IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Wang, J.; Laguardia, A.; Damerell, P.J.; Riordan, P.; Shi, K. | |
| Dietary overlap of snow leopard and other carnivores in the Pamirs of Northwestern China | |
| 2014 Chinese Science Bulletin (59): 3162-3168 | |
Information about competition between carnivore species for food within high altitude regions is limited. Data collected from the Taxkorgan Nature Reserve, China revealed important interactions between snow leopard (_Panthera uncia_), grey wolf (_Canis lupus_), red fox (_Vulpes vulpes_) and their prey species, including domestic livestock. Sixty-four line transects were conducted in order to identify field signs of habitat occupancy and collect scats for diet analysis. High dietary overlap was observed between all three carnivore species: snow leopard and red fox (Pianka's index = 0.96), red fox and grey wolf (Pianka's index = 0.90), snow leopard and grey wolf (Pianka's index = 0.87). Snow leopard and grey wolf showed significant predation on livestock (36.8 % for snow leopard and 29.4 % for grey wolf in diet composition). As a pioneering exploration of the endangered snow leopard and its relationship with other species within the alpine ecosystem under livestock grazing pressure, this study contributes a greater understanding of the relationship within carnivore guild in the Pamirs whilst providing implications for conservation planning and project implementation activities in China. |
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