Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey
Accurate assessments of the patterns and drivers of livestock depredation by wild carnivores are vital for designing effective mitigation strategies to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Snow leopard’s (Panthera uncia) range extensively overlaps pastoralist land-use and livestock predation there is wid...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021
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oai:doaj.org-article:e1f2eb87365b47c0bd29ef9fff4dcaf02021-12-01T19:47:59ZSnow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey2296-701X10.3389/fevo.2021.783546https://doaj.org/article/e1f2eb87365b47c0bd29ef9fff4dcaf02021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.783546/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2296-701XAccurate assessments of the patterns and drivers of livestock depredation by wild carnivores are vital for designing effective mitigation strategies to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Snow leopard’s (Panthera uncia) range extensively overlaps pastoralist land-use and livestock predation there is widely reported, but the ecological determinants of livestock consumption by snow leopards remain obscure. We investigated snow leopard dietary habits at seven sites across the Sanjiangyuan region of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP), an area central to the species’ global range. Snow leopard abundance, wild prey composition, and livestock density varied among those sites, thus allowing us to test the effects of various factors on snow leopard diet and livestock predation. Using DNA metabarcoding, we obtained highly resolved dietary data from 351 genetically verified snow leopard fecal samples. We then analyzed the prey preferences of snow leopards and examined ecological factors related to their livestock consumption. Across the sites, snow leopard prey was composed mainly of wild ungulates (mean = 81.5% of dietary sequences), particularly bharal (Pseudois nayaur), and supplemented with livestock (7.62%) and smaller mammals (marmots, pikas, mice; 10.7%). Snow leopards showed a strong preference for bharal, relative to livestock, based on their densities. Interestingly, both proportional and total livestock consumption by snow leopards increased linearly with local livestock biomass, but not with livestock density. That, together with a slight negative relationship with bharal density, supports apparent facilitation between wild and domestic prey. We also found a significant positive correlation between population densities of snow leopard and bharal, yet those densities showed slight negative relationships with livestock density. Our results highlight the importance of sufficient wild ungulate abundance to the conservation of viable snow leopard populations. Additionally, livestock protection is critically needed to reduce losses to snow leopard depredation, especially where local livestock abundances are high.Qi LuQi LuLingyun XiaoLingyun XiaoChen ChengChen ChengZhi LuZhi LuZhi LuZhi LuJindong ZhaoJindong ZhaoMeng YaoMeng YaoFrontiers Media S.A.articleapparent mutualismblue sheepfeeding habitsmolecular dietary analysishuman-carnivore conflictprey selectionEvolutionQH359-425EcologyQH540-549.5ENFrontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 9 (2021) |
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| topic |
apparent mutualism blue sheep feeding habits molecular dietary analysis human-carnivore conflict prey selection Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
| spellingShingle |
apparent mutualism blue sheep feeding habits molecular dietary analysis human-carnivore conflict prey selection Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 Qi Lu Qi Lu Lingyun Xiao Lingyun Xiao Chen Cheng Chen Cheng Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Jindong Zhao Jindong Zhao Meng Yao Meng Yao Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey |
| description |
Accurate assessments of the patterns and drivers of livestock depredation by wild carnivores are vital for designing effective mitigation strategies to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Snow leopard’s (Panthera uncia) range extensively overlaps pastoralist land-use and livestock predation there is widely reported, but the ecological determinants of livestock consumption by snow leopards remain obscure. We investigated snow leopard dietary habits at seven sites across the Sanjiangyuan region of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP), an area central to the species’ global range. Snow leopard abundance, wild prey composition, and livestock density varied among those sites, thus allowing us to test the effects of various factors on snow leopard diet and livestock predation. Using DNA metabarcoding, we obtained highly resolved dietary data from 351 genetically verified snow leopard fecal samples. We then analyzed the prey preferences of snow leopards and examined ecological factors related to their livestock consumption. Across the sites, snow leopard prey was composed mainly of wild ungulates (mean = 81.5% of dietary sequences), particularly bharal (Pseudois nayaur), and supplemented with livestock (7.62%) and smaller mammals (marmots, pikas, mice; 10.7%). Snow leopards showed a strong preference for bharal, relative to livestock, based on their densities. Interestingly, both proportional and total livestock consumption by snow leopards increased linearly with local livestock biomass, but not with livestock density. That, together with a slight negative relationship with bharal density, supports apparent facilitation between wild and domestic prey. We also found a significant positive correlation between population densities of snow leopard and bharal, yet those densities showed slight negative relationships with livestock density. Our results highlight the importance of sufficient wild ungulate abundance to the conservation of viable snow leopard populations. Additionally, livestock protection is critically needed to reduce losses to snow leopard depredation, especially where local livestock abundances are high. |
| format |
article |
| author |
Qi Lu Qi Lu Lingyun Xiao Lingyun Xiao Chen Cheng Chen Cheng Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Jindong Zhao Jindong Zhao Meng Yao Meng Yao |
| author_facet |
Qi Lu Qi Lu Lingyun Xiao Lingyun Xiao Chen Cheng Chen Cheng Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Zhi Lu Jindong Zhao Jindong Zhao Meng Yao Meng Yao |
| author_sort |
Qi Lu |
| title |
Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey |
| title_short |
Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey |
| title_full |
Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey |
| title_fullStr |
Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey |
| title_sort |
snow leopard dietary preferences and livestock predation revealed by fecal dna metabarcoding: no evidence for apparent competition between wild and domestic prey |
| publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/e1f2eb87365b47c0bd29ef9fff4dcaf0 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
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