Abstract
Red panda Ailurus fulgens, an endangered habitat specialist, inhabits a narrow distribution range in bamboo abundance forests along mountain slopes in the Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains. However, their habitat use may be different in places with different longitudinal environmental gradients, climatic regimes, and microclimate. This study aimed to determine the habitat variables affecting red panda distribution across different longitudinal gradients through a multivariate analysis. We studied habitat selection patterns along the longitudinal gradient in Nepal's Himalaya which is grouped into the eastern, central, and western complexes. We collected data on red panda presence and habitat variables (e.g., tree richness, canopy cover, bamboo abundance, water availability, tree diameter, tree height) by surveys along transects throughout the species’ potential range. We used a multimodal inference approach with a generalized linear model to test the relative importance of environmental variables. Although the study showed that bamboo abundance had a major influence, habitat selection was different across longitudinal zones. Both canopy cover and species richness were unimportant in eastern Nepal, but their influence increased progressively toward the west. Conversely, tree height showed a decreasing influence on habitat selection from Eastern to Western Nepal. Red panda's habitat selection revealed in this study corresponds to the uneven distribution of vegetation assemblages and the dry climatic gradient along the eastern‐western Himalayas which could be related to a need to conserve energy and thermoregulate. This study has further highlighted the need of importance of bamboo conservation and site‐specific conservation planning to ensure long‐term red panda conservation.
Highlights
Understanding how a species selects its habitat and where and why it is distributed is a fundamental part of applied and theoretical research in animal ecology (Hull et al, 2014; Manly et al, 2002; Nielsen, McDermid, Stenhouse, & Boyce, 2010)
Studies of habitat occupancy based on coarse data such as weather stations and/or landscape features fail to account for fine‐scale habitat features, which may lead to erroneous conclusions about species distribution (Austin & Van Niel, 2011)
We recorded habitat variables in each plot (Table 1), which included number of tree species, tree diameter and height, and canopy cover in each plot (A = 314.28 m2)
Summary
Understanding how a species selects its habitat and where and why it is distributed is a fundamental part of applied and theoretical research in animal ecology (Hull et al, 2014; Manly et al, 2002; Nielsen, McDermid, Stenhouse, & Boyce, 2010). Red pandas are found in certain clusters within a narrow 2,100–4,325 m altitudinal range (Bista, Shrestha, Sherpa, et al, 2017; Dorjee, Chakraborty, & Dutta, 2014), mainly in montane forests (oak mixed, mixed broad‐leaf conifer, and conifer) with abundant bamboo in the understory (Glatston, Wei, Than Zaw, & Sherpa, 2015; Roberts & Gittleman, 1984) This species has been reported from Kalikot District of Nepal (81°E) in the west (Bista, Paudel, Ghimire, & Shrestha, 2016) to the Minshan Mountain and FIGURE 1 Red panda, an endangered species of the Himalaya. The present work is pivotal for devising an appropriate conservation strategy for such an iconic member of the fauna of these mountain forests
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
