James
(Jed) D. Murdoch
Position: Graduate student
DPhil. Thesis:
The ecology and conservation of meso-carnivores in Dornogov, Mongolia
Background:
I graduated in 1996
from Colorado College (Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA) with a bachelor's
degree in biology. Following my degree, I worked for Conservation International
in Washington, DC. My work involved coordinating rapid biodiversity
assessments in several countries, including Madagascar and Brazil. From
1998 to 2000, I studied African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in
the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Subsequently, I obtained a M.Sc. at
the University of Denver (Denver, Colorado, USA) that focused on the
behaviour of endangered San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica)
in California. I started my DPhil. through the WildCRU in 2004 and currently
serve as Project Officer for the IUCN Canid Specialist Group and a Research
Associate at the Denver Zoo.
Research Project
Description:
The steppes of Mongolia
harbour a unique and diverse community of meso-carnivores. Among the
species that range across the grassland and semi-desert steppes include
the corsac fox (Vulpes corsac), red fox (V. vulpes), Pallas'
cat (Otocolobus manul), and Eurasian badger (Meles meles).
These species overlap in range, occur widely throughout Mongolia, and
are relied upon by herding communities for subsistence and trade. However,
little is known of the ecology, behaviour, or conservation status of
each species or their interactions at a community-level. The corsac,
for example, is classified by the IUCN as Data Deficient on the basis
that "nothing is known about the biology of the species, its local
or regional abundance, and details of its distributions". The recent
Canid Action Plan (www.canids.org)
cites major 'Gaps in Knowledge' about the species. Similarly, details
of the biology of the Pallas' cat, or the local ecology, distribution,
and abundance of red foxes and badgers in Asia are few.
Information on the
ecology, behaviour, and conservation status of meso-carnivores is critically
needed in Mongolia. Currently, meso-carnivores receive little protection
outside of 'Strictly Protected Areas' and few measures exist to effectively
manage or conserve populations. Yet, meso-carnivores face a suite of
mounting threats that may be causing declines in several areas. Many
of these threats are associated with Mongolia's recent transition from
a communist state to a free-market economy in the 1990s. Hunting and
poaching, for example, has increased dramatically in recent years due
to a greater human presence in the steppes and wider access to markets
for furs and body parts. Some studies indicate that current levels of
hunting are unsustainable to both wildlife populations and the livelihoods
of herders. Democratisation also resulted in a new government culture
and social climate centred on developing natural resources. Consequently,
newly developed policies aimed at improving livestock and resource extraction
have occurred at the expense of wildlife in many areas. Rodent poisoning
programs sponsored by the government, for example, occur throughout
the steppes to control voles and other rodents that exhibit large population
fluctuations. Poisoning aims to improve livestock grazing conditions,
but has resulted in widespread secondary poisoning of carnivores and
greatly impacted steppe communities.
As a graduate student,
I launched the Mongolia Carnivore Project in 2004. The project is the
first of its kind and conducts research into the fundamental ecology
of carnivores in grassland and semi-desert steppe communities. It employs
targeted science to address the conservation needs of meso-carnivores
through close collaboration with local herders and Mongolian institutions.
In 2003, the project initiated a scientific reconnaissance of the Ikh
Nartiin Chuluun Nature Reserve (Dornogov) with funding from the Denver
Zoo to assess the feasibility of launching a long-term carnivore research
project. The project surveyed the distribution and relative abundance
of carnivores in the reserve and conducted preliminary interviews with
local herders on key conservation issues. In 2004, the project built
upon the previous year's results and launched a detailed pilot study
in the reserve. The study is the first comprehensive investigation of
meso-carnivores in Mongolia and marks the beginning of a long-term conservation
and research initiative.
The objectives of
the Mongolia Carnivore Project include understanding the fundamental
niche of each meso-carnivore species in the Ikh Nartiin Chuluun reserve,
their community and trophic-level interactions, and the magnitude of
current threats to their conservation. The results will be use to enact
the first conservation program for meso-carnivores in Mongolia. The
program will involve continued research and population monitoring, curbing
major threats to steppe ecosystems, and building capacity among herders
and local communities.
The project is administered
jointly by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, WildCRU and the Denver
Zoo - Conservation Biology Department. The project also receives support
from the Trust for Mutual Understanding (New York, NY, USA), Smithsonian's
National Zoological Park (Washington, DC) and Endangered Species Recovery
Program (Fresno, CA, USA).
Useful Links:
Mongolia
Carnivore Project
IUCN
Canid Specialist Group
Denver
Zoological Foundation
Conservation International
Endangered Species Recovery Program
WWF - Mongolia
United Nations in Mongolia
