Estimating occupancy of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in a protected and non-protected area of Nepal.

Sandhya Sharma,Hari P Sharma,Chanda Chaulagain,Hem B Katuwal,Jerrold L Belant

doi:10.1002/ece3.6198

Abstract

Chinese pangolin is the world's most heavily trafficked small mammal for luxury food and traditional medicine. Although their populations are declining worldwide, it is difficult to monitor their population status because of its rarity and nocturnal behavior. We used site occupancy (presence/absence) sampling of pangolin sign (i.e., active burrows) in a protected (Gaurishankar Conservation Area) and non‐protected area (Ramechhap District) of central Nepal with multiple environmental covariates to understand factors that may influence occupancy of Chinese pangolin. The average Chinese pangolin occupancy and detection probabilities were Ψ^ ± SE = 0.77 ± 0.08; p^ ± SE = 0.27 ± 0.05, respectively. The detection probabilities of Chinese pangolin were higher in PA ( p^ ± SE = 0.33 ± 0.03) than compared to non‐PA ( p^ ± SE = 0.25 ± 0.04). The most important covariates for Chinese pangolin detectability were red soil (97%), food source (97.6%), distance to road (97.9%), and protected area (97%) and with respect to occupancy was elevation (97.9%). We recommended use of remote cameras and potentially GPS collar surveys to further investigate habitat use and site occupancy at regular intervals to provide more reliable conservation assessments.

Highlights

We provide the first occupancy modeling based on habitat use of Chinese pangolin
The Chinese pangolin burrow detectability was greater in the protected area (PA) than in the non-protected areas (non-PA)
We suggest this is a consequence of reduced human disturbance through management intervention for wildlife conservation in Gaurishankar Conservation Area (GCA) (PA)

Summary

Introduction

Due to government of Nepal's role on species conservation inside protected area (PA), we expected that site occupancy and detection probabilities estimates of Chinese pangolin would be greater in PAs than in non-protected areas (non-PA), in response to reduced human disturbance to habitat and greater food availability.

Results

Conclusion