Browsing by Subject "HABITAT"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
Climate change challenges the current conservation strategy for the giant panda
(Biological Conservation, 2015-10-01) Shen, Guozhen; Pimm, Stuart L; Feng, Chaoyang; Ren, Guofang; Liu, Yanping; Xu, Wenting; Li, Junqing; Si, Xingfeng; Xie, Zongqiang
The global total of protected areas to conserve biodiversity is increasing steadily, while numerous studies show that they are broadly effective. That said, how will current conservation strategies work, given the current and expected changes to the global climate? The giant panda is a conservation icon and exceptional efforts protect its remaining habitats. It provides a unique case study to address this question. There are many studies on the projected loss of habitats as climate warms, but few consider the geographical arrangement of future habitats, current protected area, and species' dispersal abilities. Most alarmingly, we expect much greater habitat fragmentation after climate change. Here, we combine long-term data on giant pandas with climate-change scenarios to predict future habitat loss and distribution in the Min Shan of Sichuan and Gansu, China. We employ metapopulation capacity as a mechanistic measure of a species' response to habitat fragmentation. The results show that climate changes will lead to 16.3. ±. 1.4 (%) losses of giant panda habitats. Alarmingly, 11.4% of the remaining habitat fragments would be smaller than the extinction threshold area as the extent of fragmentation increases nearly fourfold. The projected fragmentation of giant panda habitats predicts 9% lower effectiveness inside the protected area network compared with that outside of reserves. A 35% reduction will occur in future effectiveness of reserve networks. The results challenge the long-term effectiveness of protected areas in protecting the species' persistence. They indicate a need for integrating both natural processes and dynamic threats over a simple reliance on individual static natural reserves.
Open Access
Free-ranging livestock threaten the long-term survival of giant pandas
(Biological Conservation, 2017-12-01) Li, Binbin V; Pimm, Stuart L; Li, Sheng; Zhao, Lianjun; Luo, Chunping
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd China has implemented forest policies and expanded protected areas to halt deforestation and protect giant panda habitats. These policies simultaneously encouraged local communities to raise livestock that then freely range in forests. This grazing had unintended consequences. As an alternative livelihood, it has become the most prevalent human disturbance across the panda's range. How do free-ranging livestock impact giant panda habitats and what are the implications for future conservation and policy on a larger scale? We use Wanglang National Nature Reserve as a case study. It has seen a nine-fold livestock increase during past 15 years. We combined bamboo survey plots, GPS collar tracking, long-term monitoring, and species distribution modelling incorporating species interaction to understand the impacts across spatial and temporal scales. Our results showed that livestock, especially horses, lead to a significant reduction of bamboo biomass and regeneration. The most intensively used areas by livestock are in the valleys, which are also the areas that pandas prefer. Adding livestock presence to predictive models of the giant panda's distribution yielded a higher accuracy and suggested livestock reduce panda habitat by 34%. Pandas were driven out of the areas intensively used by livestock. We recommend the nature reserve carefully implement a livestock ban and prioritise removing horses because they cause the greater harm. To give up livestock, local communities prefer long-term subsidies or jobs to a one-time payment. Thus, we recommend the government provide payments for ecosystem services that create jobs in forest stewardship or tourism while reducing the number of domestic animals.
Open Access
Reassessing the conservation status of the giant panda using remote sensing
(NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 2017-11-01) Xu, Weihua; Viña, Andrés; Kong, Lingqiao; Pimm, Stuart L; Zhang, Jingjing; Yang, Wu; Xiao, Yi; Zhang, Lu; Chen, Xiaodong; Liu, Jianguo; Ouyang, Zhiyun
Open Access
The potential of unmanned aerial systems for sea turtle research and conservation: A review and future directions
(Endangered Species Research, 2018-01-01) Rees, Alan F; Avens, Larisa; Ballorain, K; Bevan, E; Broderick, Annette C; Carthy, RR; Christianen, MJA; Duclos, G; Heithaus, Michael R; Johnston, David W; Mangel, J; Paladino, F; Pendoley, K; REINA, RD; Robinson, NJ; Ryan, R; Sykora-Bodie, Seth T; Tilley, D; Varela, R; Whitman, ER; Whittock, PA; Wibbels, T; Godley, Brendan J
© The authors 2018. The use of satellite systems and manned aircraft surveys for remote data collection has been shown to be transformative for sea turtle conservation and research by enabling the collection of data on turtles and their habitats over larger areas than can be achieved by surveys on foot or by boat. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are increasingly being adopted to gather data, at previously unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions in diverse geographic locations. This easily accessible, low-cost tool is improving existing research methods and enabling novel approaches in marine turtle ecology and conservation. Here we review the diverse ways in which incorporating inexpensive UAVs may reduce costs and field time while improving safety and data quality and quantity over existing methods for studies on turtle nesting, at-sea distribution and behaviour surveys, as well as expanding into new avenues such as surveillance against illegal take. Furthermore, we highlight the impact that high-quality aerial imagery captured by UAVs can have for public outreach and engagement. This technology does not come without challenges. We discuss the potential constraints of these systems within the ethical and legal frameworks which researchers must operate and the difficulties that can result with regard to storage and analysis of large amounts of imagery. We then suggest areas where technological development could further expand the utility of UAVs as data-gathering tools; for example, functioning as downloading nodes for data collected by sensors placed on turtles. Development of methods for the use of UAVs in sea turtle research will serve as case studies for use with other marine and terrestrial taxa.