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Pastoralist disturbance effects on Himalayan marmot foraging and vigilance activity

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Pastoralism is pervasive and has a long history across the rangelands of Trans-Himalaya. Disturbance associated with pastoralism can influence the behaviour of wild animals; hence, it is important to better understand its effects on wild animal behaviour. We compared the activity budget of the Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) between areas experiencing both high and low levels of pastoralism, in the Upper Mustang region in Nepal. Scan sampling was used to collect diurnal activity budget data on adult marmots, whereas 2 min focal observations were made on foraging marmots to assess vigilance during foraging. Contrary to our prediction, there was no significant difference between areas of high and low pastoralism in terms of foraging behaviour. However, the vigilance activity of marmots was significantly influenced by the extent of disturbances associated with pastoralism. Marmots scanned the surroundings more often while foraging and spent more time scanning in high pastoralism sites as compared to marmots in low pastoralism sites. Although we found no direct negative effects of pastoralism on foraging time, marmots shifted the time of day when they foraged. This study suggests that marmots adjust their vigilance behaviour according to the environmental conditions in which they occur. These findings have important implications for the conservation of marmots in the wake of increasing pastoral activities and consequent increases in human-wildlife conflict in Nepal.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Iain R Taylor and Hem S Baral for their helpful advice during the design of this study. We also thank Roger Mundry for his statistical advice and Gary Luck for his comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We thank research assistants Prabin Shrestha, Mahesh Neupane, Shankar Tripathi, and Thokme Lowa for their help with data collection. A special thanks to the community of the Upper Mustang and staffs at ACAP-Lhomanthang Sector Office who provided generous hospitality during field work. This study was supported by a post graduate scholarship from Charles Sturt University (to BSP) and grant from Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (CT#22178). This study was conducted under an approved protocol by the Animal Care and Ethics Committee of the Charles Sturt University, Australia (Protocol No. 13/013), and research permit from National Trust for Nature Conservation/Annapurna Conservation Area Project, Nepal.

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  1. Buddi S. Poudel

    Present address: Department of Forest Research and Survey, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal, PO Box 3339, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal

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  1. School of Environmental Sciences, Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia

    Buddi S. Poudel, Peter G. Spooner & Alison Matthews

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Poudel, B.S., Spooner, P.G. & Matthews, A. Pastoralist disturbance effects on Himalayan marmot foraging and vigilance activity. Ecol Res 31, 93–104 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-015-1315-x

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