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Papers by Purevjav Lkhagvajav

Research paper thumbnail of The importance of genetic tools when studying the distribution of rare and elusive species illustrated by the Kam dwarf hamster

Global Ecology and Conservation, 2017

Detailed information on the distribution and abundance of animals is often difficult to establish... more Detailed information on the distribution and abundance of animals is often difficult to establish for rare and elusive species. Here we report on genetic analyses confirming the presence of the Kam dwarf hamster 500 km north of its known distribution in China where it was earlier thought to be endemic. Our finding was made during a study on disease ecology in southern Mongolia and illustrates the benefit of genetic approaches when studying rare and elusive species or species that are either difficult to identify or do not elicit public or scientific attention. We suggest that larger ranges than currently known may be a common pattern for a number of rare and elusive species because of ineffective survey methods and lack of sampling effort.

Research paper thumbnail of Data for "Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia

Data and code used for a country-wide occupancy survey of snow leopards in Mongolia, accompanying... more Data and code used for a country-wide occupancy survey of snow leopards in Mongolia, accompanying the paper "Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia". This data contains the results of a survey of 1017 20x20km sampling units, out of a total of 1200 sampling units identified as potential snow leopard habitat (183 could not be sampled for various reasons), a near complete survey of potential snow leopard habitat in Mongolia, nearly 500,000 square kilometers, and an enormous effort by many researchers. If you make use of the data, please cite the following sources: <em>Data for "Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia".</em> (2021). Gantulga Bayandonoi, Koustubh Sharma, Justine Shanti Alexander, Purevjav Lkhagvajav, Ian Durbach, Darryl MacKenzie, Chimeddorj Buyanaa, Bariushaa Munkhtsog, Munkhtogtokh Ochirjav, Sergelen Erdenebaatar, Bilguun Batkhuyag, Nyamzav Battu...

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the past and current distribution of Pallas’s cat in Southern Mongolia

Research paper thumbnail of The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs

Mammalian Biology, 2020

Significant knowledge gaps persist on snow leopard demography and reproductive behavior. From a G... more Significant knowledge gaps persist on snow leopard demography and reproductive behavior. From a GPS-collared population in Mongolia, we estimated the timing of mating, parturition and independence. Based on three mother–cub pairs, we describe the separation phase of the cub from its mother as it gains independence. Snow leopards mated from January–March and gave birth from April–June. Cubs remained with their mother until their second winter (20–22 months of age) when cubs started showing movements away from their mother for days at a time. This initiation of independence appeared to coincide with their mother mating with the territorial male. Two female cubs remained in their mothers’ territory for several months after initial separation, whereas the male cub quickly dispersed. By comparing the relationship between body size and age of independence across 11 solitary, medium-to-large felid species, it was clear that snow leopards have a delayed timing of separation compared to othe...

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia

Diversity and Distributions, 2021

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Research paper thumbnail of Sampling bias in snow leopard population estimation studies

Research paper thumbnail of Reversible Immobilization of Free-Ranging Snow Leopards (Panthera Uncia) with a Combination of Medetomidine and Tiletamine-Zolazepam

Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 2013

Conservation and research of the elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) have been hampered by inad... more Conservation and research of the elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) have been hampered by inadequate knowledge about its basic life history. Global positioning system (GPS) collars can provide useful information, but there has been limited information available on safe capture methods, drug doses, and efficacy for effective immobilization of free-ranging snow leopards. We describe a drug protocol using a combination of medetomidine and tiletaminezolazepam for the chemical immobilization of free-ranging snow leopards. We also describe physiologic responses to immobilization drugs, including rectal temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and relative hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO 2) recorded every 10 min. Our study was carried out in the Tost Mountains adjacent to the Great Gobi Desert, in southern Mongolia, between August 2008 and April 2012. Eighteen snow leopards were captured or recaptured with foot-snares on 42 occasions and anesthetized for marking with GPS collars. The snow leopards received on average (6SD) 0.02060.04 mg/kg body mass medetomidine and 2.1760.45 mg/kg tiletamine-zolazepam. The duration of ensuing anesthesia was 69613 min, including an induction period of 10 (64) min. Anesthesia was reversed with 4 mg (0.1060.04 mg/ kg) atipamezole administered intramuscularly. The mean value for SpO 2 for the 37 captures where we could record physiologic values was 9164. The SpO 2 increased significantly during anesthesia (+0.0660.02%/min), whereas rectal temperature (average 38.160.7 C/min, change 20.0460.003 C/min), heart rate (average 9769 beats/min, change 20.2060.03 beats/min), and respiratory rate (average 2666 breaths/min, change 20.1160.03 breaths/min) decreased significantly. A dose of 80 mg tiletamine-zolazepam (2 mg/kg body weight) and 0.72 mg medetomidine (0.02 mg/kg body weight) safely immobilized all adult and subadult snow leopards (weight 25-45 kg) in our study. All measured physiologic values remained within clinically acceptable limits.

Research paper thumbnail of Detection and Genetic Characterization of Viruses Present in Free-Ranging Snow Leopards Using Next-Generation Sequencing

Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020

Snow leopards inhabit the cold, arid environments of the high mountains of South and Central Asia... more Snow leopards inhabit the cold, arid environments of the high mountains of South and Central Asia. These living conditions likely affect the abundance and composition of microbes with the capacity to infect these animals. It is important to investigate the microbes that snow leopards are exposed to detect infectious disease threats and define a baseline for future changes that may impact the health of this endangered felid. In this work, next-generation sequencing is used to investigate the fecal (and in a few cases serum) virome of seven snow leopards from the Tost Mountains of Mongolia. The viral species to which the greatest number of sequences reads showed high similarity was rotavirus. Excluding one animal with overall very few sequence reads, four of six animals (67%) displayed evidence of rotavirus infection. A serum sample of a male and a rectal swab of a female snow leopard produced sequence reads identical or closely similar to felid herpesvirus 1, providing the first evidence that this virus infects snow leopards. In addition, the rectal swab from the same female also displayed sequence reads most similar to feline papillomavirus 2, which is the first evidence for this virus infecting snow leopards. The rectal swabs from all animals also showed evidence for the presence of small circular DNA viruses, predominantly Circular Rep-Encoding Single-Stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses and in one case feline anellovirus. Several of the viruses implicated in the present study could affect the health of snow leopards. In animals which are under environmental stress, for example, young dispersing individuals and lactating females, health issues may be exacerbated by latent virus infections.

Research paper thumbnail of The importance of genetic tools when studying the distribution of rare and elusive species illustrated by the Kam dwarf hamster

Global Ecology and Conservation, 2017

Detailed information on the distribution and abundance of animals is often difficult to establish... more Detailed information on the distribution and abundance of animals is often difficult to establish for rare and elusive species. Here we report on genetic analyses confirming the presence of the Kam dwarf hamster 500 km north of its known distribution in China where it was earlier thought to be endemic. Our finding was made during a study on disease ecology in southern Mongolia and illustrates the benefit of genetic approaches when studying rare and elusive species or species that are either difficult to identify or do not elicit public or scientific attention. We suggest that larger ranges than currently known may be a common pattern for a number of rare and elusive species because of ineffective survey methods and lack of sampling effort.

Research paper thumbnail of Data for "Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia

Data and code used for a country-wide occupancy survey of snow leopards in Mongolia, accompanying... more Data and code used for a country-wide occupancy survey of snow leopards in Mongolia, accompanying the paper "Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia". This data contains the results of a survey of 1017 20x20km sampling units, out of a total of 1200 sampling units identified as potential snow leopard habitat (183 could not be sampled for various reasons), a near complete survey of potential snow leopard habitat in Mongolia, nearly 500,000 square kilometers, and an enormous effort by many researchers. If you make use of the data, please cite the following sources: <em>Data for "Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia".</em> (2021). Gantulga Bayandonoi, Koustubh Sharma, Justine Shanti Alexander, Purevjav Lkhagvajav, Ian Durbach, Darryl MacKenzie, Chimeddorj Buyanaa, Bariushaa Munkhtsog, Munkhtogtokh Ochirjav, Sergelen Erdenebaatar, Bilguun Batkhuyag, Nyamzav Battu...

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the past and current distribution of Pallas’s cat in Southern Mongolia

Research paper thumbnail of The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs

Mammalian Biology, 2020

Significant knowledge gaps persist on snow leopard demography and reproductive behavior. From a G... more Significant knowledge gaps persist on snow leopard demography and reproductive behavior. From a GPS-collared population in Mongolia, we estimated the timing of mating, parturition and independence. Based on three mother–cub pairs, we describe the separation phase of the cub from its mother as it gains independence. Snow leopards mated from January–March and gave birth from April–June. Cubs remained with their mother until their second winter (20–22 months of age) when cubs started showing movements away from their mother for days at a time. This initiation of independence appeared to coincide with their mother mating with the territorial male. Two female cubs remained in their mothers’ territory for several months after initial separation, whereas the male cub quickly dispersed. By comparing the relationship between body size and age of independence across 11 solitary, medium-to-large felid species, it was clear that snow leopards have a delayed timing of separation compared to othe...

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping the ghost: Estimating probabilistic snow leopard distribution across Mongolia

Diversity and Distributions, 2021

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Research paper thumbnail of Sampling bias in snow leopard population estimation studies

Research paper thumbnail of Reversible Immobilization of Free-Ranging Snow Leopards (Panthera Uncia) with a Combination of Medetomidine and Tiletamine-Zolazepam

Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 2013

Conservation and research of the elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) have been hampered by inad... more Conservation and research of the elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) have been hampered by inadequate knowledge about its basic life history. Global positioning system (GPS) collars can provide useful information, but there has been limited information available on safe capture methods, drug doses, and efficacy for effective immobilization of free-ranging snow leopards. We describe a drug protocol using a combination of medetomidine and tiletaminezolazepam for the chemical immobilization of free-ranging snow leopards. We also describe physiologic responses to immobilization drugs, including rectal temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and relative hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO 2) recorded every 10 min. Our study was carried out in the Tost Mountains adjacent to the Great Gobi Desert, in southern Mongolia, between August 2008 and April 2012. Eighteen snow leopards were captured or recaptured with foot-snares on 42 occasions and anesthetized for marking with GPS collars. The snow leopards received on average (6SD) 0.02060.04 mg/kg body mass medetomidine and 2.1760.45 mg/kg tiletamine-zolazepam. The duration of ensuing anesthesia was 69613 min, including an induction period of 10 (64) min. Anesthesia was reversed with 4 mg (0.1060.04 mg/ kg) atipamezole administered intramuscularly. The mean value for SpO 2 for the 37 captures where we could record physiologic values was 9164. The SpO 2 increased significantly during anesthesia (+0.0660.02%/min), whereas rectal temperature (average 38.160.7 C/min, change 20.0460.003 C/min), heart rate (average 9769 beats/min, change 20.2060.03 beats/min), and respiratory rate (average 2666 breaths/min, change 20.1160.03 breaths/min) decreased significantly. A dose of 80 mg tiletamine-zolazepam (2 mg/kg body weight) and 0.72 mg medetomidine (0.02 mg/kg body weight) safely immobilized all adult and subadult snow leopards (weight 25-45 kg) in our study. All measured physiologic values remained within clinically acceptable limits.

Research paper thumbnail of Detection and Genetic Characterization of Viruses Present in Free-Ranging Snow Leopards Using Next-Generation Sequencing

Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020

Snow leopards inhabit the cold, arid environments of the high mountains of South and Central Asia... more Snow leopards inhabit the cold, arid environments of the high mountains of South and Central Asia. These living conditions likely affect the abundance and composition of microbes with the capacity to infect these animals. It is important to investigate the microbes that snow leopards are exposed to detect infectious disease threats and define a baseline for future changes that may impact the health of this endangered felid. In this work, next-generation sequencing is used to investigate the fecal (and in a few cases serum) virome of seven snow leopards from the Tost Mountains of Mongolia. The viral species to which the greatest number of sequences reads showed high similarity was rotavirus. Excluding one animal with overall very few sequence reads, four of six animals (67%) displayed evidence of rotavirus infection. A serum sample of a male and a rectal swab of a female snow leopard produced sequence reads identical or closely similar to felid herpesvirus 1, providing the first evidence that this virus infects snow leopards. In addition, the rectal swab from the same female also displayed sequence reads most similar to feline papillomavirus 2, which is the first evidence for this virus infecting snow leopards. The rectal swabs from all animals also showed evidence for the presence of small circular DNA viruses, predominantly Circular Rep-Encoding Single-Stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses and in one case feline anellovirus. Several of the viruses implicated in the present study could affect the health of snow leopards. In animals which are under environmental stress, for example, young dispersing individuals and lactating females, health issues may be exacerbated by latent virus infections.