Sumatran mesocarnivores: small-medium sized wild felids of the Kerinci Seblat landscape

The study of mesopredators, their guilds, and conservation has had little attention in the tropics of Southeast Asia. A particularly interesting group, from the point of view of their ecological community and because of their generally threatened status, is the Felidae. This thesis reports an intensive camera-trapping study of small-medium sized wild felids in the Kerinci Seblat landscape in west-central Sumatra. Samples were drawn from seven study areas across a diversity of habitats occupied by clouded leopard, golden cat, marbled cat, leopard cat, and their prey. The papers comprising this thesis report on the ecology, behaviour, population status and trends, core areas and habitat connectivity of this predator- prey community, and prioritizing conservation in a multi-species management approach. Specifically, this thesis has five main results: (i) revealed spatial and temporal interactions between clouded leopard, golden cat, and their respective prey through performing Bayesian two species occupancy modelling and temporal overlap analyses; (ii) estimated population densities of clouded leopard, in the context of human activities, by implementing Bayesian Spatially Explicit Capture Recapture (SECR) and identified and quantified illegal human activities detected by camera traps; (iii) estimated occupancy states as an indicator of clouded leopard and golden cat population dynamics from consecutive surveys in 2009-11 and 2014-16 and anthropogenic pressures from deforestation in the surrounding areas; and (iv) identified high priority areas within and outside protected area networks through estimating multi-species habitat use and least cost path and kernel density estimate analyses for defining core areas and corridor networks. Integrating these four research themes, this thesis contributes to absent information on the felid mesocarnivores of Sumatra, and offers analytical methodologies for assessing their ecology, behaviour, conservation, and management that can be applied throughout the tropics.</p

Assessing the spatiotemporal interactions of mesopredators in Sumatra’s tropical rainforest

Co-occurrence between mesopredators can be achieved by differentiation of prey, temporal activity, and spatial habitat use. The study of mesopredator interactions is a growing area of research in tropical forests and shedding new light on inter-guild competition between threatened vertebrate species that were previously little understood. Here, we investigate sympatry between the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) and Asiatic golden cat (Pardofelis temminckii) living in the Sumatran rainforests of Indonesia. We investigate: i) spatial overlap of predator-prey species using a combination of single-species occupancy modelling and Bayesian two-species modelling, while controlling for the possible influence of several confounding landscape variables; and, ii) temporal overlap between mesopredators and their shared prey through calculating their kernel density estimate associations. From four study areas, representing lowland, hill, sub-montane and montane forest, 28,404 camera trap nights were sampled. Clouded leopard and golden cat were respectively detected in 24.3% and 22.6% of the 292 sampling sites (camera stations) and co-occurred in 29.6% of the sites where they were detected. Golden cat occupancy was highest in the study area where clouded leopard occupancy was lowest and conversely lowest in the study area where clouded leopard occupancy was highest. However, our fine-scale (camera trap site) analyses found no evidence of avoidance between these two felid species. While both mesopredators exhibited highest spatial overlap with the larger-bodied prey species, temporal niche separation was also found. Clouded leopard was more nocturnal and, consequently, had higher temporal overlap with the more nocturnal prey species, such as porcupine and mouse deer, whereas the more diurnal golden cat had higher overlap with the strictly diurnal great argus pheasant. The Bayesian two species occupancy modelling approach applied in our study fills several important knowledge gaps of Sumatra’s lesser known mesopredators and provides a replicable methodology for studying interspecific competition for other small-medium sized carnivore species in the tropics

Examining the shifting patterns of poaching from a long-term law enforcement intervention in Sumatra

Current levels of illegal wildlife trade for many in-demand species are unsustainable and place them at a heightened risk of extinction. While several Asian protected areas standout for their remarkable successes in tackling poaching, the threat continues nonetheless. We analyse a decade of law enforcement data from a Sumatran protected area to investigate tiger and prey poaching trends, the arrests and subsequent prosecution of those involved. Some 3882 snare traps were destroyed, but a recent spike in tiger poaching revealed that twice the number of snares were annually encountered in 2013 and 2014 than the eight preceding years. We detected a change in the techniques employed for poaching tigers from 2011 onwards, with more frequent encounters of snare trap clusters that contained six or more tiger traps set in a single location. Comparing monthly patterns of poaching within years revealed an increase in deer, but not tiger, poaching during the month of Ramadan. This result confirmed long-held views by the ranger teams that local demand for meat increases in the build up to Idul Fitri, a main Islamic holiday. Finally, from 24 law enforcement operations conducted, 40 tiger poachers/traders were arrested with &gt; 90% being prosecuted. However, the fines and prison sentences issued were much lower than the maximum available, and the highest sentence was for firearms possession and not illegal activities towards wildlife. Our site-based study demonstrates what can be achieved, but also identifies areas for strengthening the sub-national and national law enforcement response to an escalating tiger poaching trend