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INTRO:

For the long-term survival of mammalian carnivores in India, the species cannot rely on protected areas alone, but they have to be able to use human-dominated landscapes as well. The presence and activities of humans influence the spatial and temporal segregation of apex and mesopredators, which affects the interplay between different predator species and their prey. For effective conservation strategies, an understanding of how human presence affects multi-species systems is essential.

MERITS:

India has a dense human population, which influences large carnivores in a multitude of ways. Often in protected areas, tigers are studied intensively, while other species recieve less attention. In this paper, the authors look at a multi-species system, changing focus from single species to processes. In this way, the study contributes to the conservation of carnivore species, as it highlights a way of exploring how this could be done in human-dominated landscapes.

CRITIQUE:

It is not very clear how the findings of the paper can be used in real life carnivore conservation. Prioritisation areas are mentioned, but it is not explained what those are and how they could be used.

DISCUSSION:

During recent years it has become increasingly obvious that we need to look holistically at multi-species predator-prey systems, rather than studying the species one by one. In many places, the human population increases and when humans and carnivores share landscapes, often conflicts occur. The current study can increase our understanding of how we could study and conserve diverse systems of predators and their prey in India.

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INTRO:

Mammalian carnivore populations have declined worldwide and is a real challenge for conservation. India is a perfect example of a developing country where protected areas are becoming more isolated and often fail to accommodate the large ranges of wild carnivores, which increase human-carnivore interactions. Therefore, human activity influences the activity patterns of predators depending on their feeding habits and habitat use. 

MERITS:

The methodology is based in a motion-detecting camera trap sampling along an extensive area of 1700 sq.km with a gradient of human use.

CRITIQUE:

The methods section is perhaps to short and it may help to gives more details about the procedure. In addition, it may be interesting to emphasize the importance of the study area, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. Finally, the study focusses on predators, but there are some prey references. that could be misleading.

DISCUSSION:

The importance of the study relays on the comparison of spatio-temporal dynamics of large and meso-predators in disturbed landscapes and how these interactions will define future effective conservation strategies. It may be interesting to compare the results with other studies carried out in other areas in India.