Kolekar Aparna, Hockings Kimberley, Metcalfe Kristian, Gubbi Sanjay
Holématthi Nature Foundation Bengaluru India.
Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Cornwall UK.
Ecol Evol. 2024 Oct 10;14(10):e70404. doi: 10.1002/ece3.70404. eCollection 2024 Oct.
Habitat loss is one of the primary drivers of large felid decline. The leopard (), a generalist large felid species, has the behavioural and dietary flexibility to exploit different habitat types of varying human influence. Understanding habitat selection in a shared landscape is critical for the development of conservation strategies and managing negative human-leopard interactions. The development of conservation policy requires data on large spatial scales, which is mostly lacking, especially within shared landscapes in India. This study aims to determine habitat selection by Indian leopards and the anthropogenic, environmental, and climatic variables contributing to this selection. Leopard occurrence records were obtained from an occupancy survey conducted in the five administrative districts in Karnataka (28,375 km). 267 randomly selected 30 km grids were each walked for 10 km and all leopard signs were recorded. Environment variables were chosen to reflect land use, climatic, topographic, and human disturbances that could affect habitat selection at a resolution of 0.1 km. The mean ensemble model was projected to the state of Karnataka. Habitat selection predicted by the ensemble model was driven by proximity to forest cover and rocky outcrops, higher precipitation, and negatively by distance to cropland and roads. Protected Areas and Reserved Forests in the study covered 47% of the predicted habitat, while 25% is within human-use areas such as human habitation and croplands. This study predicts that half of the habitat selected by leopards is outside of protected areas and reserved forests. The selection of human-use areas is predicted because of the availability of cover from irrigated croplands and the proximity to natural cover that provides refuge. Livestock density did not drive large-scale habitat selection. The preservation of natural cover and rocky outcrops that provide refuge between protected areas is paramount for leopard conservation.
栖息地丧失是大型猫科动物数量减少的主要驱动因素之一。豹是一种适应性强的大型猫科动物，具有行为和饮食上的灵活性，能够利用受人类影响程度不同的各种栖息地类型。了解共享景观中的栖息地选择对于制定保护策略和管理负面的人豹互动至关重要。保护政策的制定需要大空间尺度的数据，但目前大多缺乏此类数据，尤其是在印度的共享景观区域内。本研究旨在确定印度豹的栖息地选择以及促成这种选择的人为、环境和气候变量。豹的出现记录来自于在卡纳塔克邦五个行政区（28,375平方公里）进行的占用调查。随机选择267个30公里的网格，每个网格步行10公里，并记录所有豹的踪迹。选择环境变量以反映土地利用、气候、地形和人类干扰情况，这些变量的分辨率为0.1公里，可能会影响栖息地选择。平均集成模型被投影到卡纳塔克邦。集成模型预测的栖息地选择受到靠近森林覆盖和岩石露头、较高降水量的驱动，而距离农田和道路则产生负面影响。研究中的保护区和保留林覆盖了预测栖息地的47%，而25%位于人类居住区和农田等人类使用区域内。本研究预测，豹选择的栖息地有一半在保护区和保留林之外。预测选择人类使用区域是因为灌溉农田提供了掩护，且靠近提供避难所的自然覆盖区域。牲畜密度并未驱动大规模的栖息地选择。保护在保护区之间提供避难所的自然覆盖区域和岩石露头对于豹的保护至关重要。
