
@article {26656,
	title = {Bayesian Methods for Estimating Animal Abundance at Large Spatial Scales Using Data from Multiple Sources},
	journal = {Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics},
	volume = {22},
	year = {2017},
	month = {06/2017},
	pages = {111{\textendash}139},
	abstract = {<p>Estimating animal distributions and abundances over large regions is of primary interest in ecology and conservation. Specifically, integrating data from reliable but expensive surveys conducted at smaller scales with cost-effective but less reliable data generated from surveys at wider scales remains a central challenge in statistical ecology. In this study, we use a Bayesian smoothing technique based on a conditionally autoregressive (CAR) prior distribution and Bayesian regression to address this problem. We illustrate the utility of our proposed methodology by integrating (i) abundance estimates of tigers in wildlife reserves from intensive photographic capture{\textendash}recapture methods, and (ii) estimates of tiger habitat occupancy from indirect sign surveys, conducted over a wider region. We also investigate whether the random effects which represent the spatial association due to the CAR structure have any confounding effect on the fixed effects of the regression coefficients.</p>
},
	author = {Dey, S and Delampady, M and Parameshwaran, Ravishankar and Samba Kumar, N and Srivathsa, Arjun and Karanth, Ullas}
}
@article {13269,
	title = {Spatio-temporal interactions facilitate large carnivore sympatry across a resource gradient.},
	journal = {Proc Biol Sci},
	volume = {284},
	year = {2017},
	month = {2017 Feb 08},
	abstract = {<p>Species within a guild vary their use of time, space and resources, thereby enabling sympatry. As intra-guild competition intensifies, such behavioural adaptations may become prominent. We assessed mechanisms of facilitating sympatry among dhole (Cuon alpinus), leopard (Panthera pardus) and tiger (Panthera tigris) in tropical forests of India using camera-trap surveys. We examined population-level temporal, spatial and spatio-temporal segregation among them across four reserves representing a gradient of carnivore and prey densities. Temporal and spatial overlaps were higher at lower prey densities. Combined spatio-temporal overlap was minimal, possibly due to chance. We found fine-scale avoidance behaviours at one high-density reserve. Our results suggest that: (i) patterns of spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal segregation in sympatric carnivores do not necessarily mirror each other; (ii) carnivores are likely to adopt temporal, spatial, and spatio-temporal segregation as alternative mechanisms to facilitate sympatry; and (iii) carnivores show adaptability across a gradient of resource availability, a driver of inter-species competition. We discuss behavioural mechanisms that permit carnivores to co-occupy rather than dominate functional niches, and adaptations to varying intensities of competition that are likely to shape structure and dynamics of carnivore guilds.</p>
},
	issn = {1471-2954},
	doi = {10.1098/rspb.2016.1860},
	author = {Karanth, K Ullas and Srivathsa, Arjun and Vasudev, Divya and Puri, Mahi and Parameshwaran, Ravishankar and Kumar, N Samba}
}
