Gene flow and demographic history of leopards (Panthera pardus) in the central Indian highlands.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Dutta T
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3779095 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The aim of the study was to establish the baseline hematology and serum biochemistry values for Indian leopards (Panthera pardus fusca), and to assess the possible variations in these parameters based on age and gender.Hemato-biochemical test reports from a total of 83 healthy leopards, carried out as part of routine health evaluation in Bannerghatta Biological Park and Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Center, were used to establish baseline hematology and serum biochemistry parameters for the subspecies. The hematological parameters considered for the analysis included hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume, total erythrocyte count (TEC), total leukocyte count (TLC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular Hb (MCH), and MCH concentration. The serum biochemistry parameters considered included total protein (TP), albumin, globulin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, triglycerides, calcium, and phosphorus.Even though few differences were observed in hematologic and biochemistry values between male and female Indian leopards, the differences were statistically not significant. Effects of age, however, were evident in relation to many hematologic and biochemical parameters. Sub-adults had significantly greater values for Hb, TEC, and TLC compared to adults and geriatric group, whereas they had significantly lower MCV and MCH compared to adults and geriatric group. Among, serum biochemistry parameters the sub-adult age group was observed to have significantly lower values for TP and ALT than adult and geriatric leopards.The study provides a comprehensive analysis of hematologic and biochemical parameters for Indian leopards. Baselines established here will permit better captive management of the subspecies, serve as a guide to assess the health and physiological status of the free ranging leopards, and may contribute valuable information for making effective management decisions during translocation or rehabilitation process.
| S-EPMC5553154 | biostudies-other
Project description:Background:Large carnivores maintain the stability and functioning of ecosystems. Currently, many carnivore species face declining population sizes due to natural and anthropogenic pressures. The leopard, Panthera pardus, is probably the most widely distributed and highly adaptable large felid globally, still persisting in most of its historic range. However, we lack subspecies-level data on country or regional scale on population trends, as ecological monitoring approaches are difficult to apply on such wide-ranging species. We used genetic data from leopards sampled across the Indian subcontinent to investigate population structure and patterns of demographic decline. Methods:We collected faecal samples from the Terai-Arc landscape of northern India and identified 56 unique individuals using a panel of 13 microsatellite markers. We merged this data with already available 143 leopard individuals and assessed genetic structure at country scale. Subsequently, we investigated the demographic history of each identified subpopulations and compared genetic decline analyses with countrywide local extinction probabilities. Results:Our genetic analyses revealed four distinct subpopulations corresponding to Western Ghats, Deccan Plateau-Semi Arid, Shivalik and Terai region of the north Indian landscape, each with high genetic variation. Coalescent simulations with microsatellite loci revealed a possibly human-induced 75-90% population decline between ?120-200 years ago across India. Population-specific estimates of genetic decline are in concordance with ecological estimates of local extinction probabilities in these subpopulations obtained from occupancy modeling of the historic and current distribution of leopards in India. Conclusions:Our results confirm the population decline of a widely distributed, adaptable large carnivore. We re-iterate the relevance of indirect genetic methods for such species in conjunction with occupancy assessment and recommend that detailed, landscape-level ecological studies on leopard populations are critical to future conservation efforts. Our approaches and inference are relevant to other widely distributed, seemingly unaffected carnivores such as the leopard.
| S-EPMC7006512 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The geographic distribution and habitat association of most mammalian polymorphic phenotypes are still poorly known, hampering assessments of their adaptive significance. Even in the case of the black panther, an iconic melanistic variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus), no map exists describing its distribution. We constructed a large database of verified records sampled across the species' range, and used it to map the geographic occurrence of melanism. We then estimated the potential distribution of melanistic and non-melanistic leopards using niche-modeling algorithms. The overall frequency of melanism was ca. 11%, with a significantly non-random spatial distribution. Distinct habitat types presented significantly different frequencies of melanism, which increased in Asian moist forests and approached zero across most open/dry biomes. Niche modeling indicated that the potential distributions of the two phenotypes were distinct, with significant differences in habitat suitability and rejection of niche equivalency between them. We conclude that melanism in leopards is strongly affected by natural selection, likely driven by efficacy of camouflage and/or thermoregulation in different habitats, along with an effect of moisture that goes beyond its influence on vegetation type. Our results support classical hypotheses of adaptive coloration in animals (e.g. Gloger's rule), and open up new avenues for in-depth evolutionary analyses of melanism in mammals.
| S-EPMC5381760 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Measurement of body dimensions of carnivores usually requires the chemical immobilization of subjects. This process can be dangerous, costly and potentially harmful to the target individuals. Development of an alternative, inexpensive, and non-invasive method therefore warrants attention. The objective of this study was to test whether it is possible to obtain accurate measurements of body dimensions of leopards from camera trap photographs. A total of 10 leopards (Panthera pardus) were captured and collared at Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, Zimbabwe from May 7 to June 20, 2017 and four body measurements namely shoulder height, head-to-tail, body, and tail length were recorded. The same measurements were taken from 101 scaled photographs of the leopards recorded during a baited-camera trapping (BCT) survey conducted from July 1 to October 22, 2017 and differences from the actual measurements calculated. Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Models were used to determine the effect of type of body measurement, photographic scale, posture, and sex on the accuracy of the photograph-based measurements. Type of body measurement and posture had a significant influence on accuracy. Least squares means of absolute differences between actual and photographic measurements showed that body length in the level back-straight forelimb-parallel tail posture was measured most accurately from photographs (2.0 cm, 95% CI [1.5-2.7 cm]), while head-to-tail dimensions in the arched back-bent forelimb-parallel tail posture were least accurate (8.3 cm, 95% CI [6.1-11.2 cm]). Using the BCT design, we conclude that it is possible to collect accurate morphometric data of leopards from camera trap photographs. Repeat measurements over time can provide researchers with vital body size and growth rate information which may help improve the monitoring and management of species of conservation concern, such as leopards.
| S-EPMC6754725 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Reliable data is fundamentally important for managing large carnivore populations, and vital for informing hunting quota levels if those populations are subject to trophy hunting. Camera-trapping and spoor counts can provide reliable population estimates for many carnivores, but governments typically lack the resources to implement such surveys over the spatial scales required to inform robust quota setting. It may therefore be prudent to shift focus away from estimating population size and instead focus on monitoring population trend. In this paper we assess the susceptibility of African leopards Panthera pardus to trophy hunting. This has management ramifications, particularly if the use of harvest composition is to be explored as a metric of population trend. We explore the susceptibility of different leopard age and sex cohorts to trophy hunting; first by examining their intrinsic susceptibility to encountering trophy hunters using camera-traps as surrogates, and second by assessing their extrinsic susceptibility using photographic questionnaire surveys to determine their attractiveness to hunters. We show that adult male and female leopards share similar incident rates to encountering hunters but adult males are the most susceptible to hunting due to hunter preference for large trophies. In contrast, sub-adult leopards rarely encounter hunters and are the least attractive trophies. We suggest that our findings be used as a foundation for the exploration of a harvest composition scheme in the Kwazulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces where post mortem information is collected from hunted leopards and submitted to the local provincial authorities.
| S-EPMC4393264 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Visual leopard identifications performed with camera traps using the capture-recapture method only consider areas of the skin that are visible to the equipment. The method presented here considered the spot or rosette formations of either the two flanks or the face, and the captured images were then compared and matched with available photographs. Leopards were classified as new individuals if no matches were found in the existing set of photos. It was previously assumed that an individual leopard's spot or rosette pattern would not change. We established that the spot and rosette patterns change over time and that these changes are the result of injuries in certain cases. When compared to the original patterns, the number of spots may be lost or reduced, and some spots or patterns may change in terms of their prominence, shape, and size. We called these changes "obliterate changes" and "rejig changes", respectively. The implementation of an earlier method resulted in a duplication of leopard counts, achieving an error rate of more than 15% in the population at Yala National Park. The same leopard could be misidentified and counted multiple times, causing overestimated populations. To address this issue, we created a new two-step methodology for identifying Sri Lankan leopards. The multi-point identification method requires the evaluation of at least 9-10 spot areas before a leopard can be identified. Moreover, the minimum leopard population at the YNP 1 comprises at least 77 leopards and has a density of 0.5461 leopards per km2.
| S-EPMC8909430 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The earth's geomagnetic field (GMF) is known to influence the behaviour of a wide range of species, but remains one of the most enigmatic of animal senses. Animals are known to utilize the GMF for a wide range of survival capabilities such as navigation and orienteering, migration, territoriality, homing, etc. Despite a lot of study in this regard on vertebrates, little is known about the effects of GMF on felids. Hence, we analyzed the body alignment of the Indian Leopard during defecation, and walking along the trails in the Jhalana Reserve Forest in India. Using circular statistics, we found that the leopards aligned their bodies on the north-south axis during defecation (mean azimuth -176.4°), while no such preference was found when walking (mean azimuth 52.9°). Thus we prove that leopards are sensitive to the GMF during basic physiological activities and in this context show similar behaviour to other vertebrates studied to date.
| S-EPMC9269921 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Despite being classified as critically endangered, little work has been done on leopard protection in Pakistan. Once widely present throughout this region, leopards are now sparsely distributed, and possibly extinct from much of their previously recorded habitat. While leopards show morphological and genetic variation across their species range worldwide, resulting in the classification of nine different subspecies, the leopard genetic structure across Pakistan is unknown, with previous studies including only a very limited sampling. To clarify the genetic status of leopards in Pakistan we investigated the sequence variation in the subunit 5 of the mitochondrial gene NADH from 43 tissue samples and compared it with 238 sequences available from online databases. Phylogenetic analysis clearly separates the Pakistani leopards from the African and Arabian clades, confirming that leopards from Pakistan are members of the Asian clade. Furthermore, we identified two separate subspecies haplotypes within our dataset: P. p. fusca (N = 23) and P. p. saxicolor (N = 12).
| S-EPMC6640621 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is the causative agent of animal tuberculosis (TB) which poses a threat to many of South Africa's most iconic wildlife species, including leopards (Panthera pardus). Due to limited tests for wildlife, the development of accurate ante-mortem tests for TB diagnosis in African big cat populations is urgently required. The aim of this study was to evaluate currently available immunological assays for their ability to detect M. bovis infection in leopards.MethodsLeopard whole blood (n=19) was stimulated using the QuantiFERON Gold Plus In-Tube System (QFT) to evaluate cytokine gene expression and protein production, along with serological assays. The GeneXpert® MTB/RIF Ultra (GXU®) qPCR assay, mycobacterial culture, and speciation by genomic regions of difference PCR, was used to confirm M. bovis infection in leopards.ResultsMycobacterium bovis infection was confirmed in six leopards and individuals that were tuberculin skin test (TST) negative were used for comparison. The GXU® assay was positive using all available tissue homogenates (n=5) from M. bovis culture positive animals. Mycobacterium bovis culture-confirmed leopards had greater antigen-specific responses, in the QFT interferon gamma release assay, CXCL9 and CXCL10 gene expression assays, compared to TST-negative individuals. One M. bovis culture-confirmed leopard had detectable antibodies using the DPP® Vet TB assay.ConclusionPreliminary results demonstrated that immunoassays and TST may be potential tools to identify M. bovis-infected leopards. The GXU® assay provided rapid direct detection of infected leopards. Further studies should aim to improve TB diagnosis in wild felids, which will facilitate disease surveillance and screening.
| S-EPMC10505734 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human-carnivore conflicts over livestock depredation are increasingly common, yet little is understood about the role of husbandry in conflict mitigation. As shepherds and guarding dogs are most commonly used to curb carnivore attacks on grazing livestock, evaluation and improvement of these practices becomes an important task. We addressed this issue by studying individual leopard (Panthera pardus) attacks on sheep and goats in 34 villages near Golestan National Park, Iran. We obtained and analyzed data on 39 attacks, which included a total loss of 31 sheep and 36 goats in 17 villages. We applied non-parametric testing, Poisson Generalized Linear Modelling (GLM) and model selection to assess how numbers of sheep and goats killed per attack are associated with the presence and absence of shepherds and dogs during attacks, depredation in previous years, villages, seasons, ethnic groups, numbers of sheep and goats kept in villages, and distances from villages to the nearest protected areas. We found that 95.5% of losses were inflicted in forests when sheep and goats were accompanied by shepherds (92.5% of losses) and dogs (77.6%). Leopards tended to kill more sheep and goats per attack (surplus killing) when dogs were absent in villages distant from protected areas, but still inflicted most losses when dogs were present, mainly in villages near protected areas. No other variables affected numbers of sheep and goats killed per attack. These results indicate that local husbandry practices are ineffectual and the mere presence of shepherds and guarding dogs is not enough to secure protection. Shepherds witnessed leopard attacks, but could not deter them while dogs did not exhibit guarding behavior and were sometimes killed by leopards. In an attempt to make practical, low-cost and socially acceptable improvements in local husbandry, we suggest that dogs are raised to create a strong social bond with livestock, shepherds use only best available dogs, small flocks are aggregated into larger ones and available shepherds herd these larger flocks together. Use of deterrents and avoidance of areas close to Golestan and in central, core areas of neighboring protected areas is also essential to keep losses down.
| S-EPMC5326547 | biostudies-literature