Desert pastoralists’ negative and positive effects on rare wildlife in the Gobi

Abstract

In arid regions of the developing world, pastoralists and livestock commonly inhabit protected areas, resulting in human-wildlife conflict. Conflict is inextricably linked to the ecological processes shaping relationships between pastoralists and native herbivores and carnivores. To elucidate relationships underpinning human-wildlife conflict, we synthesized 15 years of ecological and ethnographic data from Ikh Nart Nature Reserve in Mongolia's Gobi steppe. The density of argali (Ovis ammon), the world's largest wild sheep, at Ikh Nart was among the highest in Mongolia, yet livestock were >90% of ungulate biomass and dogs >90% of large-carnivore biomass. For argali, pastoral activities decreased food availability, increased mortality from dog predation, and potentially increased disease risk. Isotope analyses indicated that livestock accounted for >50% of the diet of the majority of gray wolves (Canis lupus) and up to 90% of diet in 25% of sampled wolves (n = 8). Livestock composed at least 96% of ungulate prey in the single wolf pack for which we collected species-specific prey data. Interviews with pastoralists indicated that wolves annually killed 1-4% of Ikh Nart's livestock, and pastoralists killed wolves in retribution. Pastoralists reduced wolf survival by killing them, but their livestock were an abundant food source for wolves. Consequently, wolf density appeared to be largely decoupled from argali density, and pastoralists had indirect effects on argali that could be negative if pastoralists increased wolf density (apparent competition) or positive if pastoralists decreased wolf predation (apparent facilitation). Ikh Nart's argali population was stable despite these threats, but livestock are increasingly dominant numerically and functionally relative to argali. To support both native wildlife and pastoral livelihoods, we suggest training dogs to not kill argali, community insurance against livestock losses to wolves, reintroducing key native prey species to hotspots of human-wolf conflict, and developing incentives for pastoralists to reduce livestock density.

Argali Sheep (Ovis ammon) Movement Corridors Between Critical Resources in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia

“…110) live in and around the reserve seasonally and raise livestock (mostly sheep and goats) for subsistence (Davie et al, 2014). The relative number of livestock in the landscape has important conservation implications as it impacts argali abundance by mediating predator numbers (Ekernas et al, 2017). Nature-based tourism is a growing enterprise and both national and foreign tourists often visit the reserve for the opportunity to see argali and experience other natural and cultural aspects of the landscape (Surenjav & Flores, 2015).…”

“…The decline of argali is a concern as the species provides valuable ecosystem services to local people and foreign visitors (e.g., hunters and tourists) and may exert large functional roles in steppe ecosystems (Amgalanbaatar et al, 2002;Fedosenko & Blank, 2005;Reading et al, 2005;Surenjav & Flores, 2015;Sarmento & Reading, 2016;Murdoch et al, 2017). Argali ranging behavior and the relative infl uence of habitats in shaping distribution have been studied (Reading et al, 2003;Reading et al, 2005;Ekernas et al, 2017;Murdoch et al, 2017). However, few eff orts have synthesized these data to predict how argali move across a landscape.…”

Assessing the relationship between illegal hunting of ungulates, wild prey occurrence and livestock depredation rate by large carnivores

“…High metabolic demands, large home ranges and low wild prey availability in combination with livestock increasingly penetrating into suitable wildlife habitats lead to livestock depredation by large carnivores (Chapron & López‐Bao, ; Suryawanshi et al., ). Livestock grazing is a critical factor that contributes to the decline of wild prey populations, mainly through forage competition or changes in predatory patterns of large carnivores (Ekernas et al., ). Consequently, human‐carnivore conflicts (HCC) arising from livestock depredation are widespread, causing socio‐economic losses to local livelihoods and retaliatory killing of carnivores (Khorozyan, Ghoddousi, Soofi, & Waltert, ).…”

Assessing niche overlap between domestic and threatened wild sheep to identify conservation priority areas

“…Livestock grazing affects large ungulate populations in many ways, including the degradation of food resources, displacement of ungulates from suitable habitats, disease transmission and direct mortality from shepherds and their dogs (Chirichella, Ciuti, & Apollonio, ; Krishna, Kumar, & Isvaran, ; Namgail, Fox, & Bhatnagar, ). While certain pastoral systems allow for coexistence and maintain open‐land habitats for wild grazers, more commonly, competition with livestock threatens large ungulates, particularly in resource‐scarce regions such as drylands or mountainous areas (Ekernas et al., ; Mishra, Van Wieren, Ketner, Heitkonig, & Prins, ; Riginos et al., ).…”

“…With more than one billion domestic sheep worldwide ( Ovis aries ; FAOSTAT, ), most of which are pastured, wild sheep are likely particularly negatively affected by competition with livestock (Mishra, Van Wieren, Heitkönig, & Prins, ; Owen‐Smith, ; Shackleton, ). Wild sheep also often occur in areas with low productivity and may therefore be particularly prone to competition and conflicts with shepherds and their dogs (Ekernas et al., ; Schieltz & Rubenstein, ; Shackleton, ). Conservation planning to protect and restore wild sheep populations thus requires understanding where and to what extent domestic and wild sheep may compete.…”