Title
Social structure and space use of amur tigers (Panthera tigris Temminck, 1884) in southern russian far east based on gps telemetry data
Author(s)
Hernandez-Blanco, J.A.;Naidenko, S.V.;Chistopolova, M.D.;Lukarevskiy, V.S.;kostyrya, A.;Rybin, A.;Sorokin, P.A.;Litvinov, M.N.;Kotlyar, A.K.;Miquelle, D.G.;Rozhnov, V.V.
Published
2015
Publisher
Integrative Zoology
Abstract
To better understand spatial structure of Amur tigers (Panthera tigris Temminck, 1884) at the southern edge of their range we fitted 14 tigers (6♀♀ and 8♂♂) with 15 GPS-Argos collars between 2008 and 2011 in two study sites: Ussuriskii Reserve of Southern Sikhote-Alin and Land of the Leopard National Park in Southwest Primorye, Russian Far East. Fixed kernel estimates of male home-ranges were larger than those of females (p<0.05) (Mean 95% Fixed kernel♀ = 401±205 km2; Mean 95% Fixed kernel♂ = 778±267 km2). Home-range size of females varied greatly, but on average was similar to estimates derived from earlier work further north. Low overlap of adjacent home-ranges suggested that females retained exclusive territories. Real core areas of females overlapped only slightly, and remained stable over multiple years. Home ranges of adult males were smaller than those of males to the north, and in contrast to previous studies, high overlap amongst males indicated the absence of territoriality. Nonetheless, real core areas of males did not overlap, suggesting some spatial separation. In comparison to other tiger populations and other areas of the Russian Far East, the sex ratio in our two study areas was highly skewed towards males. We believe this skewed sex ratio resulted in the dissolution of territoriality of males due to an inability to defend individual females, with males resorting to scramble competition for mates. Continued monitoring of these sites to determine whether shifts in the sex ratio might result in a return to male territoriality would provide confirmation of our tentative hypothesis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Keywords
Amur tiger;GPS-Argos telemetry;home-range overlap;Panthera tigris altaica;space use;Social structure;sex ratio
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PUB15531