Habitat suitability models of mountain ungulates: identifying potential areas for conservation

Prakash Kumar Paudel,Martin Hais,Pavel Kindlmann

doi:10.1186/s40555-015-0116-9

Abstract

Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental part of conservation planning. We used slope and ruggedness of the terrain, forest type and distance to the nearest village to construct habitat suitability maps for three mountain ungulates (barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) and Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar)) inthe midhills of western Nepal. We used locations of sightings and signs of presence of these mountain ungulates collected during surveys along transect to derive a suitability value for each variable using Jacob's index. A multiplication approach was used to combine environmental variables andproduce a habitat suitability map for each of the three species. An independent dataset was used to evaluate the maps using Boyce's index. This approach provides an overview of the probable distributions of the species in question. We predict that of the total area studied, 57% is suitable for M. muntjak, 67% for N. goral and 41% for C. thar. Although there are suitable habitats for all three species throughout the study area, the availability of high-quality habitats for these species varied considerably. Suitable habitats for N. goral and C. thar were fragmented and mostly confined to the southern and northern parts of the study area. This study provides important baseline information for conservation biologists concerned with maintaining biodiversity in the midhills of Nepal.

Highlights

Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental part of conservation planning
It is important to maintain critical wildlife habitats (Poiani et al 2000; Sala et al 2000) and establish what determines the present distribution of species, which is especially difficult in mountainous areas and when species population density is low (Gibson et al 2004)
Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), which was once common in the midhills of Nepal, is extinct there because of habitat loss and hunting (Green 1979), and Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar) is confined to remote forest areas on the slopes of mountains (Wegge and Oli 1997; Paudel and Kindlmann 2012b)

Summary

Introduction

Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental part of conservation planning. An independent dataset was used to evaluate the maps using Boyce’s index This approach provides an overview of the probable distributions of the species in question. The midhills in Nepal are an intermediary landscape between low-lying Tarai in the south and Himalayan region in the north This region harbours the highest species diversity in the country (Paudel et al 2012; Primack et al 2013). Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), which was once common in the midhills of Nepal, is extinct there because of habitat loss and hunting (Green 1979), and Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar) is confined to remote forest areas on the slopes of mountains (Wegge and Oli 1997; Paudel and Kindlmann 2012b). Because of the remoteness and inaccessibility, the distributions of most species in this region are unknown

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