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.

scholarly journals Pests, keystone species, and hungry ghosts: the Gesar epic and human-pika relations on the Tibetan Plateau

2020 ◽  
pp. 147447402096314
Author(s):  
Emily T. Yeh ◽  
Gaerrang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Grassland Degradation ◽  
Plateau Pika ◽  
Political Ontology ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Asymmetric Power

For over half a century, the Chinese government has carried out large-scale poisoning campaigns on the Tibetan Plateau in an effort to exterminate the plateau pika, which is viewed as a pest that competes with livestock and causes grassland degradation. Since the 1990s, an ecological counternarrative has emerged in which pikas are keystone species rather than pests, and indicators rather than prime causes of grassland degradation. Virtually ignored in this debate are the ways in which Tibetan pastoralists understand and relate to pikas. We investigate Tibetan analytics of what pikas are, and what draws them to specific sites, based on interviews and observations in two pastoral communities, as well as readings of the Epic of King Gesar. Performed by bards since the twelfth century, the epic is grounded in the cultural milieu of Tibetan nomadic society and continues to be an important part of everyday life. As such, it shapes Tibetan analytics, a term we use to refer to forms of reason that cannot be reduced to ‘cultural belief.’ Because large numbers of pikas, as hungry ghosts, are drawn to places where the essence or fertility of the earth has been depleted, causing irritation to territorial deities, Tibetan practices include rituals to feed hungry ghosts, appease territorial deities, and return treasures to restore the fertility of the earth. Bringing Tibetan analytics together with proposals for political ontology, the article examines the ways in which these different ontologies, or practices of worlding, cooperate and conflict in a context of asymmetric power relations and non-liberal recognition of difference. This approach takes seriously both the agency of the nonhuman as well as human difference, while rejecting notions of rigidly bounded ontologies.

The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a keystone species for biodiversity on the Tibetan plateau

1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 235-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew T. Smith ◽  
J. Marc Foggin
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plateau Pika ◽  
Ochotona Curzoniae

scholarly journals Camera trapping reveals area of conservation significance for large and medium-sized mammals on the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Oryx ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yu Xu ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
Xiaodong Gu ◽  
Dazhao Song ◽  
Biao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Eastern Margin ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Eastern Edge

Abstract The eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, a global biodiversity hotspot, is threatened by habitat degradation. Conservation actions are required in this region, but limited knowledge of large and medium-sized mammals is hampering conservation planning. Using 149 camera traps, we surveyed large and medium-sized mammals in Xionglongxi Provincial Nature Reserve and adjacent areas, on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, during September 2016–May 2017. We obtained 5,752 independent captures of 29 large and medium-sized mammal species, including 13 that are globally threatened and 22 that are nationally threatened in China. Carnivores were especially diverse, with 16 species recorded. Of particular significance was our detection of seven felid species, including the leopard Panthera pardus and the snow leopard Panthera uncia. Our record of the Chinese mountain cat Felis bieti extends the known range of this species. We documented new upper elevation limits for eight species. There was elevational overlap between the leopard and the snow leopard, suggesting potential competition between the two species. The grey wolf Canis lupus and the leopard were the dominant predators, and the woolly hare Lepus oiostolus and several species of ungulates were the most frequently photographed prey species. The study area maintains a significant community of large and medium-sized mammals, which is more diverse than in other areas on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. We recommend the establishment of a larger nature reserve of national protection status in the region of the Xionglongxi Provincial Nature Reserve, to protect the unique subalpine and alpine ecosystems in this area.

Geology: Crustal flow of the Tibetan Plateau

Nature China ◽  
2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau
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