Revisiting the Woolly wolf (Canis lupus chanco) phylogeny in Himalaya: Addressing taxonomy, spatial extent and distribution of an ancient lineage in Asia.

Of the sub-species of Holarctic wolf, the Woolly wolf (Canis lupus chanco) is uniquely adapted to atmospheric hypoxia and widely distributed across the Himalaya, Qinghai Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and Mongolia. Taxonomic ambiguity still exists for this sub-species because of complex evolutionary history anduse of limited wild samples across its range in Himalaya. We document for the first time population genetic structure and taxonomic affinity of the wolves across western and eastern Himalayan regions from samples collected from the wild (n = 19) using mitochondrial control region (225bp). We found two haplotypes in our data, one widely distributed in the Himalaya that was shared with QTP and the other confined to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the western Himalaya, India. After combining our data withpublished sequences (n = 83), we observed 15 haplotypes. Some of these were shared among different locations from India to QTP and a few were private to geographic locations. A phylogenetic tree indicated that Woolly wolves from India, Nepal, QTP and Mongolia are basal to other wolves with shallow divergence (K2P; 0.000-0.044) and high bootstrap values. Demographic analyses based on mismatch distribution and Bayesian skyline plots (BSP) suggested a stable population over a long time (~million years) with signs of recent declines. Regional dominance of private haplotypes across its distribution range may indicate allopatric divergence. This may be due to differences in habitat characteristics, availability of different wild prey species and differential deglaciation within the range of the Woolly wolf during historic time. Presence of basal and shallow divergence within-clade along with unique ecological requirements and adaptation to hypoxia, the Woolly wolf of Himalaya, QTP, and Mongolian regions may be considered as a distinct an Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU). Identifying management units (MUs) is needed within its distribution range using harmonized multiple genetic data for effective conservation planning.

Prey preferences of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia): regional diet specificity holds global significance for conservation.

The endangered snow leopard is a large felid that is distributed over 1.83 million km(2) globally. Throughout its range it relies on a limited number of prey species in some of the most inhospitable landscapes on the planet where high rates of human persecution exist for both predator and prey. We reviewed 14 published and 11 unpublished studies pertaining to snow leopard diet throughout its range. We calculated prey consumption in terms of frequency of occurrence and biomass consumed based on 1696 analysed scats from throughout the snow leopard's range. Prey biomass consumed was calculated based on the Ackerman's linear correction factor. We identified four distinct physiographic and snow leopard prey type zones, using cluster analysis that had unique prey assemblages and had key prey characteristics which supported snow leopard occurrence there. Levin's index showed the snow leopard had a specialized dietary niche breadth. The main prey of the snow leopard were Siberian ibex (Capra sibrica), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), argali (Ovis ammon) and marmots (Marmota spp). The significantly preferred prey species of snow leopard weighed 55±5 kg, while the preferred prey weight range of snow leopard was 36-76 kg with a significant preference for Siberian ibex and blue sheep. Our meta-analysis identified critical dietary resources for snow leopards throughout their distribution and illustrates the importance of understanding regional variation in species ecology; particularly prey species that have global implications for conservation.