PhD Defence: Guoliang Pan

Thesis title: Spatial ecology and conservation of snow leopard in A’nyemaqen and Bortala, China

Supervisor: David Nash

Assessment committee members:
Elodie Mandel- Briefer (Chair), Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen
Guangshun Jiang, College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, China
Philip Riordan, University of Southampton / Marwell Zoo, UK

Abstract:
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) remains one of the most elusive and least studied large cats. The spatial distribution and density of snow leopards remain poorly understood, and genetic conservation of snow leopards is in its infancy. This thesis aims to assess the status and distribution of snow leopards in A’nyemaqen and Bortala, two high altitude protected areas in western China. Using images from an array of camera traps, I estimated the density of snow leopards, used individual recognition to examine numbers of individuals and movement, and also studied the distribution of other, sympatric carnivores. The information on the distribution of snow leopards from the camera traps was supplemented with data from signs of snow leopard presence collected along transects, including identification of faecal samples based on extracted DNA markers. This distribution data was used as the input to recently developed methods (Maximum Entropy and Random Forest) for modelling habitat suitability for snow leopards, which was cross-validated between different regions in western China, and also projected into the future using standard climate change scenarios. Likely conflicts between snow leopards and local human communities were examined through a questionnaire and interviews carried out with local herders and tourists, comparing with other carnivores, and partially quantified through the habitat suitability models and carnivore co-occurrence analysis. In addition, microsatellite markers were used to examine the population structure and estimate the effective population size of the snow leopard population in Bortala based on faecal samples. This dissertation serves as a case study of methods to obtain critical knowledge of the status of snow leopards in these two study sites. which could lead to improved conservation management of our targeted and other sympatric species.

Zoom: https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/69299222886?pwd=ypzsxuJLXxB0jgpvCvzbrQqGmdhXrC.1