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Pairwise genetic differences among snow leopard habitats. F ST (above diagonal) and associated P-values (below diagonal)
Source publication
The existence of a trans-boundary population of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) that inhabits the massifs of
Tsagaanshuvuut (Mongolia) – Tsagan-Shibetu (Russia) was determined through non-invasive genetic analysis
of scat samples and by studying the structure of territory use by a collared female individual. The genetic analysis
included species...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... partition analysis of the studied populations indicated high genetic similarity among snow leopards that inhabit the Tsagan-Shibetu range in Russia and the Tsagaanshuvuut range in Mongolia ( Table 2). The F ST criterion among these samples was the smallest among all other pairs of comparisons. ...Citations
... A potentially significant gap between northern and southern populations has been defined in the Dzungarian Basin of northwestern China 17,18 ; however, snow leopards are known to cross long distances between mountain ranges 19,20 . To date, most genetic work on snow leopards has been done using microsatellite markers to estimate population sizes, connectivity, and diversity at mostly small spatial scales [21][22][23][24][25][26] . Using range-wide samples, however, Janečka et al. 27 analyzed 33 microsatellite loci and 683 bp of mitochondrial DNA from fecal samples to suggest three snow leopard subspecies-one of them occurring north of the Dzungarian Basin and Gobi Desert and two subspecies south of this divide, separated between the east and west of the Himalayas-Tibetan Plateau complex. ...
Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) serve as an umbrella species whose conservation benefits their high-elevation Asian habitat. Their numbers are believed to be in decline due to numerous Anthropogenic threats; however, their conservation is hindered by numerous knowledge gaps. They are the least studied genetically of all big cat species and little is known about their historic population size and range, current population trends, or connectivity across their range. Here, we use whole genome sequencing data for 41 snow leopards (37 newly sequenced) to assess population connectivity, historic population size, and current levels of genetic diversity. Among our samples, we find evidence of a primary genetic divide between the northern and southern part of the range around the Dzungarian Basin and a secondary divide south of Kyrgyzstan around the Taklamakan Desert. However, we find evidence of gene flow, suggesting that barriers between these groups are permeable. Perhaps most noteworthy, we find that snow leopards have the lowest genetic diversity of any big cat species, likely due to a persistently small population size throughout their evolutionary history. Without a large population size or ample standing genetic variation to help buffer them from any forthcoming Anthropogenic challenges, snow leopard persistence may be more tenuous than currently appreciated.
Although the home range and habitat selection of animal species is among the fundamental pieces of biological information collected by research projects during recent decades, published information on the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) home range is limited. The Altai Mountains of central Asia contain some of the largest and most important remaining conservation landscapes for snow leopards globally, but there is a limited understanding of the species' ecology in this region. First, we used the data from 5 snow leopards equipped with GPS collars at four study sites in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia to broadly characterize patterns of home range use between 2013 and 2019. The data was used to calculate home range size from a 10 month period using three different estimators: minimum convex polygons (MCP), kernel density distributions (KDE), and local convex hulls (LoCoH). Second, ten data sets from 8 individual snow leopards were combined to cover all 12 months of a year and to generate a general additive mixed model of seasonal home range use and seasonal resource use. We found 1) large variation in home ranges between sites during the monitoring period ranging minimally between 26.1 and 395.3km2 (MCP); 2) Local convex hull home ranges were smaller compared to home ranges based on minimum convex polygons and kernels and yielded more biologically appropriate home range estimates; 3) monthly home ranges of males were larger than females; 4) female monthly home ranges decreased in summer, while male monthly range use remained stable throughout the year; and, 5) while both sexes shared similar habitat preference in winter (steep south-western slopes at high elevation), our data suggest different habitat preferences between sexes in summer. Knowledge of the space use of threatened species is crucial for their conservation, and this is especially true for apex predators who often provide benefits for an entire ecosystem. Our study provides a preliminary understanding of the spatial ecology of this important species in an area of critical conservation concern.
