Exploring temporal activity of dholes, their prey, and competitors in East Java, Indonesia.

Dholes (Cuon alpinus) are endangered large carnivores found in scattered populations in Asia. One of the main threats to dholes is the decreasing prey availability throughout their distribution range. In the present study, we used camera trap data collected over 6 years to investigate the temporal activity patterns of dholes and their putative prey species in Baluran National Park in Java, Indonesia. We also explored the overlap in activity between dholes and the park's other remaining large carnivore the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas), as well as humans. Furthermore, we investigated potential differences in activity patterns between dholes in packs and dholes roaming in pairs or alone. We found a high temporal overlap between dholes and their wild ungulate prey species (ranging from Δ = 0.66-0.90), with the lowest overlap observed between dholes and bantengs (Bos javanicus) (Δ = 0.66), and the highest between dholes and muntjacs (Muntiacus muntjak) (Δ = 0.90). A very low overlap was found between dholes and domestic cattle (Bos indicus) (Δ = 0.27) whereas a moderately high overlap was found between dholes and leopards (Δ = 0.70) and dholes and humans (Δ = 0.62). We found a significant difference in activity patterns between dholes in packs and dholes roaming alone or in pairs (Δ = 0.78, p = .01). Single/pairs of dholes were more active both during the day and at night, whereas packs were predominantly active around sunrise and sunset. The high overlap with humans potentially has a negative effect on dhole activity, particularly for dispersing individuals, and the low overlap with domestic species questions the extent to which dholes are considered to predate on them.

Debugging diversity - a pan-continental exploration of the potential of terrestrial blood-feeding leeches as a vertebrate monitoring tool.

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) has become an applicable noninvasive tool with which to obtain information about biodiversity. A subdiscipline of eDNA is iDNA (invertebrate-derived DNA), where genetic material ingested by invertebrates is used to characterize the biodiversity of the species that served as hosts. While promising, these techniques are still in their infancy, as they have only been explored on limited numbers of samples from only a single or a few different locations. In this study, we investigate the suitability of iDNA extracted from more than 3,000 haematophagous terrestrial leeches as a tool for detecting a wide range of terrestrial vertebrates across five different geographical regions on three different continents. These regions cover almost the full geographical range of haematophagous terrestrial leeches, thus representing all parts of the world where this method might apply. We identify host taxa through metabarcoding coupled with high-throughput sequencing on Illumina and IonTorrent sequencing platforms to decrease economic costs and workload and thereby make the approach attractive for practitioners in conservation management. We identified hosts in four different taxonomic vertebrate classes: mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, belonging to at least 42 different taxonomic families. We find that vertebrate blood ingested by haematophagous terrestrial leeches throughout their distribution is a viable source of DNA with which to examine a wide range of vertebrates. Thus, this study provides encouraging support for the potential of haematophagous terrestrial leeches as a tool for detecting and monitoring terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity.

Estimating the population density of the Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus) in a selectively logged forest in Peninsular Malaysia.

The endangered Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus) is threatened by large-scale habitat loss, forest fragmentation and increased hunting pressure. Conservation planning for this species, however, is hampered by a severe paucity of information on its ecology and population status. We present the first Asian tapir population density estimate from a camera trapping study targeting tigers in a selectively logged forest within Peninsular Malaysia using a spatially explicit capture-recapture maximum likelihood based framework. With a trap effort of 2496 nights, 17 individuals were identified corresponding to a density (standard error) estimate of 9.49 (2.55) adult tapirs/100 km(2) . Although our results include several caveats, we believe that our density estimate still serves as an important baseline to facilitate the monitoring of tapir population trends in Peninsular Malaysia. Our study also highlights the potential of extracting vital ecological and population information for other cryptic individually identifiable animals from tiger-centric studies, especially with the use of a spatially explicit capture-recapture maximum likelihood based framework.

Predicting the distribution of the Asian tapir in Peninsular Malaysia using maximum entropy modeling.

In 2008, the IUCN threat status of the Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus) was reclassified from 'vulnerable' to 'endangered'. The latest distribution map from the IUCN Red List suggests that the tapirs' native range is becoming increasingly fragmented in Peninsular Malaysia, but distribution data collected by local researchers suggest a more extensive geographical range. Here, we compile a database of 1261 tapir occurrence records within Peninsular Malaysia, and demonstrate that this species, indeed, has a much broader geographical range than the IUCN range map suggests. However, extreme spatial and temporal bias in these records limits their utility for conservation planning. Therefore, we used maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling to elucidate the potential extent of the Asian tapir's occurrence in Peninsular Malaysia while accounting for bias in existing distribution data. Our MaxEnt model predicted that the Asian tapir has a wider geographic range than our fine-scale data and the IUCN range map both suggest. Approximately 37% of Peninsular Malaysia contains potentially suitable tapir habitats. Our results justify a revision to the Asian tapir's extent of occurrence in the IUCN Red List. Furthermore, our modeling demonstrated that selectively logged forests encompass 45% of potentially suitable tapir habitats, underscoring the importance of these habitats for the conservation of this species in Peninsular Malaysia.