Simulated Spatial Distribution of the Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey’s Potential Habitat using SPOT5 image in Laojun Mountain Area

Abstract

Abstract: The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is one of the world’s 25 most endangered primate species and it is endemic to China. The Laojun Mountain Area (LMA) provides significant habitat for the monkey and “corridor” in the whole distribution area, but it is suffering from loss of habitat and shrinking population size. The spatial distribution pattern of the potential habitat distribution is very important for designing biological corridors. Despite the fact that it has been existence for many years, little is know about the potential habitat distribution in the study site. To get the distribution pattern of the potential habitat, this study is based on the “3S” (GIS-Geography Information System, RS-Remote Sensing, GPS-Global Positioning System)techniques and multiple group discriminant analysis(MGDA) in SAS to develop a spatial model in the Laojun Mountain Area (about 7,231 km2) to simulate the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey’s potential habitat situation. The study results indicated that a significant difference was found when comparing the predicated potential suitable habitat with existing. The predicated area was 6,226 km2, accounting for 86.59% of the total area, was much greater than the existing one of 2,802 km2, accounting for 38.74% of the total area, and the connectivity of the predicated one was also much stronger.