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The Far Eastern leopard, Panthera pardus orientalis, is one of the rarest subspecies of large cats in the world. Its numbers used to be estimated at 25–50 individuals. New methods of research using automatic cameras and molecular-genetic diagnostics have failed to provide exhaustive information as well. Our work was carried out in 2011–2013 in the southwestern part of Primorskii krai: from the Razdolnaya River in the northeast to the border with North Korea in the south and China in the southwest. We chose a model area of ​​503 km2, where we installed a network of 41 pairs of Reconyx Rapidfire RC60, HC500, HC600 photo traps, high-speed automatic digital cameras with infrared motion sensors and infrared illumination, allowing us to obtain one frame per second. Information was removed from the photo traps once every four months. Two methods were used to survey the leopard population: direct extrapolation of the number of registered leopards during the year over the model area across the subspecies’ entire distribution area; and a modified method of the Capture program utilized to determine the population density, which is also based on the principle of recatching, taking into account the spatial relationships between animal registrations (Space Capture-Recapture, SECR) when using the SPACECAP program. The “effective trapping area” was determined for correct extrapolations, one designed as a variant of half the average distance between two recaptures (1/2MMDM). This allowed us to obtain a buffer zone with a width of 5.66 km. The “effective trapping area” amounted to 1023 km2. Apparently unsuitable habitats were excluded from this area. In 377 pictures obtained with photo traps, we identified 27 leopards. Ten of them were males, ten, females, and seven individuals remained unsexed, while ten individuals were unidentified. Extrapolating these data to the entire territory taken up by potential leopard habitats in the Russian Far East, i.e., over an area of 3502 km2, allows us to conclude that the numbers of leopards total about 96–100 individuals, of which about 60 animals are resident and 35–40 are young, nomadic individuals. However, given the previous counts of leopard numbers, traces of which were found in an area of 2233 km2, the overall estimate of the population is likely to be lower and will be about 60–65 leopards.

We used molecular genetic analyses to noninvasively identify individual Amur tigers and define subpopulations of tigers in the Russian Far East. We identified 63 individuals after genotyping 256 feces, 7 hair and 11 blood samples collected within southern, central and northern Sikhote-Alin, as well as Southwest Primorye. Analysis of nuclear DNA at 9 microsatellite loci demonstrated greater genetic similarity between animals from southern and northern Sikhote-Alin (some 500 km apart) than between animals from Ussuriskii State Nature Reserve and Southwest Primorye (less than 10 km apart at their nearest point), suggesting that a true barrier exists preventing movements of tigers between Southwest Primorye and the southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains.

To better understand the spatial structure of Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) at the southern edge of their range we fitted 14 tigers (6♀♀ and 8♂♂) with 15 GPS-Argos collars between 2008 and 2011 in 2 study sites: the Ussuriskii Reserve of southern Sikhote-Alin and the Land of the Leopard National Park in southwest Primorye, Russian Far East. Fixed kernel estimates of male home ranges were larger than those of female home ranges (P < 0.05 [mean 95% fixed kernel(♀) = 401 ± 205 km(2) ; mean 95% fixed kernel(♂) = 778 ± 267 km(2)]). The home range size of females varied greatly, but on average was similar to estimates derived from earlier work further north. Low overlap of adjacent home ranges suggested that females retained exclusive territories. Real core areas of females overlapped only slightly, and remained stable over multiple years. The home ranges of adult males were smaller than those of males to the north, and in contrast to previous studies, high overlap among males indicated the absence of territoriality. Nonetheless, real core areas of males did not overlap, suggesting some spatial separation. In comparison to other tiger populations and other areas of the Russian Far East, the sex ratio in our 2 study areas was highly skewed towards males. We believe this skewed sex ratio resulted in the dissolution of territoriality of males due to an inability to defend individual females, with males resorting to scramble competition for mates. Continued monitoring of these sites to determine whether shifts in the sex ratio might result in a return to male territoriality would provide confirmation of our tentative hypothesis.

For the first time, the genetic structure of a population of Amur leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis) in southwest Primorie was analyzed in detail. In 2010–2012, 23 individuals were identified individually. It was shown that the studied microsatellite markers are suitable for individual identification of leopards, monitoring the population numbers, and creating a unified database of genetic profiles of this species to solve research and nature-conservation tasks.

The possibility of application of satellite collars to the study of home range and activity of Amur tigers has been analyzed. The possibility of obtaining information about the size and structure of a home range, discerning the home range core areas, seasonal changes in the use of space by tigers, and collecting detailed data on animals’ activity and characteristics of the use of different elements of landscape and terrain has been demonstrated. In contrast to VHF transmitters, satellite collars allow tigers to be tracked even in the cases of very long travels.

Polymorphism of the nucleotide sequence of a hypervariable fragment of the D-loop (985 bp) of mtDNA in 76 Goitered gazelles of subspecies Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan was studied. The genetic similarity of gazelles from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan has been identified. The population of gazelles from Shirvanskaya steppe reserve (Azerbaijan) is unique and strictly isolated from other groups studied. A high haplotypic (H = 0.9649 +/- 0.0091) and relatively low nucleotide diversity (pi = 0.0212 +/- 0.0105) were noted for all investigated groups of gazelle based on this mtDNA fragment, which is probably related to ecological peculiarities of the species and the history of formation of regional populations.

Summary 1 Top predators are seen as keystone species of ecosystems. Knowledge of their habitat requirements is important for their conservation and the stability of the wildlife communities that depend on them. The goal of our study was to model the habitat of leopard Panthera pardus in west and central Asia, where it is endangered, and analyse the connectivity between different known populations in the Caucasus to enable more effective conservation management strategies to be implemented. 2 Presence and absence data for the species were evaluated from the Caucasus, Middle East and central Asia. Habitat variables related to climate, terrain, land cover and human disturbance were used to construct a predictive model of leopard habitat selection by employing a geographic information system (GIS) and logistic regression. 3 Our model suggested that leopards in west and central Asia avoid deserts, areas with long-duration snow cover and areas that are near urban development. Our research also provides an algorithm for sample data management, which could be used in modelling habitats for similar species. 4 Synthesis and applications. This model provides a tool to improve search effectiveness for leopard in the Caucasus, Middle East and central Asia as well as for the conservation and management of the species. The model can predict the probable distribution of leopards and the corridors between various known populations. Connectivity patterns can be used to facilitate corridor planning for leopard conservation, especially in the Caucasus, where the leopard is a top priority conservation species. Also, as top predators are often associated with high biodiversity, the leopard habitat model could help to identify biodiversity hotspots. The protection of biodiversity hotspots is seen as the most effective way to conserve biodiversity globally.

The state of animals in natural populations can be often assessed only by noninvasive methods. The use of EIA antibodies against corticosterone makes it pos� sible to reveal an increase in the concentration of immunoreactive compounds that bind to antibodies against corticosterone in faeces of tigers both after artificial stimulation of adrenal glands by injection of adrenocorticotropic hormone and after stress (trans� portation of animals). This confirms the possibility of using antibodies against corticosterone for noninva� sive monitoring of the state of the hypothalamicpitu� itaryadrenal system (HPAS) in Amur tigers. The Amur tiger ( Panthera tigris altaica) is a subspe� cies inhabiting the periphery of the species range under conditions that are suboptimal for this species. In this case, exposure to adverse factors with a higher probability may cause an increase in the activity of the hypothalamicpituitaryadrenal system (HPAS), which may suppress breeding and even result in ani� mal's death. Rehabilitation of tigers withdrawn from nature and their subsequent return to natural environ� ment becomes a relevant method to conserve this spe� cies. However, these operations are associated with transportation of animals, which is a strong stressor. With allowance for the fact that the abundance of the Amur tiger is very low (approximately 500 animals (1)), establishing the factors that endanger this species and determination of the effect of transportation on the stress level of animals are very important for con� servation of Amur tigers and development of rehabili� tation programs for these animals. The welfare of animals is estimated primarily by the HPAS activity, because adverse factors stimulate it and cause an increase in the level of glucocorticoids in blood plasma. Changes in the concentration of gluco� corticoids (first of all, cortisol and corticosterone) in blood plasma compared to their baseline level can serve as a reliable indicator of animal's state. At the same time, this method has serious limitations: stress procedures, such as capture, handling, and immobili� zation of animals as such often drastically increase the level of glucocorticoids in blood plasma of animals and leads to a bias in results, because in this case only the response to manipulations is recorded (2).