Abstract
AbstractAimDeforestation is rapidly altering Southeast Asian landscapes, resulting in some of the highest rates of habitat loss worldwide. Among the many species facing declines in this region, clouded leopards rank notably for their ambassadorial potential and capacity to act as powerful levers for broader forest conservation programmes. Thus, identifying core habitat and conservation opportunities are critical for curbing further Neofelis declines and extending umbrella protection for diverse forest biota similarly threatened by widespread habitat loss. Furthermore, a recent comprehensive habitat assessment of Sunda clouded leopards (N. diardi) highlights the lack of such information for the mainland species (N. nebulosa) and facilitates a comparative assessment.LocationSoutheast Asia.MethodsSpecies–habitat relationships are scale‐dependent, yet <5% of all recent habitat modelling papers apply robust approaches to optimize multivariate scale relationships. Using one of the largest camera trap datasets ever collected, we developed scale‐optimized species distribution models for two con‐generic carnivores, and quantitatively compared their habitat niches.ResultsWe identified core habitat, connectivity corridors, and ranked remaining habitat patches for conservation prioritization. Closed‐canopy forest was the strongest predictor, with ~25% lower Neofelis detections when forest cover declined from 100 to 65%. A strong, positive association with increasing precipitation suggests ongoing climate change as a growing threat along drier edges of the species’ range. While deforestation and land use conversion were deleterious for both species, N. nebulosa was uniquely associated with shrublands and grasslands. We identified 800 km2 as a minimum patch size for supporting clouded leopard conservation.Main conclusionsWe illustrate the utility of multi‐scale modelling for identifying key habitat requirements, optimal scales of use and critical targets for guiding conservation prioritization. Curbing deforestation and development within remaining core habitat and dispersal corridors, particularly in Myanmar, Laos and Malaysia, is critical for supporting evolutionary potential of clouded leopards and conservation of associated forest biodiversity.
Highlights
Deforestation, fire, and land conversion are rapidly altering South and Southeast Asian landscapes (Cushman, Macdonald, Landguth, Malhi, & Macdonald, 2017; Tacconi, 2003), resulting in some of the highest rates of habitat loss worldwide (Gaveau et al, 2016; Miettinen, Shi, & Liew, 2011)
To compare ecological niches between the two clouded leopard species, we developed a multi‐scale habitat selection model that en‐ compasses the full range of N. nebulosa from Nepal to Malaysia, fol‐ lowing the same approach previously applied to N. diardi on Borneo and Sumatra (Macdonald, Bothwell, et al, 2018)
Using the largest clouded leopard camera trap survey ever conducted, spanning N. nebulosa's full range across South and Southeast Asia, we demonstrate how multi‐scale modelling can be used to identify primary habitat re‐ quirements, limiting factors and the spatial scales at which organ‐ isms are most strongly associated with key habitat components
Summary
Deforestation, fire, and land conversion (e.g., to large‐scale oil palm and Acacia monocultures) are rapidly altering South and Southeast Asian landscapes (Cushman, Macdonald, Landguth, Malhi, & Macdonald, 2017; Tacconi, 2003), resulting in some of the highest rates of habitat loss worldwide (Gaveau et al, 2016; Miettinen, Shi, & Liew, 2011). To compare ecological niches between the two clouded leopard species, we developed a multi‐scale habitat selection model that en‐ compasses the full range of N. nebulosa from Nepal to Malaysia, fol‐ lowing the same approach previously applied to N. diardi on Borneo and Sumatra (Macdonald, Bothwell, et al, 2018). We sought to (a) identify key environmental and anthropogenic vari‐ ables influencing N. nebulosa habitat use, (b) determine the spatial scale at which each variable most strongly influences clouded leopard detection, and (c) draw comparisons between N. nebulosa and findings previously reported for N. diardi The comparison between their habitat associations, which we make here for the first time, offers valuable insights into the ecology of these elusive species. These results provide critical information to assist in conservation management of N. nebulosa and the associ‐ ated forest biodiversity for which it is an ambassador (Macdonald et al, 2017)
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