Kasim Rafiq
My research interests concern the mechanisms facilitating coexistence within large predator guilds. I am interested in understanding the interspecific cues used by competing species within the African large predator guild to avoid or instigate encounters, and their potential application in conservation strategies. In particular, I am interested in whether space use by large carnivores can be manipulated by conservation managers to minimise human-wildlife conflict and promote conservation outcomes. Intraguild encounters, i.e. between species with overlapping niches, are costly (e.g. through loss of life and/or prey); however, little is known of the cues species use to mediate such conflict. Understanding these mechanisms will aid management strategies by informing on species space and habitat requirements. During the course of my Master’s research I will use a combination of direct-observations, experimental presentations, and remote data collection from radio collars, to investigate whether: acoustic cues are used by leopard (Panthera pardus) to mediate conflict with its two primary competitors: lion (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta); and how such public signals affect their immediate and long-term behaviour. This project has been developed in collaboration with the Botswana Predator Conservation, and data collection will take place at an established field site in the South-Eastern area of the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Position: MSc Student in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Supervised by: Dr. Philip Stephens, Dr. Shane Richards Membership: Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research (BEER) Centre, Contact Details: School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE. Email: kasim.rafiq@durham.ac.uk Education
2014-present MSc by Research, Durham University, UK 2008-2012 BSc Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK Selected Awards and Fellowships
The Grevillea Trust Scholarship, 2014 |
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Additional Information
2013 (Jun – Aug); 2014 (May – Aug) Durham University Primate and Predator Project Research Assistant
2013 (Mar – Jun) Botswana Predator Conservation Trust Research Assistant
2013 (Jun – Aug); 2014 (May – Aug) Durham University Primate and Predator Project Research Assistant
2013 (Mar – Jun) Botswana Predator Conservation Trust Research Assistant