Abstract
AbstractAimUnsustainable hunting is leading to widespread defaunation across the tropics. To mitigate against this threat with limited conservation resources, stakeholders must make decisions on where to focus anti‐poaching activities. Identifying priority areas in a robust way allows decision‐makers to target areas of conservation importance, therefore maximizing the impact of conservation interventions.LocationAnnamite mountains, Vietnam and Laos.MethodsWe conducted systematic landscape‐scale surveys across five study sites (four protected areas, one unprotected area) using camera‐trapping and leech‐derived environmental DNA. We analysed detections within a Bayesian multispecies occupancy framework to evaluate species responses to environmental and anthropogenic influences. Species responses were then used to predict occurrence to unsampled regions. We used predicted species richness maps and occurrence of endemic species to identify areas of conservation importance for targeted conservation interventions.ResultsAnalyses showed that habitat‐based covariates were uninformative. Our final model therefore incorporated three anthropogenic covariates as well as elevation, which reflects both ecological and anthropogenic factors. Conservation‐priority species tended to found in areas that are more remote now or have been less accessible in the past, and at higher elevations. Predicted species richness was low and broadly similar across the sites, but slightly higher in the more remote site. Occupancy of the three endemic species showed a similar trend.Main conclusionIdentifying spatial patterns of biodiversity in heavily defaunated landscapes may require novel methodological and analytical approaches. Our results indicate that to build robust prediction maps it is beneficial to sample over large spatial scales, use multiple detection methods to increase detections for rare species, include anthropogenic covariates that capture different aspects of hunting pressure and analyse data within a Bayesian multispecies framework. Our models further suggest that more remote areas should be prioritized for anti‐poaching efforts to prevent the loss of rare and endemic species.
Highlights
Tropical biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate as a result of intense anthropogenic pressures (Bradshaw, Sodhi, & Brook, 2009)
We identified all mammals to species, with the exception of the ferret badgers (Melogale personata and M. moschata) and pangolins (Manis pentadactyl and M. javanica), which we identified to the genus level due to the difficulty of identifying to species using camera-trap photographs, and the Annamite dark muntjac species complex Muntiacus rooseveltorum/truongsonensis, due to its unresolved taxonomic status
For the three endemic species, Bach Ma National Park (NP) showing the lowest predicted occupancy, followed by the Hue Saola Nature Reserve (NR), Quang Nam Saola NR, Xe Sap National Protected Area (NPA) and Palé. These findings indicate a strong landscape-scale defaunation gradient for the three endemic species (Figure 4)
Summary
Tropical biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate as a result of intense anthropogenic pressures (Bradshaw, Sodhi, & Brook, 2009). Tropical mammal species are often difficult to detect because they are rare, elusive and occur at low densities Even when these species can be detected, it may be difficult to obtain enough data to construct robust species distribution models (Cayuela et al, 2009), in defaunated areas, where mammal populations are depleted. The joint camera-trap and iDNA approach open new possibilities for obtaining detections of elusive tropical rain forest mammals, which in turn can be used to build robust species distribution models. Our prediction maps provide insight into where to focus conservation efforts among individual study sites at the landscape scale, and can inform deployment of snare-removal teams within protected areas. There are no active patrols in Palé, as it is outside of the Xe Sap NPA
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
