Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F86652079%3A_____%2F25%3A00605623" target="_blank" >RIV/86652079:_____/25:00605623 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.70873?msockid=334325ca732561fb1b2b307972d4605f" target="_blank" >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.70873?msockid=334325ca732561fb1b2b307972d4605f</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70873" target="_blank" >10.1002/ece3.70873</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Narrow Dietary Niche With High Overlap Between Snow Leopards and Himalayan Wolves Indicates Potential for Resource Competition in Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal

Original language description

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.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

<a href="/en/project/LM2023048" target="_blank" >LM2023048: Czech Carbon Observation System</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Ecology and Evolution

ISSN

2045-7758

e-ISSN

2045-7758

Volume of the periodical

15

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

e70873

UT code for WoS article

001401246600001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85215770142