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<p>Diet is an important factor that provides valuable information on resource partitioning among carnivores and helps in understanding the dynamics of coexistence and competition between species. We investigated the food habits and dietary partitioning among three sympatric carnivores viz., snow leopard <i>Panthera uncia</i>, Tibetan wolf <i>Canis lupus chanco</i>, and red fox <i>Vulpes vulpes</i> through analysis of their scats in the Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary (WS) in Nubra, Trans-Himalaya. Both morphological and DNA-based identification was used to establish species identity of the field-collected scats followed by micro-histological examination of prey hairs in 350 scats. Snow leopard diet was majorly contributed by wild ungulates (48.34%) including blue sheep <i>Pseudois nayaur</i>, ibex <i>Capra ibex siberica </i>and Ladakh urial <i>Ovis vignei vignei</i>, and livestock (42.81%) in terms of biomass contribution with frequent consumption of <i>Myricaria sp</i>, while the Tibetan wolf predominantly relied on livestock (67.2%) to fulfill its dietary requirement. The diet of red fox mostly included small mammals (56.78%) and livestock carrions (28.31%) along with significant consumption of plant matter. Wolves showed a wider (0.51) dietary niche breadth compared to snow leopards (0.47) and red foxes (0.30), and showed high dietary overlap (0.72) with snow leopards. Comparable niche breadth and dietary overlap between snow leopard and Tibetan wolf may be a result of limited wild prey or differential use of resources at spatial and temporal scales which requires further investigation. Notable contribution of livestock in the carnivore diet unfolds a serious concern that may lead to aggravated carnivore-human interactions and increased risk of disease transmission to carnivores. We therefore recommend a comprehensive study on multi-dimensional niche parameters of predator-prey interactions along with strengthening conservation efforts to improve wild prey populations and their habitats in the region.</p>

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Dietary patterns of three sympatric carnivores- insights from a resource-scarce landscape of nubra, Trans-Himalaya

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月2日

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  • Chamba Wangmo,
  • Tawqir Bashir,
  • Shahid Hameed,
  • Md. Niamat Ali

摘要

Diet is an important factor that provides valuable information on resource partitioning among carnivores and helps in understanding the dynamics of coexistence and competition between species. We investigated the food habits and dietary partitioning among three sympatric carnivores viz., snow leopard Panthera uncia, Tibetan wolf Canis lupus chanco, and red fox Vulpes vulpes through analysis of their scats in the Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary (WS) in Nubra, Trans-Himalaya. Both morphological and DNA-based identification was used to establish species identity of the field-collected scats followed by micro-histological examination of prey hairs in 350 scats. Snow leopard diet was majorly contributed by wild ungulates (48.34%) including blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, ibex Capra ibex siberica and Ladakh urial Ovis vignei vignei, and livestock (42.81%) in terms of biomass contribution with frequent consumption of Myricaria sp, while the Tibetan wolf predominantly relied on livestock (67.2%) to fulfill its dietary requirement. The diet of red fox mostly included small mammals (56.78%) and livestock carrions (28.31%) along with significant consumption of plant matter. Wolves showed a wider (0.51) dietary niche breadth compared to snow leopards (0.47) and red foxes (0.30), and showed high dietary overlap (0.72) with snow leopards. Comparable niche breadth and dietary overlap between snow leopard and Tibetan wolf may be a result of limited wild prey or differential use of resources at spatial and temporal scales which requires further investigation. Notable contribution of livestock in the carnivore diet unfolds a serious concern that may lead to aggravated carnivore-human interactions and increased risk of disease transmission to carnivores. We therefore recommend a comprehensive study on multi-dimensional niche parameters of predator-prey interactions along with strengthening conservation efforts to improve wild prey populations and their habitats in the region.