Death by a thousand huts? Effects of household presence on density and distribution of Mongolian gazelles

摘要: In late spring 2005, we surveyed Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) populations in a 275,000-km2 portion the eastern steppe of Mongolia to estimate their population size and assess distribution with respect forage human households. We estimated total 1.126 million (95% CI, 843,000–1,500,000), found that could be accurately predicted by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as an approximated measurement vegetation productivity, thus habitat quality. However, presence households had considerable impact on density; most regions, density was 76–98% lower than survey blocks where no were found. show addition large regional differences throughout range, herding negative selected habitat. The conservation ungulates depend ability make long-distance nomadic movements requires not only access is unimpeded but also subtle impacts activities associated people need considered.