Abstract
Knowledge of a speciesa' distribution is important for developing effective conservation programs. In Pakistan, little is known about the status or distribution of most carnivores coexisting in the same landscape. To address this knowledge gap, we studied distribution patterns of coexisting carnivores in Margalla Hills National Park, using both conventional as well as DNA-identified scats, and other signs. Although scat surveys remain a popular approach to study carnivores, scat identification based on morphology alone is error-prone. As part of our study, we therefore evaluated accuracy of morphological identification of scats using genetic techniques. Field surveys were conducted from September 2015 to December 2018. Using 593 direct (sighting, camera trapping, road kills) and indirect (scats, footprints) field signs, we detected total 11 carnivore species in the park, including 10 that were represented in the subset of 248 (47.7%) scats identified from DNA. The molecular analyses confirmed that the misidentification rate was highest for red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (8.47%), followed by Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus) (7.66%), but least for small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) (3.63%). For investigating habitat association of carnivores, and to test for the associations between species presence and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), we compared the mean and standard deviation of NDVI of each speciesa' presence locations with the mean and standard deviation of NDVI along the 23 sampling transects. Based on DNA-verified and all scats, carnivore species showed a range of mean NDVI, suggesting, preliminarily, some species may utilize a greater diversity of habitat types than others.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Animal Biology |
| Vol/bind | 73 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 379-398 |
| Antal sider | 20 |
| ISSN | 1570-7555 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2023 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:We are thankful to the personnel of the Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit, University of California, Davis, USA, especially Stevi Vanderzwan, for their support; we are also thankful to Dr Muhammad Rais for his kind guidance in mapping. We are highly obliged to the field staff of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), especially Zaheer Khan and Ghulam Qadeer for their support in field efforts during the current research project. Efforts made by Mr. Mohibullah Naveed (Volunteer) are also appreciated. This work was supported by Higher Education Commission Pakistan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Hira Fatima and Tariq Mahmood planned the study, collected field data, and wrote the manuscript. Lauren M. Hennelly and Hira Fatima conducted molecular analysis. Muhammad Farooq, Nadeem Munawar, Waqas Ali and Benjamin N. Sacks helped in writing the manuscript and data analysis. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Hira Fatima et al.