A paradox of local abundance amidst regional rarity: the value of montane refugia for Persian leopard conservation.

ABSTRACT: The population densities of leopards vary widely across their global range, influenced by prey availability, intraguild competition and human persecution. In Asia, particularly the Middle East and the Caucasus, they generally occur at the lower extreme of densities recorded for the species. Reliable estimates of population density are important for understanding their ecology and planning their conservation. We used a photographic spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methodology incorporating animal movement to estimate density for the endangered Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor in three montane national parks, northeastern Iran. We combined encounter history data arising from images of bilaterally asymmetrical left- and right-sided pelage patterns using a Bayesian spatial partial iden

SUBMITTER: Farhadinia MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6788991 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature