ikh Nart resembles the patterns observed in other sexually dimorphic mountain ungulates and argali subspecies across Asia

Checklist of Mammals in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve

We present a checklist of mammal species recorded in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag from August 2004 to August 2007 to add to existing knowledge about mammal distribution in Mongolia. We recorded the presence of mammals through opportunistic observations and live captures as part of on-going research projects in the reserve. We recorded 33 mammal species representing seven orders, 15 families, and 28 genera. Rodentia ( n =14 species) represented the most speciose order and Perissodactyla ( n =1 species) the least speciose. Of mammals present, one third are classi fi ed as IUCN threatened or near threatened in Mongolia, fi ve are listed in CITES appendices, and six are categorized as rare under the Mongolian Law on Fauna. Ikh Nart reserve harbors a quarter of the native mammal species known to occur in Mongolia, yet its size covers <0.05% of the country’s land area. Given the high diversity, high proportion of declining species, and small land area of the reserve, we suggest that Ikh Nart should represent a priority area for mammal conservation efforts in Mongolia

Creating a model of habitat suitability using vegetation and ruggedness for Ovis ammon and Capra sibirica (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) in Mongolia

Spatially-explicit wildlife habitat models, such as a Habitat Suitability Index Model (HSIM), are increasingly used to understand optimal environmental conditions needed for a species survival and viability. HSIM compares different environmental variables, including vegetation, slope, and aspect to determine optimal habitat for a species. HSIM can compare a species’ use of resources with availability and determine risks for a species viability. Furthermore, decision makers can use HSIM to make decisions regarding resources needed for species of concern and development of protected areas. We used a geographic information system to create a HSIM for Argali sheep (Ovis ammon) and Siberian ibex (Capra siberica), species of conservation concern in Mongolia. We used vegetation and ruggedness layers and compared argali and ibex use with habitat availability. Argali and ibex presence correlated with three habitat classes: dense rock, low-density shrub, and short grass/forb. We found no significance in correlation for ruggedness

Cinereous Vulture Nesting Ecology in Ikh Nartyn Chuluu Nature Reserve, Mongolia

Cinereous vultures ( Aegypius monachus ) are the largest raptors in Eurasia. Little is known about the species, especially in Mongolia. We studied the nesting ecology of cinereous vultures in Ikh Nartyn Chuluu Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag. To assess reproductive success, we located active nests and periodically checked to determine if they remained active. We measured nest sizes and, periodically, nestling sizes and weights. We located 42 active cinereous vulture nests (27 on rocks and 15 on trees) in 2003 and 19 nests (14 on rocks and 5 on trees) in 2004. Mean volume of active nests was 3.92 ± 0.39 m 3 ( n = 36). Most nests failed prior to egg hatching, but after hatching nesting success rates increased dramatically. Following hatching, cinereous vulture chicks grew linearly until leveling off just prior to fledging. We generated growth curves for chicks that allowed us to determine the average size of chicks on specific dates. Improving the prospects for successful cinereous vulture conservation likely requires a better understanding of nesting ecology. As such, we plan to improve the quality of our data by monitoring nests more intensively to determine incubation and fledging lengths, as well as causes of nest failures

Siberian Ibex ( Capra sibirica ) Home Ranges in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia: Preliminary Findings

Siberian ibex ( Capra sibirica ) remain poorly understood, as little is known about their ecology . W e began studying ibex in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag, Mongolia to better understand the species’ ecological needs and threats. In this paper we report on home range and core range sizes. We captured 27 ibex and fi t them with radio telemetry collars using drive nets for adults and juveniles ( n = 22) and hand captures for neonatal kids ( n = 5 ). W e collected 1,029 locations from September 2003 to February 2007. Throughout the study, 9 ibex with 40+ fi xe s used mean, annual home range sizes of 3,115.5 ± 504.2 ha using the Minimum Convex Polygon method. Home ranges calculated using the fi xe d kernel method were smaller: 475.9 ± 14.7 ha for 50% kernel and 1,808.0 ± 88.1 ha for 95% kernel. Ibex from different demographic groups (males vs. females and juveniles vs. adults) used remarkably similar home and core ranges; we found no signifi ca nt differences among any demographic groups. Although not quantifi ed , ibex mostly restricted their activities to areas with steep cliffs and rocky outcrops and home ranges overlapped extensively

Seasonal variation in the foraging activity of desert argali (Ovis ammon) in Mongolia

Debate remains whether energy maximizing or time minimizing strategies best explain foraging in ungulates. It has also been hypothesized that the capacity of an animal to dissipate body heat regulates animal activity. We investigated these hypotheses while measuring the daily activity of desert argali (Ovis ammon: Linnaeus,1758) for 12 months and relating the activity pattern to environmental seasonality. We found significant seasonal cycles in argali activity, with the greatest proportion of daytime in winter spent foraging, the greatest proportion of daytime in summer spent bedding. Consistent with an energy maximizing strategy, argali reduced all behaviors during the winter in favor of foraging, compensating for the increased energy demands of winter at a time of low forage quality. Consistent with a time minimization strategy, argali in summer significantly reduced foraging and spent more time bedding in shaded areas to avoid hyperthermia due to high ambient temperatures. Both optimal foraging and heat dissipation can be used to explain the observed foraging pattern. Foraging behavior in argali is best described by the extent to which the animals schedule their activities to meet their physiological demands, the way these demands are affected by environmental variables, and the time that is available to accomplish them.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Illegal and Unsustainable Wildlife Hunting and Trade in Mongolia

Recent reports and studies document dramatic declines in a wide variety of wildlife species in Mongolia. The prime driver in these declines appears to be illegal and unsustainable hunting, both for local trade and consumption and for the international market. While data on these declines are sparse, comparisons of survey reports since the 1980s present evidence that some species may have declined by up to 90% in recent years. We outline the situation for eight major species of wildlife in Mongolia (saiga antelope, Mongolian gazelle, red deer , musk deer , ar gali, brown bear , Siberian marmot, and saker falcon). We then review the existing legal conditions and government efforts to control this situation, and suggest specific changes and actions that Mongolia should take to halt these dramatic declines in wildlife populations and avoid what may soon become an extinction crisis

Desert Pastoralists’ Negative and Positive Effects on Rare Wildlife in the Gobi

In arid regions of the developing world, pastoralists and livestock commonly inhabit protected areas, resulting in human–wildlife conflict. Conflict is inextricably linked to the ecological processes shaping relationships between pastoralists and native herbivores and carnivores. To elucidate relationships underpinning human–wildlife conflict, we synthesized 15 years of ecological and ethnographic data from Ikh Nart Nature Reserve in Mongolia\u27s Gobi steppe. The density of argali (Ovis ammon), the world\u27s largest wild sheep, at Ikh Nart was among the highest in Mongolia, yet livestock were \u3e90% of ungulate biomass and dogs \u3e90% of large‐carnivore biomass. For argali, pastoral activities decreased food availability, increased mortality from dog predation, and potentially increased disease risk. Isotope analyses indicated that livestock accounted for \u3e50% of the diet of the majority of gray wolves (Canis lupus) and up to 90% of diet in 25% of sampled wolves (n = 8). Livestock composed at least 96% of ungulate prey in the single wolf pack for which we collected species‐specific prey data. Interviews with pastoralists indicated that wolves annually killed 1–4% of Ikh Nart\u27s livestock, and pastoralists killed wolves in retribution. Pastoralists reduced wolf survival by killing them, but their livestock were an abundant food source for wolves. Consequently, wolf density appeared to be largely decoupled from argali density, and pastoralists had indirect effects on argali that could be negative if pastoralists increased wolf density (apparent competition) or positive if pastoralists decreased wolf predation (apparent facilitation). Ikh Nart\u27s argali population was stable despite these threats, but livestock are increasingly dominant numerically and functionally relative to argali. To support both native wildlife and pastoral livelihoods, we suggest training dogs to not kill argali, community insurance against livestock losses to wolves, reintroducing key native prey species to hotspots of human–wolf conflict, and developing incentives for pastoralists to reduce livestock density