The phrase "The sky is falling!" 2009) to identify species from the sequence data obtained from each scat. For samples in which OTU data allowed for > 1 possible predator (most often, both V. ferrilata and V. vulpes), we used a stringent protocol to filter assignments. Water was categorized as common at 4 sites, moderate at 1, and rare at the remaining 57. 1990). As well, the fact that the pika coefficients remained similar with the addition of vegetation height as a predictor of occupancy suggested that the main information in these models was contained in the pika variables, rather than vegetation variables. Wang et al. We can conceive of 4 nonexclusive approaches investigators might adopt to assess the hypothesis that a predator species is entirely dependent on a particular prey, with the strength of evidence increasing in the following order: 1) dietary studies, showing the predator foraging exclusively (or nearly so) on the prey; 2) distributional studies at a coarse scale, showing that the distribution of the predator is nested (or nearly so) within that of the prey; 3) occupancy studies at a finer geographic scale, showing that presence of the predator is strongly predicted by presence of the prey while no evidence supports alternate hypotheses investigated at the same sites; and 4) experimental studies, in which removal of the prey species causes extirpation of the predator species. Evidence now suggests that, in most cases, high pika density is a consequence rather than a cause of sparse cover and reduced height of plateau vegetation (Shi 1983; Holzner and Kriechbaum 2001). The relative amount of human presence at the site was categorized as low, moderate, or high, based on proximity to houses or settlements (typically 1 or 2 small houses, 0.5- to 5-km distant). Finally, Terraube et al. An extinct species of "very carnivorous" fox with supersharp teeth once roamed the frigid Tibetan Plateau, a new study says. University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK. 2007; Delibes-Mateos et al. Pallas’s cat and Chinese mountain cat are seen with surprising regularity, along with the characterful Tibetan fox. 2008]) and plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae; dash–dot line [Smith and Johnston 2008]), superimposed on the outline map of western China (thin, solid line), and showing the 3,000-m elevation contour (in gray). Beyond the Tibetan fox of concern to us here, a number of species have been documented as predators of, or strong commensal associates with, pikas (Smith and Foggin 1999; Lai and Smith 2003; Arthur et al. The best model lacking either of the pika variables included only vegetation height, and was almost 13 AIC units higher than the top-ranking model, and 6.6 AIC units higher than the least-supported model containing a proxy for pika abundance. 1). Tibetan Proverb. Search for other works by this author on: Ecology, Conservation, and Environment Center (ECEC), Kunming Institute of Zoology, #338, 32 Jiaochang East Road, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223 China, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk, NR 47TJ, United Kingdom, Livestock grazing, plateau pikas and the conservation of avian biodiversity on the Tibetan Plateau, Nucleic Acids Research 37, Database Supplemental Issue, Habitat preferences and intraspecific competition in black-footed ferrets, Recovery of the black-footed ferret—progress and continuing challenges, United States Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2005–5293, QIIME allows analysis of high-throughput community sequencing data, Effects of an exotic prey species on a native specialist: example of the snail kite, The paradox of keystone species persecuted as pests: a call for the conservation of abundant small mammals in their native range, Search and clustering orders of magnitude faster than BLAST, Environmental Systems Research Institute [ESRI], Rodent pest management in the Qinghai-Tibet alpine meadow ecosystem, Ecologically-based management of rodent pests, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Dietary separation of sympatric carnivores identified by molecular analysis of scats, Conflictive management of small mammals considered as pests: a long way to evidence-based policy making, The summer microhabitat selection of Tibetan fox in the northwest plateau of Sichuan, Specialist predators, generalist predators, and the microtine rodent cycle, Clustering 16S rRNA for OTU prediction: a method of unsupervised Bayesian clustering, Wildlife conservation in China: preserving the habitat of China's Wild West, Notes on the biology of the Tibetan fox (, PRESENCE2—software to estimate patch occupancy and related parameters, United States Geological Survey—Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Pastures in south and central Tibet (China) II. We used a mammalian primer set, which were 16Smaml (forward primer) 5′-CGGTTGGGGTGACCTCGGA-3′ and 16Smam2 (reverse primer) 5′-GCTGTTATCCCTAGGGTAACT-3′ (Taylor 1996), to amplify a short 16S rRNA fragment from the samples. However, aside from the considerable ethical problems posed by removing an entire population merely to observe the consequences to another, an experimental approach also would confront considerable logistical challenges for its advantages over observational data to be realized. Upon finding a possible carnivore scat, 1 person remained on the transect line while the other collected it (see below). We required of each site that it be located generally within the overall geographic distribution both of the Tibetan fox and the plateau pika (Schaller et al. Like a brown bear (Ursusarctospruinosus), Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanni), mountain weasel (Mustela sibirica), saker falcon (Falco cherrug), eurasian sparrow hawk (Accipiter nisus melaschistos), upland buzzard (Buteo hemilasius) and little owl (Athene noctua) et al. C) Top model (as in A) but including vegetation height as predictor of detection probability. Zokor mound indexes varied from 0 to 4/site (x̄ = 0.21/site, SD = 0.72/site). The List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Spanish–American War contains all 110 men who received the the United States military's highest … Across the Face of the Earth - Across the Face of the World; Across the Face of the World - Across the Face of the World Series; Across the Face of the World by Russel Kirkpatrick - Across the Fairways Tibetan foxes are mostly solitary, daytime hunters as their main prey, pikas, are diurnal. Thus, our conclusion is that pika presence constitutes a necessary but not sufficient condition for Tibetan foxes; we caution against interpreting it as a comprehensive analysis of the fox's ecological niche. Tibetan Sand Fox and can be considered a dangerous adversary. They have a lifespan of 2 to 5 years but some have lived to be 14 years old in captivity. Notwithstanding the difficulties of its documentation in the field, knowledge that a species is highly or entirely dependent on another is crucial for effective conservation planning. The best-supported models suggested that Tibetan fox occupancy declined from near certainty at high pika abundance, to near 0 at low pika abundance. Genomic DNA from scats was isolated at the Kunming Institute of Zoology using the QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany), according to manufacturer's instructions. Approximately 99% of fox scats contained pika DNA sequences, 97% contained predominantly pika sequences, and 73% contained only pika sequences. DNA-based diet analysis also allowed us to identify prey species consumed by Tibetan foxes. No more than 100 metres away the wolf crosses between us and the Tibetan Fox on the opposite hill. Because confident discrimination of scats from foxes and other possible species in the area was not possible based solely on field observation, we collected scats and identified them to species using a species-diagnostic fragment of the 16S rRNA gene (see also Jiang et al. 0:00. View Comments. The number of reads assigned to a given OTU varied from 1 to 1,359. Although we documented all Tibetan fox scats collected and identified (i.e., counts on each transect as opposed to simply detection, see Appendix I), we elected not to use the N-mixture abundance model (Royle 2004) to quantify determinants of occupancy because scats encountered within a given subsurvey were unlikely to be independent events, and because we had no way to quantify the relationship between number of fox scats and number of foxes. The continuum between generalized and specialized foragers is useful to both researchers and conservation practitioners, with specialists generally being acknowledged as more sensitive to habitat alterations or reductions than generalists (Owens and Bennett 2000; Ryall and Fahrig 2006), and thus more likely to be of conservation concern. 7. Across the Enemy Line - Across the Enemy Lines; Across the English Channel - Across the Europe; Across the Euros - Across the FOX RIVER. Recently, a number of studies have documented cases in which a predator, seemingly narrowly focused on a particular prey species in some geographic areas, habitats, or circumstances, turns out upon further investigation to be more flexible than earlier believed. On the Tibetan plateau, marmot species form part of snow leopard prey. Also shown are major cities in the area (stars). Although read number per OTU is far from a precise measure of biomass, read number is roughly positively correlated with biomass. We only accepted SAP assignments of > 80% posterior probability (most were much higher), which resulted in most OTUs being assigned to family or genus. Still buzzing from the excitement of the Tibetan Fox sighting, another call for one even closer. 2008). Tiny satellites are much harder to detect and shoot down. Local residents prefer to start Tibetan mastiffs, which are significantly larger than foxes in size, and therefore hunt and attack them. Although number of pikas seen/km2 and our index of number of pika burrows/site were correlated (r = 0.63, P < 0.01), we justified including both in our models because they reflected pika presence at different timescales. We conclude that Tibetan foxes in this region are not merely foraging specialists of plateau pikas, but that they are obligate predators on pikas. “The new Tibetan species and the Arctic fox show striking similarity in their dental adaptation for extreme meat-eating,” says Wang. In short, plateau pikas constituted foraging habitat for Tibetan foxes. The one that did not consisted entirely of DNA from domestic yak. (2007) from drawing strong conclusions regarding the importance of pikas to foxes. Predators. The number of fox scats/site was a positive function of the number of pikas seen/km (least-squares linear regression: fox scats = 0.827 + 0.057 (SE = 0.016)*pikas seen/km, F1,60 = 13.47; P = 0.0005, adjusted r2 = 0.17), and the mean number of pika burrows/plot (fox scats = 0.865 + 0.074 (SE = 0.034)*pika burrows/plot, F1,60 = 4.84; P = 0.032, adjusted r2 = 0.07). Upon reaching the end of the transect line (as indicated by the global positioning system), the crew travelled in a direction perpendicular (i.e., offset 90°) to the line for 0.5 km (without collecting scats or counting pikas) before beginning the subsequent line in the opposite direction (i.e., offset 180°) from the initial orientation. They have longer claws for their different feeding habits and a stronger body mass. While adept at capturing plateau pikas (hereafter pikas—Wang et al. The presence or absence of livestock during the survey period also was documented. Probable causes of pasture degradation, International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN], The IUCN Red list of threatened species. Thus, although consistent with an association between the predator and prey, the design of this study prevented Liu et al. Within our broadly defined study area, Tibetan fox site occupancy was strongly associated with presence and abundance of plateau pikas. 2006). Following the example of Lai and Smith (2003), we selected sites in 12 townships within Qinghai, representing the counties of Chengduo, Dulan, Gangca, Gonghe, Guinan, Maqin, Menyuan, Nangqian, Qilian, Tongde, Yushu, and Zeku (Fig. In Florida, snail kites (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), which specialize on a single species of snail (Sykes 1987), may be negatively affected by the invasion of a nonnative snail that the kite now also consumes, but at a greater energetic cost (Cattau et al. However, the study sites investigated by Wang et al. Probability of site occupancy by Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) as indexed by presence of scats, as a function of an index of pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) seen and pika burrows counted, Qinghai Province, autumn 2011 (see text). Tibetan Terrier Saint Humberto’s dog Jack Russell Akita Inu Boston Terrier Mastiff English Greyhound English Dobermann King Charles Spaniel Shih-Tzu Welsh Corgi Whippet Scottish Terrier Rough Collie Labrador Boxer Chow chow Golden retriever St Bernard Dalmatian Border Collie Dachshund Poodle Yorkshire . Qinghai Province, autumn 2011, as a function of an index of pika (Ochotona curzoniae) burrow abundance (see text). The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) is generally acknowledged to be a specialist forager on its preferred prey, the burrowing lagomorph plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), but whether true dependency characterizes the relationship remains unclear. The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) is generally acknowledged to be a specialist forager on its preferred prey, the burrowing lagomorph plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), but whether true dependency characterizes the relationship remains unclear. The fox also has many similarities to a cat.