Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal
ABSTRACT Understanding species' dietary ecology and interspecific interactions is crucial for multi‐species conservation planning. In Central Asia and the Himalayas, wolves have recolonized snow leopard habitats, raising considerable concern about resource competition between these apex predato...
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70873 |
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| author | Sandesh Lamichhane Bikram Shrestha Bhumi Prakash Chaudhary Tharu Raj Kumar Koirala Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai Pratigyan Poudel Binaya Adhikari Gopal Khanal |
| author_facet | Sandesh Lamichhane Bikram Shrestha Bhumi Prakash Chaudhary Tharu Raj Kumar Koirala Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai Pratigyan Poudel Binaya Adhikari Gopal Khanal |
| author_sort | Sandesh Lamichhane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Understanding species' dietary ecology and interspecific interactions is crucial for multi‐species conservation planning. In Central Asia and the Himalayas, wolves have recolonized snow leopard habitats, raising considerable concern about resource competition between these apex predators. Using micro‐histological analysis of prey species remains (e.g., hair) in their fecal samples, we determined the prey composition, dietary niche breadth, and the extent of diet overlap between these two apex predators in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal. We analyzed 152 scat samples collected along 89 survey transects from April to June 2021. Our findings reveal a significant overlap in their diets (Pianka's index = 0.93), with snow leopard and wolf scats containing the remains of 11 and 10 prey species, respectively. However, the interspecific difference in prey selection was apparent, with significant deviations between observed and expected prey use indicating non‐random prey selection relative to availability: Snow leopards exhibited a higher occurrence of wild prey items in their diet (55.28%), primarily blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) (24.83%), whereas wolves relied predominantly on domestic livestock (67.89%), with goats (Capra hircus) accounting for over one‐fourth of their diet (29.15%). Yaks (Bos grunniens) comprised a significant portion of the biomass consumed by both predators, with higher for wolves (43.68%) than snow leopards (36.47%). Overall, the narrow dietary niche breadth with high overlap indicates potential resource competition between snow leopards and wolves. However, a comprehensive understanding of resource competition will require further study on other axes of niche partitioning, including habitat and time. Nevertheless, the region's low prey richness means that, with increasing human influence, any reduction in wild prey or increase in livestock could intensify competition between snow leopards and wolves, which could have implications for livestock depredation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7e3d93585d6a4705bedfce80e70e17b1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-7e3d93585d6a4705bedfce80e70e17b12025-01-29T05:08:42ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-01-01151n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70873Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, NepalSandesh Lamichhane0Bikram Shrestha1Bhumi Prakash Chaudhary Tharu2Raj Kumar Koirala3Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai4Pratigyan Poudel5Binaya Adhikari6Gopal Khanal7School of Forestry and Natural Resource Management, Institute of Forestry Tribhuvan University Kathmandu NepalDepartment of Biodiversity Research, Global Change Research Institute Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech RepublicSchool of Forestry and Natural Resource Management, Institute of Forestry Tribhuvan University Kathmandu NepalInstitute of Forestry Tribhuvan University Pokhara NepalCentral Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology Tribhuvan University Kathmandu NepalMinistry of Forest and Environment Bagmati Province NepalDepartment of Biology University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky USADepartment of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Government of Nepal NepalABSTRACT Understanding species' dietary ecology and interspecific interactions is crucial for multi‐species conservation planning. In Central Asia and the Himalayas, wolves have recolonized snow leopard habitats, raising considerable concern about resource competition between these apex predators. Using micro‐histological analysis of prey species remains (e.g., hair) in their fecal samples, we determined the prey composition, dietary niche breadth, and the extent of diet overlap between these two apex predators in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal. We analyzed 152 scat samples collected along 89 survey transects from April to June 2021. Our findings reveal a significant overlap in their diets (Pianka's index = 0.93), with snow leopard and wolf scats containing the remains of 11 and 10 prey species, respectively. However, the interspecific difference in prey selection was apparent, with significant deviations between observed and expected prey use indicating non‐random prey selection relative to availability: Snow leopards exhibited a higher occurrence of wild prey items in their diet (55.28%), primarily blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) (24.83%), whereas wolves relied predominantly on domestic livestock (67.89%), with goats (Capra hircus) accounting for over one‐fourth of their diet (29.15%). Yaks (Bos grunniens) comprised a significant portion of the biomass consumed by both predators, with higher for wolves (43.68%) than snow leopards (36.47%). Overall, the narrow dietary niche breadth with high overlap indicates potential resource competition between snow leopards and wolves. However, a comprehensive understanding of resource competition will require further study on other axes of niche partitioning, including habitat and time. Nevertheless, the region's low prey richness means that, with increasing human influence, any reduction in wild prey or increase in livestock could intensify competition between snow leopards and wolves, which could have implications for livestock depredation.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70873carnivore coexistencedietary overlapinterspecific competitionresource partitioningscat analysis |
| spellingShingle | Sandesh Lamichhane Bikram Shrestha Bhumi Prakash Chaudhary Tharu Raj Kumar Koirala Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai Pratigyan Poudel Binaya Adhikari Gopal Khanal Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal Ecology and Evolution carnivore coexistence dietary overlap interspecific competition resource partitioning scat analysis |
| title | Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal |
| title_full | Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal |
| title_fullStr | Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal |
| title_short | Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal |
| title_sort | narrow dietary niche with high overlap between snow leopards and himalayan wolves indicates potential for resource competition in shey phoksundo national park nepal |
| topic | carnivore coexistence dietary overlap interspecific competition resource partitioning scat analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70873 |
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