scholarly journals Diachronic monitoring of snow leopards at Sarychat-Ertash State Reserve (Kyrgyzstan) through scat genotyping: a pilot study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Rode ◽  
Agnès Pelletier ◽  
Julien Fumey ◽  
Stéphane Rode ◽  
Anne-Lise Cabanat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Precise Description ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Mountain Ecosystem ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Snow Leopards ◽  
Autosomal Microsatellite Loci

AbstractSnow leopards (Panthera uncia) are a keystone species of Central Asia’s high mountain ecosystem. The species is listed as vulnerable and is elusive, preventing accurate population assessments that could inform conservation actions. Non-invasive genetic monitoring conducted by citizen scientists offers avenues to provide key data on this species that would otherwise be inaccessible. From 2011 to 2015, OSI-Panthera citizen science expeditions tracked signs of presence of snow leopards along transects in the main valleys and crests of the Sarychat-Ertash State Reserve (Kyrgyzstan). Scat samples were genotyped at seven autosomal microsatellite loci and at a X/Y locus for sex identification, which allowed estimating a minimum of 11 individuals present in the reserve from 2011 to 2015. The genetic recapture of 7 of these individuals enabled diachronic monitoring, providing indications of individuals’ movements throughout the reserve. We found putative family relationships between several individuals. Our results demonstrate the potential of this citizen science program to get a precise description of a snow leopard population through time.

scholarly journals Schmallenberg Virus Circulation in High Mountain Ecosystem, Spain

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1062-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Fernández-Aguilar ◽  
Joan Pujols ◽  
Roser Velarde ◽  
Rosa Rosell ◽  
Jorge R. López-Olvera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Schmallenberg Virus ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Mountain Ecosystem

scholarly journals Non-invasive genetic monitoring involving citizen science enables reconstruction of current pack dynamics in a re-establishing wolf population

BMC Ecology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Granroth-Wilding ◽  
Craig Primmer ◽  
Meri Lindqvist ◽  
Jenni Poutanen ◽  
Olaf Thalmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Genetic Monitoring ◽  
Wolf Population ◽  
Non Invasive

scholarly journals A Newly Discovered Forest of the Whip Coral Viminella flagellum (Anthozoa, Alcyonacea) in the Mediterranean Sea: A Non-Invasive Method to Assess Its Population Structure

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Giovanni Chimienti ◽  
Ricardo Aguilar ◽  
Michela Maiorca ◽  
Francesco Mastrototaro
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
The Status ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Population Structures ◽  
Invasive Method ◽  
Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

Coral forests are vulnerable marine ecosystems formed by arborescent corals (e.g., Anthozoa of the orders Alcyonacea and Antipatharia). The population structure of the habitat-forming corals can inform on the status of the habitat, representing an essential aspect to monitor. Most Mediterranean corals live in the mesophotic and aphotic zones, and their population structures can be assessed by analyzing images collected by underwater vehicles. This is still not possible in whip-like corals, whose colony lengths and flexibilities impede the taking of direct length measurements from images. This study reports on the occurrence of a monospecific forest, of the whip coral Viminella flagellum in the Aeolian Archipelago (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea; 149 m depth), and the assessment of its population structure through an ad-hoc, non-invasive method to estimate a colony height based on its width. The forest of V. flagellum showed a mean density of 19.4 ± 0.2 colonies m−2 (up to 44.8 colonies m−2) and no signs of anthropogenic impacts. The population was dominated by young colonies, with the presence of large adults and active recruitment. The new model proved to be effective for non-invasive monitoring of this near threatened species, representing a needed step towards appropriate conservation actions.

scholarly journals Multi-Tissue Transcriptomes Yield Information on High-Altitude Adaptation and Sex-Determination in Scutiger cf. sikimmensis

Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 873
Author(s):  
Sylvia Hofmann ◽  
Heiner Kuhl ◽  
Chitra Bahadur Baniya ◽  
Matthias Stöck
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Mountain Ecosystem ◽  
Yield Information ◽  
Evolutionary Genomic ◽  
Genomic Studies ◽  
Altitude Adaptation ◽  
Selection For ◽  
High Elevations ◽  
Himalayan Species

The Himalayas are one of earth’s hotspots of biodiversity. Among its many cryptic and undiscovered organisms, including vertebrates, this complex high-mountain ecosystem is expected to harbour many species with adaptations to life in high altitudes. However, modern evolutionary genomic studies in Himalayan vertebrates are still at the beginning. Moreover, in organisms, like most amphibians with relatively high DNA content, whole genome sequencing remains bioinformatically challenging and no complete nuclear genomes are available for Himalayan amphibians. Here, we present the first well-annotated multi-tissue transcriptome of a Greater Himalayan species, the lazy toad Scutiger cf. sikimmensis (Anura: Megophryidae). Applying Illumina NextSeq 500 RNAseq to six tissues, we obtained 41.32 Gb of sequences, assembled to ~111,000 unigenes, translating into 54362 known genes as annotated in seven functional databases. We tested 19 genes, known to play roles in anuran and reptile adaptation to high elevations, and potentially detected diversifying selection for two (TGS1, SENP5) in Scutiger. Of a list of 37 genes, we also identify 27 candidate genes for sex determination or sexual development, all of which providing the first such data for this non-model megophryid species. These transcriptomes will serve as a valuable resource for further studies on amphibian evolution in the Greater Himalaya as a biodiversity hotspot.

scholarly journals Archaeoastronomy: A Sustainable Way to Grasp the Skylore of Past Societies

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2240
Author(s):  
Antonio César González-García ◽  
Juan Antonio Belmonte
Keyword(s):  
World Heritage ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Temporal Organization ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Gran Canaria ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
Invasive Techniques

If astronomy can be understood as the contemplation of the sky for any given purpose, we must realize that possibly all societies throughout time and in all regions have watched the sky. The why, who, how and when of such investigation is the pursuit of cultural astronomy. When the research is done with the archaeological remains of a given society, the part of cultural astronomy that deals with them is archaeoastronomy. This interdisciplinary field employs non-invasive techniques that mix methodologies of the natural sciences with the epistemology of humanities. Those techniques are reviewed here, providing an excellent example of sustainable research. In particular, we include novel research on the Bohí Valley Romanesque churches. The results provided go beyond the data. This is because they add new value to existing heritage or discovers new heritage due to the possible relationship to the spatial and temporal organization of past societies. For the case of the Bohí churches the results point to a number of peculiarities of these churches in a valley in the Pyrenees. This links these aspects to the ritual, practical and power sphere of past societies. A wonderful example of such links is the high mountain sanctuaries in Gran Canaria, where archaeoastronomy helps promoting a World Heritage candidacy.

scholarly journals A Communal Sign Post of Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) and Other Species on the Tibetan Plateau, China

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Li ◽  
George B. Schaller ◽  
Thomas M. McCarthy ◽  
Dajun Wang ◽  
Zhala Jiagong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Infrared Camera ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Temporal Segregation ◽  
Important Message ◽  
Infrared Cameras ◽  
Snow Leopards ◽  
Animal Communities

The snow leopard is a keystone species in mountain ecosystems of Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau. However, little is known about the interactions between snow leopards and sympatric carnivores. Using infrared cameras, we found a rocky junction of two valleys in Sanjiangyuan area on the Tibetan Plateau where many mammals in this area passed and frequently marked and sniffed the site at the junction. We suggest that this site serves as a sign post to many species in this area, especially snow leopards and other carnivores. The marked signs may also alert the animals passing by to temporally segregate their activities to avoid potential conflicts. We used the Schoener index to measure the degree of temporal segregation among the species captured by infrared camera traps at this site. Our research reveals the probable ways of both intra- and interspecies communication and demonstrates that the degree of temporal segregation may correlate with the degree of potential interspecies competition. This is an important message to help understand the structure of animal communities. Discovery of the sign post clarifies the importance of identifying key habitats and sites of both snow leopards and other species for more effective conservation.

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