Philip Riordan

• BSc (Hons), MSc (Dist), PhD
• Visting Professor at University of Southampton

Movements of individuals within and among populations help to maintain genetic variability and population viability. Therefore, understanding landscape connectivity is vital for effective species conservation. The snow leopard is endemic to mountainous areas of central Asia and occurs within 12 countries. We assess potential connectivity across the...

This study presents the testing of two unsupervised classification methods for their ability to accurately identify unknown individual tigers, Panthera tigris, and snow leopards, Panthera uncia, from their footprints. A neural-network based method, the Kohonen self-organizing map (SOM), and a Bayesian method, AutoClass, were assessed using hind foo...

Organic farming practices have been promoted as, inter alia, reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. This meta-analysis systematically analyses published studies that compare environmental impacts of organic and conventional farming in Europe. The results show that organic farming practices generally have positive impacts on the environm...

How best to optimize the biodiversity gain from agri-environment schemes (AES) has recently been identified as a key policy-relevant question. Here, the effects of two features of lowland agricultural landscapes on the abundance and diversity of larger moths are contrasted. Although both features bring about positive effects, hedgerow trees have a...

In the UK, attempts since the 1970s to control the incidence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle by culling a wildlife host, the European badger (Meles meles), have produced equivocal results. Culling-induced social perturbation of badger populations may lead to unexpected outcomes. We test predictions from the 'perturbation hypothesis', determi...

Understanding how genetic diversity is spatially structured is a priority to gain insights into populations’ genetic status and to assess their abilities to counteract the effects of genetic drift. Such knowledge is particularly scarce for the snow leopard, the wide-ranging felid of Central Asia mountains. Focusing on a snow leopard population from...

China holds more snow leopards than any other country, possibly over half the global population. The unprecedented rate of socioeconomic change in China over the past 20 years places unique pressures on wildlife and ecosystems within its borders. Of the large predators in China, the snow leopard has arguably suffered least as a consequence of these...

Grasslands make up 40% of China’s territory and are important ecological and economic areas. The native small mammals that inhabit these grasslands are often seen as pests competing with livestock and are subjected to population control. At the same time, several species are functionally important ecosystem engineers, and their removal can have far...

Context The accurate estimation of landscape resistance to movement is important for ecological understanding and conservation applications. Rigorous estimation of resistance requires validation and optimization. One approach uses genetic data for the optimization or validation of resistance models. Objectives We used a genetic dataset of snow leo...

Threatened species are frequently patchily distributed across small wild populations, ex situ populations managed with varying levels of intensity and reintroduced populations. Best practice advocates for integrated management across in situ and ex situ populations. Wild addax (Addax nasomaculatus) now number fewer than 100 individuals, yet 1000 of...

China's Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is an important area for bird conservation, with many endemic and Threatened species. Colonial burrowing mammals play an important role in structuring bird communities in arid grasslands around the world. On the QTP, the plateau pika Ochotona curzoniae builds colonies which provide a dense source of resources f...

Land degradation, competition with livestock, infrastructure development, and climate change have reduced habitat availability and reduced population connectivity for many wildlife species. Large herbivores are particularly vulnerable, and approximately 90 % of global large herbivore diversity is in Africa. The endangered Grevy's zebra illustrates...

North-African slender-horned gazelles are facing extensive poaching pressure. The main remaining population patch occurs in Saharan habitat between Tunisia and Algeria. Access to the species' distribution range in both countries is limited by difficult terrain and strict permitting requirements. We explored a mix of aerial (1365 km) and ground tran...

Zoonotic viruses have sacrificed hundreds of millions of people throughout human history. There are currently 1.7 million unidentified viruses estimated to be circulating in mammal and bird populations. It is foreseeable that in the near future, another of these will transmit to people, heralding the start of the next pandemic—one potentially more...

Threatened species are frequently patchily distributed across small wild populations, ex situ populations managed with varying levels of intensity, and reintroduced populations. Best practice advocates for integrated management across in situ and ex situ populations. Wild addax (Addax nasomaculatus) now number fewer than 100 individuals, yet thousa...

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits a human-altered alpine landscape and is often tolerated by residents in regions where the dominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism, including in Qomolangma NNR on the northern side of the Chinese Himalayas. Despite these positive attitudes, many decades of rapid economic development and population growth can...

Context The assessment of landscape-level connectivity patterns is centrally important to the conservation management of wildlife species. This is especially true for highly vagile carnivore species, for which conservation efforts should extend beyond protected areas and link core populations. Objectives We investigated the effectiveness of the Qil...

Of the approximately 30 extant species of pika (Ochotona; Ochotonidae; Lagomorpha), at least 23 occur in China. Of these, eight are endemic, and three are classified as Endangered by the IUCN. Research into most Chinese species is scarce, and there is much to learn about basic aspects of their ecology. We reviewed the literature on the 23 Chinese O...

Understanding the spatial structure of genetic diversity provides insights into a populations’ genetic status and enables assessment of its capacity to counteract the effects of genetic drift. Such knowledge is particularly scarce for the snow leopard, a conservation flagship species of Central Asia mountains. Focusing on a snow leopard population...

Camera-trap surveys were conducted in Jbil National Park (NP) between 2019 and 2020. Jbil NP is located in a remote region of the governorate of Kebili (Tunisia) (33.102N; 9.061E), with the closest town, Douz, being 70km away along a road of variable quality. The nearest permanent human settlement to Jbil NP is a small military base 5km away, but t...

Fencing is an important part of husbandry for pastoral communities; however, these same fences can have unintended consequences for wildlife populations by restricting movement, reducing connectivity, and causing direct mortality. This paper assesses the current status and effects of fencing present in Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve, soon to be...

The burrows of the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) increase microhabitat heterogeneity and provide breeding sites and refuge for several vertebrate species on China's Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Despite their important role in the ecosystem, pikas are poisoned in China and have been extirpated in some areas. The Qinghai toad-headed agama (Phrynoceph...

Replicated multiple scale species distribution models (SDMs) have become increasingly important to identify the correct variables determining species distribution and their influences on ecological responses. This study explores multi‐scale habitat relationships of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia ) in two study areas on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau...

From March to April 2017, a total of 147 free-ranging spur-thighed tortoises ( Testudo graeca) was captured in different habitat types of northern Tunisia and examined for tick infestation. A total of 134 was infested, yielding an infestation prevalence of 91.2%. From these tortoises, 1,174 ticks were collected, a subsample (10%, n=120) of which wa...

The Asian elephant is at risk of extinction due to anthropogenic pressures, and remaining populations are often small and fragmented remnants, occupying a fraction of the species’ former range. Once widely distributed across China, only a maximum of 245 elephants are estimated to survive across seven small populations. We assessed the Asian elephan...

Sitas, N., Z. V. Harmáčková, J. A. Anticamara, A. Arneth, R. Badola, R. Biggs, R. Blanchard, L. Brotons, M. Cantele, K. Coetzer, R. DasGupta, E. Den Belder, S. Ghosh, A. Guisan, H. Gundimeda, M. Hamann, P. A. Harrison, S. Hashimoto, J. Hauck, B. Klatt, K. Kok, R. M. Krug, A. Niamir, P. J. O'Farrell, S. Okayasu, I. Palomo, L. M. Pereira, P. Riordan,...

Long‐term population studies on large mammals are rare. Here, we have examined the threatened scimitar‐horned oryx, addax and dama gazelle's populations over the last 20 years in Bou Hedma National Park. Using monthly count data of the three studied species collected since 1995, we examined their population trends. Using autocorrelation analyses, w...

Parent sex ratio allocation has consequences for individual fitness, population dynamics, and conservation. Theory predicts that parents should adjust offspring sex ratio when the fitness returns of producing male or female offspring varies. Previous studies have assumed that only mothers are capable of biasing offspring sex ratios, but have neglec...

Protection of the world’s remaining forests and biodiversity is a matter of global concern. Yunnan, China is home to China’s only mainland tropical rainforests, and 20% of China’s total biodiversity. Despite restoration measures and establishment of new protected areas, this region is still experiencing biodiversity loss due to inadequate managemen...

Species abundances across land-use category. Number of individuals of each species or morphospecies captured in each land-use category, and total species abundances and total abundances for each land-use category. (DOCX)

Species richness estimation. Common richness estimators (ACE, ICE, Chao1, Jack1) based on number of individuals captured in each land-use category, calculated in EstimateS using 100 randomization. (TIF)

Levin’s niche breadth species-pair comparisons. Species with significantly different LS mean values, based on the simplified model for Levin’s Niche Breadth. Estimate with standard errors, 95% confidence intervals, and p-values are provided for each species pair. (DOCX)

Species accumulation curves. Species accumulation curves for each land-use category, with 95% confidence intervals, using 100 randomizations in EstimateS with bias correction. (TIF)

Species abundance across bait types. Number of individuals of each species or morphospecies on each bait type and total observed abundances and observed richness for each bait. (DOCX)

Levin’s niche breadth model statistics. Summary of the null model, global model, and final simplified models evaluating Levin’s Niche Breadth, with AIC, R2 values for the fixed effects (R2m) and entire model (R2c), REML criterion, and F values. Satterthwaite approximations were used to calculate denominator degrees of freedom. (DOCX)

Loss of large‐bodied mammals across the globe through hunting, habitat degradation, and fragmentation is one of the most significant anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Cascading effects of these extinctions through ecosystems have been little studied, although correlative studies have revealed co‐extinctions in closely linked groups, with im...

The Regional Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Asia and the Pacific produced by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) provides a critical analysis of the state of knowledge regarding the importance, status, and trends of biodiversity and nature’s contributions to peop...

Predation of livestock by wildlife and the retribution responses it elicits can have strong negative impacts on both people and carnivores. A questionnaire survey designed to investigate human-carnivore conflicts was completed by 66 herders from local communities within Taxkorgan Nature Reserve, located in the Pamir and Karkorum mountains of Northw...

Riordan, P., Gilbert, T.C., Petretto, M., Craig, M.S., Banfield, L.M., Ivy, J., Senn, H., Trigui, S. & Nouioui, M. 2018. The genetics of reintroduced addax populations in Tunisia: moving towards a global management plan. Year 1 progress report. Gnusletter 35 (1): 15-16

https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/47668

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies species according to their risk of extinction, informing local to global conservation decisions. Here we look to advance the estimation of generation length, which is used as a time-scalar in the Red List as a way of accounting for differences in species’ life-histori...

Phylogenetic uncertainty analyses, including the relative importance of predictors for generation length under a Phylogenetic Eigenvector Map approach. (DOCX)

Phylogenetic Eigenvector Map and binning approaches when excluding chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii) and African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). (DOCX)

R tutorial for the Phylogenetic Eigenvector Map approach. (R)

Regression of generation length in the wild on body-mass. (DOCX)

Collated life-history data for antelope, including generation length estimates under different phylogenetic hypotheses. (XLSX)

R tutorial for the binning approach. (R)

Tutorial life-history data for antelope, provided for use in R tutorials. (CSV)

Despite occurring widely across Europe and Asia, the Sand lizard Lacerta agilis is threatened in the north‐western part of its range and had disappeared from much of its former habitat in England and Wales prior to concerted conservation action. A breeding population established at Marwell Zoo, UK, contributed to the re‐establishment of 26 populati...

The world faces a biodiversity crisis and efforts are needed to protect species from extinction. Reintroductions using source populations from zoos and aquariums offer a technique to re-establish species in the wild following extinction or population depletion beyond sustainable limits. Ex situ populations are a potential source for reintroduction...

Animal welfare monitoring is an essential part of zoo management and a legal requirement in many countries. Historically, a variety of welfare audits have been proposed to assist zoo managers. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues with these assessments, including lack of species information, validated tests and the overall complexity of thes...

Riordan, P., Gilbert, T.C., Petretto, M., Craig, M.S., Banfield, L.M., Ivy, J., Abid, H. and Nouioui, M., 2017. The genetic diversity of addax Addax nasomaculatus in reintroduced and ex-situ managed populations. Gnusletter 34: 21.

Despite occurring widely across Europe and Asia, the Sand lizard Lacerta agilis is threatened in the north-western part of its range and had disappeared from much of its former habitat in England and Wales prior to concerted conservation action. A breeding population established at Marwell Zoo, UK, contributed to the re-establishment of 26 populati...

div class="title">Confirmation of free-ranging Barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia in Dghoumes National Park and Boukornine National Park, Tunisia - Volume 51 Issue 1 - M. Petretto, A. Chetoui, C. Najjar, T. Woodfine, P. Riordan

We substantiate the presence of snow leopards Panthera uncia using camera traps within the Dzungarian Alatau range in Bortala Mongolia Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Province, China. A total of 13 camera trap stations were set up in 2012 and a total of 14 camera trap stations in 2013 within an area of 192 km2. A total of 11-15 individual adult sno...

China holds more snow leopards than any other country, possibly over half the global population. The unprecedented rate of socioeconomic change in China over the past 20 years places unique pressures on wildlife and ecosystems within its borders. Of the large predators in China, the snow leopard has arguably suffered least as a consequence of these...

Human population growth and concomitant increases in demand for natural resources pose threats to many wildlife populations. The landscapes used by the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and their prey is increasingly subject to major changes in land use. We aimed to assess the influence of 1) key human activities, as indicated by the presenc...

Model-averaged estimates of site use and detection, including their respective standard errors, for snow leopards in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve, 2014. (DOCX)

Estimation of the standard error of the mean snow leopard occupancy. (DOCX)

Simulation results to evaluate sample size adequacy. (DOCX)

China holds the greatest proportion of the snow leopard's (Panthera uncia) global range and is central to their conservation. The country is also undergoing unprecedented economic growth, which increases both the threats to the snow leopard and the opportunities for its conservation. In this paper we aim to review published literature (from 1950 to...

European badgers (Meles meles) use shared defecation sites, termed latrines, to demarcate group ranges. While some latrines are small, comprising few pits with few fresh scats spread over a small area, others are large, comprising many pits with many fresh droppings and extending over a large area. Although many studies have investigated badger lat...

Successful conservation of the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) relies on the effectiveness of monitoring programmes. We present the results of a 19-month camera trap survey effort, conducted as part of a longterm study of the snow leopard population in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve of Gansu Province, China. Weassessed the minimumnumbe...

In high-altitude settings of Central Asia the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia has been recognized as a potential umbrella species. As a first step in assessing the potential benefits of snow leopard conservation for other carnivores, we sought a better understanding of the presence of other carnivores in areas occupied by snow leopards in Ch...

In high-altitude settings of Central Asia the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia has been recognized as a potential umbrella species. As a first step in assessing the potential benefits of snow leopard conservation for other carnivores, we sought a better understanding of the presence of other carnivores in areas occupied by snow leopards in Ch...

There is a need for simple and robust techniques for assessment and monitoring of populations of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia to inform the development of action plans for snow leopard conservation. We explored the use of occupancy modelling to evaluate the influence of environmental and anthropogenic features on snow leopard site-use...

Pallas’s Cat has a wide but fragmented distribution in the grasslands and montane steppe of Central Asia. Even in optimal steppe habitat in Mongolia Pallas’s Cats occur at a very low density of two to six Pallas’s Cats/100 km2 (Ross in prep.). Their low density is believed to be a result of interspecific predation which restricts their use of habit...

During surveys for wild felids in Nangunhe Nature Reserve, Yunnan province, China, we conducted a wider mammal survey of the core nature reserve area, using camera trapping techniques. Forty motion-triggered digital camera traps had been set in oldest forest tract of protected area to conduct a species inventory. The total camera trapping effort of...

When the attitudes of local people towards wildlife and conservation are not aligned with those of other stakeholders, significant conflicts can result, potentially undermining conservation efforts. We collected attitudinal data from 171 local people and 59 governmental staff from a Nature Reserve in southwestern China. These attitudinal questions...

When densities of large carnivores fall below certain thresholds, dramatic ecological effects can follow, leading to oversimplified ecosystems. Understanding the population status of such species remains a major challenge as they occur in low densities and their ranges are wide. This paper describes the use of non-invasive data collection technique...

Accurate and spatially-appropriate ecosystem service valuations are vital for decision-makers and land managers. Many approaches for estimating ecosystem service value (ESV) exist, but their appropriateness under specific conditions or logistical limitations is not uniform. The most accurate techniques are therefore not always adopted. Six differen...

New evidence of dhole Cuon alpinus populations in north-west China - Volume 49 Issue 2 - Philip Riordan, Jun Wang, Kun Shi, Hongyan Fu, Zhu Dabuxilike, Kebiao Zhu, Xiaohu Wang

Many ecological studies and conservation management plans employ noninvasive scat sampling based on the assumption that species' scats can be correctly identified in the field. However, in habitats with sympatric similarly sized carnivores, misidentification of scats is frequent and can lead to bias in research results. To address the scat identifi...

Information about competition between carnivore species for food within high altitude regions is limited. Data collected from the Taxkorgan Nature Reserve, China revealed important interactions between snow leopard (Panthera uncia), grey wolf (Canis lupus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and their prey species, including domestic livestock. Sixty-four lin...

Bird communities were surveyed in grasslands and adjacent forest edges in 11 and 14 pastures and meadows of northeastern Tochigi, central Japan, from May to early August and May to June in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Using the strip transect method, 36 bird species were recorded. They were divided into six ecological groups depending on their occu...

In the last few decades China has undergone significant socio-economic changes, with potential negative implications for wildlife populations, particularly large mammals in rural areas, due to development and expansion of agricultural practices. White-lipped deer (Przewalskium albirostris Przewalski, 1883), endemic to China and listed as Vulnerable...

Decline in wild populations as a result of anthropogenic impact is widely considered to have evolutionary consequences for the species concerned. Here we examine changes in developmental stability in the painted hunting dog (Lycaon pictus), which once occupied most of sub-Saharan Africa but has undergone a dramatic population decline in the last ce...

How best to manage forest patches, mitigate the consequences of forest fragmentation, and enable landscape permeability are key questions facing conservation scientists and managers. Many temperate forests have become increasingly fragmented, resulting in reduced interior forest habitat, increased edge habitats, and reduced connectivity. Using a ci...

Forest ecosystems have been widely fragmented by human land use. Fragmentation induces significant microclimatic and biological differences at the forest edge relative to the forest interior. Increased exposure to solar radiation and wind at forest edges reduces soil moisture, which in turn affects leaf litter decomposition. We investigate the effe...