Serengeti leopard population densities healthy but vary seasonally,
study finds
Camera-trap study yields insights into what drives leopard population
density

Date:
August 31, 2020
Source:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
Summary:
A study of camera-trap data from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania
found that leopard population densities in the 3.7-million-acre
park are similar to those in other protected areas but vary between
wet and dry seasons. The fluctuations appear to be driven by the
abundance of prey and how this affects interactions with other
large carnivores like lions, researchers report.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A study of camera-trap data from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania
found that leopard population densities in the 3.7-million-acre park are similar to those in other protected areas but vary between wet and dry
seasons. The fluctuations appear to be driven by the abundance of prey
and how this affects interactions with other large carnivores like lions, researchers report.


========================================================================== Despite the long history of wildlife research in the Serengeti, this is
the first peer-reviewed study of leopard densities in the park, said Max
Allen, a carnivore ecologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey at
the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign who led the research. Allen
and his team analyzed data from Snapshot Serengeti, a large collaborative effort that uses hundreds of camera traps to collect data on large cats
and other wildlife in the Serengeti. The team published the new findings
in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation.

"In the wet season, when potential prey species like Thomson's gazelle and impala are available in abundance, leopards appear at higher densities,"
Allen said. "In the dry season, leopards seem to work harder to avoid
other large carnivores that compete with them for less abundant food."
The team used advanced analytical techniques called Bayesian statistics
to estimate leopard densities for each camera-trap site and for the
study area overall.

"We found 5.72 and 5.41 leopards per 100-square-kilometers in the wet
and dry seasons, respectively," Allen said. "These densities suggest
the leopard populations are at moderately healthy levels in the
Serengeti. This reflects the importance of large conservation areas
for large carnivores, as leopard populations are generally declining
across their range." The results also highlight the importance of citizen-scientist projects for the conservation of wild species, Allen
said. Snapshot Africa is one of the most effective citizen science
projects in the world, he said.

"Large carnivores at the top of the food chain play important roles
in ecosystem regulation, and disease and population control," Allen
said. "The human-induced changes to habitat availability and quality
are accelerating the decline of large carnivores, which are already
vulnerable because they have naturally low population densities at
birth." Understanding how carnivore populations are faring and what
factors contribute to their success is essential to conserving them
and the other wildlife in their ecosystem, Allen said. Capturing data
about their habits through unobtrusive camera traps can lead to better management of the wild areas on which they depend.

The INHS is a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the U. of
I. The INHS, U. of I. and Slovenian Research Agency supported this
research.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana-Champaign,_News_Bureau.

Original written by Diana Yates. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Maximilian L. Allen, Shaodong Wang, Lucas O. Olson, Qing Li,
Miha Krofel.

Counting cats for conservation: seasonal estimates of leopard
density and drivers of distribution in the Serengeti. Biodiversity
and Conservation, 2020; DOI: 10.1007/s10531-020-02039-w ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200831112321.htm

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