Department of Environmental Conservation

(Ph.D., W&FCON)

Project:

Distribution and population dynamics of saiga antelope in Mongolia

Contact:

bbayarbabbayarba(at)eco.umass.edu

Position:

Wildlife Biologist, Mongolia Program, Wildlife Conservation Society

Support:

Wildlife Conservation Society
National Geographic Society

Web links:

http://mongolia.wcs.org
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/bios/buuveibaatar-bayarbaatar/

Project abstract:

The Mongolian saiga (Saiga tatarica mongolica) is one of the last great migratory species of Central Asia, but their population size and range have declined dramatically during the past half-century. Declines have been attributed mainly to illegal hunting for the horns of males, which are used in Chinese traditional medicines, as well as other factors including harsh climate, habitat loss, disease, and competition with livestock for resources. Understanding the effects of environmental and anthropogenic factors on distribution and population dynamics of Mongolian saiga is critical to conservation planning of the species. My overarching goal of this project is to implement a scientific study to address uncertainties with regards to factors that regulate recruitment and space use pattern of saiga antelope in western Mongolia.

 Selected publications:

Buuveibaatar. B., J.K. Young and A.E. Fine. 2009. Mongolian saiga in Sharga Nature Reserve: Are domestic dogs a threat to saiga? Mongolian Journal of Biological Sciences 44: 285-292

Buuveibaatar. B., J.K. Young, J. Berger, A.E. Fine, B. Lhagvasuren, P. Zahler, and T.K. Fuller. 2013. Factors affecting survival and cause-specific mortality of saiga calves in Mongolia. Journal of Mammalogy. 94: 127-136.

Berger. J., B. Buuveibaatar, and C. Mishra. Accepted. Victims of fashion: how the globalization of cashmere affects large mammals of Central Asia. Conservation Biology.

Berger, J., K.M. Berger, S. Bergen, B. Buuveibaatar, A. Fine, B. Lkhagvasuren, J.K. Young, and P. Zahler. 2008. Migration bottlenecks, climate, and the conservation of Pleistocene Relicts in Central Asia. The Open Conservation Biology Journal. 2:9-10.

Ito, T. Y., A. Okada, B. Buuveibaatar, B. Lhagvasuren, S. Takatsuki, A. Tsunekawa. 2008. One-sided barrier impact of an international railroad on Mongolian gazelles. Journal of Wildlife Management. 72:940-943.

Ito. T.Y., B. Lhagvasuren, A. Tsunekawa, M. Shinoda, S. Takatsuki, B. Buuveibaatar, and B. Chimeddorj. In press. Fragmentation of the habitat of wild ungulates by anthropogenic barriers in Mongolia. PloSOne. 8(2): e56995. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056995

Yoshihara Y, B. Chimeddorj, B. Buuveibaatar, B. Lhagvasuren, and S. Takatsuki. 2008. Effects of livestock grazing on pollination on a steppe in eastern Mongolia. Biological Conservation. 141: 2376-2386.

Yoshihara Y, T. Ohkuro, B. Buuveibaatar, J. Undarmaa and K. Takeuchi. 2010. Spatial pattern of grazing affects the influence of herbivores on spatial heterogeneity of plants and soils. Oecologia. 162:427-434.

Young, J.K., K.M. Murray, S. Strindberg, B. Buuveibaatar and J. Berger. 2010. Population estimates of Mongolian saiga: Implications for effective monitoring and population recovery. Oryx. 44:285-292