4.3 Article

Leopard Panthera pardus density and survival in an ecosystem with depressed abundance of prey and dominant competitors

期刊

ORYX
卷 56, 期 4, 页码 518-527

出版社

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0030605321000223

关键词

Kafue National Park; leopard; Panthera pardus; population density; prey density; prey depletion; survival; Zambia

资金

  1. National Science Foundation [IOS1145749]
  2. National Geographic Society Big Cats Initiative
  3. WWF Netherlands and Zambia
  4. Bennink Foundation
  5. Rufford Foundation
  6. Wilderness Wildlife Trust
  7. Painted Dog Conservation
  8. Panthera
  9. Ntengu Safaris
  10. Elephant Charge
  11. IUCN Save Our Species/EU
  12. EU through IUCN Save Our Species
  13. Zambian Carnivore Programme
  14. Gemfields Inc.

向作者/读者索取更多资源

Leopard populations are declining globally, but in the north-central Kafue National Park, Zambia, leopard density and survival rates remain good despite prey depletion, possibly due to low lion density and weaker impact of prey depletion on leopard-preferred prey. This suggests that the effects of prey depletion on carnivore species can be more complex than simply causing a uniform decline. Further investigation is warranted.
The leopard Panthera pardus is in range-wide decline, and many populations are highly threatened. Prey depletion is a major cause of global carnivore declines, but the response of leopard survival and density to this threat is unclear: by reducing the density of a dominant competitor (the lion Panthera leo) prey depletion could create both costs and benefits for subordinate competitors. We used capture-recapture models fitted to data from a 7-year camera-trap study in Kafue National Park, Zambia, to obtain baseline estimates of leopard population density and sex-specific apparent survival rates. Kafue is affected by prey depletion, and densities of large herbivores preferred by lions have declined more than the densities of smaller herbivores preferred by leopards. Lion density is consequently low. Estimates of leopard density were comparable to ecosystems with more intensive protection and favourable prey densities. However, our study site is located in an area with good ecological conditions and high levels of protection relative to other portions of the ecosystem, so extrapolating our estimates across the Park or into adjacent Game Management Areas would not be valid. Our results show that leopard density and survival within north-central Kafue remain good despite prey depletion, perhaps because (1) prey depletion has had weaker effects on preferred leopard prey compared to larger prey preferred by lions, and (2) the density of dominant competitors is consequently low. Our results show that the effects of prey depletion can be more complex than uniform decline of all large carnivore species, and warrant further investigation.

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