Performing Department
College of Forestry and Conservation
Non Technical Summary
Prey depletion is one of the primary short-term threats to Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica). Improved ungulate management is therefore essential for the survival of this northernmost tiger subspecies, particularly as the vast majority of Amur tiger habitat in the Russian Far East (RFE) is comprised of unprotected, multiple-use forest lands where both tigers and hunters rely on the same prey base. Russian wildlife management agencies currently adjust legal ungulate harvests to account for the estimated number of ungulates needed to sustain tigers. Rigorous data on tiger kill rates are needed to inform this approach, but are lacking. At present, year-round tiger kill rates are calculated by extrapolating data derived from winter snow tracking. If kill rates on ungulates differ seasonally, however, tigers may have an unexpected impact on ungulates and harvest levels may be unsustainable. Unfortunately, information on kill rates of Amur tigers outside the winter season has been difficult to obtain, and existing winter estimates vary greatly. Recent advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) collar technology have enabled researchers to gain insights into year-round predator-prey dynamics for many carnivores, but until recently, no one had applied this approach to tigers. Our project is the first to use GPS technology to expand existing scientific knowledge of year-round tiger-prey dynamics in the RFE, improve methods to estimate kill rates, and contribute practically to sustainable wildlife management. We are collaborating with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which in engaged in long-term efforts to promote effective wildlife management on multiple-use hunting lands in the RFE. Year One of our research has focused primarily on estimating annual kill rates. In Year Two, we will continue this work while also adding a new component, the development of a field-based tiger energetics model. We will develop this model using information from the Western and Russian literature to estimate the energy budget of tigers, and we will test the model using GPS-based, empirically derived movement rates and kill/consumption rates. We expect that this model will allow us estimate tiger food requirements and assess which suite of prey sizes is likely to ensure successful reproduction. This information is critical for conservation, as tiger distribution is likely defined by females? ability to acquire sufficient energy to successfully rear young to independence. Quantifying the energetic requirements of tigers will allow conservationists and managers to estimate adequate prey population sizes, better identify critical prey species, and promote science-based recommendations for ungulate management. By comparing prey body sizes, capture rates, and energetic acquisition, it will be possible to determine which prey species are critical for reproduction. Thus it should be possible to determine whether reproduction is energetically feasible in areas with ungulate populations composed of small ungulate prey. Such an understanding of tiger energetics has implications for conservation efforts across all tiger range countries.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goals of this project are to 1) improve scientific knowledge of year-round tiger-prey dynamics, 2) improve methods to estimate annual kill rates, and 3) develop an energetics model to determine prey thresholds required for successful tiger reproduction. Our final and most important goal is then to 4) apply this science to Amur tiger conservation directly by improving sustainable wildlife (ungulate) management on the multiple-use lands that comprise the majority of Amur tiger habitat. Specific project objectives over the next year are as follows: 1) Capture at least 4 more tigers and deploy Lotek Iridium GPS collars; 2) Collect data on prey selection and intervals between kills for tigers in SABZ during all seasons of the year to calculate year-long kill rates and movement rates of tigers in SABZ; 3) Compare our GPS-based data to existing data on prey selection in SABZ; 4) Build a tiger energetics model to predict the energetic and prey requirements for survival and reproduction. We anticipate the following project outcomes: 1. Accurate estimate of tiger kill-rates. It is regularly stated in the popular and semi-scientific literature that tigers eat "one large prey per week," or about 50 ungulates per year. Our success/impact will be measured by the amount of data collected, number of scientific and popular publications, and use of our results in local game management decisions. 2. Development of tiger energetics model. We believe our energetics model will be applicable to all tiger range countries in support of tiger conservation. 3. Russian biologists and managers trained to continue this work. This project provides capacity building and technology transfer by employing Russian professionals and graduate students and using technologies heretofore not used in the area. A more accurate and thorough assessment of year-round prey selection and kill-rates will provide a better understanding of tiger ecology and a solid basis for interacting with local stakeholders and policy makers. We expect specific post-project conservation actions to be: 1. Use of results in creation of local game management policy, including establishment of legal harvest levels and allocation of effort to anti-poaching activities. 2. Outreach to local hunters with the goal of changing local attitudes toward tigers.
Project Methods
Methodologies for Objectives 1, 2, and 3 above are similar to those presented in our Year One proposal. Briefly, methodologies for Objective 1 are addressed in Sections b through f below. Methods for Objective 2 will closely follow those of Webb et al. (2008). To meet Objective 3, we will compare results from Objective 2 to data presented in Miquelle et al. (1996). Objective 4 is new to this application. We will build the energetics model using values obtained from western and Russian literature and then test it using movement rates, activity budgets, and kill/consumption rates obtained from our GPS-collared tigers. We present a simplified version of the energetics model here; a more detailed explanation is available upon request. We will estimate the total daily energetic demands (Ctotal) on a tiger by calculating and adding the costs of resting, costs of locomotion, hunting, eating, reproduction , and energetic costs associated with thermoregulation. The energetic costs of these activities have been estimated using laboratory and allometric approaches. We will use these literature values to build the model and then test it with empirically derived data using two methods. First, we will compare empirical movement rates obtained from GPS collars to the literature-based snow tracking movement rates used to develop the energetics model. Second, we will convert energetic values into biomass to evaluate estimated prey requirements and compare predicted kill rates with prey kill-rates obtained in the field. Trapping protocols are identical to those presented in our Year One proposal. Details are available in Goodrich et al. (2001), the manual Principles and Practice of Field Anaesthesia developed by WCS-Russia, and our document Animal Handling Requirements, which has been reviewed and approved by the WCS Global Health Department. These documents are available upon request. Immobilization protocols are identical to those presented in our Year One proposal. We follow protocols in Principles and Practice of Field Anaesthesia and Animal Handling Requirements. These documents are available upon request. Captured tigers will be fitted with Lotek Iridium Track 3D collars.Samples collected from captured tigers and kill sites are identical to those presented in our Year One proposal, are part of normal STP procedures, and are delineated in our Animal Handling Protocol (available upon request). Samples will include hair, blood, tissue, external parasites, and photographs. Samples collected at kill sites include the jaw and bone marrow of prey. Teeth are used in determining the age of prey and the marrow is used to determine fat content and general health of the individual. Captures will be conducted together with WCS Russia Siberian Tiger Project staff, who have captured more wild tigers than anyone in the world (19+ years of experience). At least one staff member with over 10 years of large carnivore capture experience will be present at all captures.