# Differences in Dietary Composition and Interspecific Competition Among Large Carnivores on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau

## TL;DR

This study analyzed the diets of snow leopards, wolves, and brown bears in the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau to understand how they coexist and avoid competition.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how dietary differences and prey selection reduce interspecific competition among sympatric large carnivores in high-altitude ecosystems.

## Key findings

- Snow leopards and wolves primarily consume domestic yaks, while brown bears mainly eat plateau pikas and Himalayan marmots.
- High dietary overlap between snow leopards and wolves suggests potential competition, but it is mitigated by differing prey preferences.
- Wolves and brown bears show low dietary overlap, indicating trophic resource partitioning that supports coexistence.

## Abstract

Understanding and quantifying the dietary composition of large carnivores is crucial for elucidating their functional roles within ecosystems including their top–down regulation of prey populations and their interactions with sympatric carnivore species. In this study, we employed DNA metabarcoding to analyze the vertebrate components of the diets of three sympatric large carnivores, snow leopard
Panthera uncia
, wolf
Canis lupus
, and brown bear
Ursus arctos
, with particular emphasis on assessing potential interspecific competition in the Sanjiangyuan Region (SR) of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau. Analysis revealed 11, 16, and 17 prey species in the diets of wolves, snow leopards, and brown bears, respectively. Domestic yak (
Bos grunniens
) was the most frequently detected prey item in the diets of both wolves (Relative Read Abundance; RRA = 52.29%) and snow leopards (RRA = 25.42%), whereas brown bears primarily consumed plateau pikas (
Ochotona curzoniae
; RRA = 43.10%) and Himalayan marmots (
Marmota himalayana
; RRA = 19.88%). Although high dietary niche breadth overlap was observed between snow leopards and wolves (O

jk
 = 0.76) and between snow leopards and brown bears (O

jk
 = 0.79), potential interspecific competition may be mitigated through differential prey selection and varying consumption intensities. The relatively low dietary overlap between wolves and brown bears (O

jk
 = 0.32) implies that these two species likely coexist by partitioning trophic resources. Moreover, the substantial proportion of livestock found in the diet of these large carnivores indicates potential presence of significant human–carnivore conflict in the SR. Combined with previous findings, our results support the hypothesis that the abundance and size‐class availability of ungulate prey are key factors enabling the sympatric existence of these three apex predators.

This study elucidated the mechanisms underlying regional coexistence among the snow leopard (
Panthera uncia
), wolf (
Canis lupus
), and brown bear (
Ursus arctos
) through the analysis of their trophic niches. The findings provide a scientific foundation for further investigation into the mechanisms that maintain carnivore communities in high‐altitude ecosystems.