Measuring Landscape Connectivity for Baird’s Tapir Conservation in Fragmented Areas of Calakmul, Mexico

Abstract

Extensive, unprotected tracts of tropical forests remain in community territories of the Calakmul region, in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. These forest tracts face deforestation mainly due to agricultural development. Based on the graphic theory and using the CONEFOR SENSINODE 2.2 program, we analyzed the landscape connectivity between the forests of two communities and Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. Derived from vegetation cover and land use classification, the landscape was characterized considering Baird’s tapir habitat preferences. The indices used showed a loss of connectivity between community territories and Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, making it difficult for tapirs to move outside the continuous forests. We detected a few important nodes for landscape connectivity and a reduced number of connections allowing potential tapir dispersal in each study site. Despite the evident trends of forest fragmentation across the Calakmul region, our results suggest that the landscapes of our study sites are not optimal, but still usable for tapirs, which are able to move throughout habitat mosaics of forests and agricultural areas. We recommend that farming practices should be encouraged over mechanized agriculture to mitigate deforestation and tapir habitat loss in the study area.