Habitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China

The Great Bustard is afforded the highest category of protection in China. This species has disappeared from much of its former range, and identification of factors influencing habitat suitability can play a key role in development of conservation plans. We used distance sampling and interviews to c...

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Autores principales: Yingying Zhuo, Mimi Kessler, Muyang Wang, Wenxuan Xu, Feng Xu, Weikang Yang
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/a79a64a0d3934efd856157229f52d1d3
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:a79a64a0d3934efd856157229f52d1d32021-11-20T05:06:52ZHabitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China2351-989410.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01926https://doaj.org/article/a79a64a0d3934efd856157229f52d1d32021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421004765https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894The Great Bustard is afforded the highest category of protection in China. This species has disappeared from much of its former range, and identification of factors influencing habitat suitability can play a key role in development of conservation plans. We used distance sampling and interviews to census Great Bustards in the Tacheng Basin of western China in October from 2014 to 2016, and obtained 210 occurrence points. We then used high-resolution species distribution models to explore the role of 16 environmental variables, including a novel high-resolution contemporary climate dataset, in habitat suitability. Our ensemble model classifies approximately 3,885 km2, or 9.9% of our study area in the most suitable and moderately suitable categories. These suitable areas are distributed primarily in the north of our study area, in farmlands along the southern slope of Talbahetai Mountain, and to a lesser degree along the eastern slope of Balluk Mountain. The variables which contributed most significantly to habitat suitability include distance to county highway, elevation, distance to field edge, and mean summer temperature. We propose reducing disturbance associated with roads by conducting awareness campaigns among local residents and creating campaigns and policies to promote responsible bird photography. Given the important role of farmlands to Great Bustards, we recommend planting compatible crops and establishing a Great Bustard protection demonstration area to implement and inform others about measures to improve farmland habitat for Great Bustards.Yingying ZhuoMimi KesslerMuyang WangWenxuan XuFeng XuWeikang YangElsevierarticleSpecies distribution modelGreat BustardClimate changeLand useEnsemble modelEcologyQH540-549.5ENGlobal Ecology and Conservation, Vol 32, Iss , Pp e01926- (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Species distribution model
Great Bustard
Climate change
Land use
Ensemble model
Ecology
QH540-549.5
spellingShingle Species distribution model
Great Bustard
Climate change
Land use
Ensemble model
Ecology
QH540-549.5
Yingying Zhuo
Mimi Kessler
Muyang Wang
Wenxuan Xu
Feng Xu
Weikang Yang
Habitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China
description The Great Bustard is afforded the highest category of protection in China. This species has disappeared from much of its former range, and identification of factors influencing habitat suitability can play a key role in development of conservation plans. We used distance sampling and interviews to census Great Bustards in the Tacheng Basin of western China in October from 2014 to 2016, and obtained 210 occurrence points. We then used high-resolution species distribution models to explore the role of 16 environmental variables, including a novel high-resolution contemporary climate dataset, in habitat suitability. Our ensemble model classifies approximately 3,885 km2, or 9.9% of our study area in the most suitable and moderately suitable categories. These suitable areas are distributed primarily in the north of our study area, in farmlands along the southern slope of Talbahetai Mountain, and to a lesser degree along the eastern slope of Balluk Mountain. The variables which contributed most significantly to habitat suitability include distance to county highway, elevation, distance to field edge, and mean summer temperature. We propose reducing disturbance associated with roads by conducting awareness campaigns among local residents and creating campaigns and policies to promote responsible bird photography. Given the important role of farmlands to Great Bustards, we recommend planting compatible crops and establishing a Great Bustard protection demonstration area to implement and inform others about measures to improve farmland habitat for Great Bustards.
format article
author Yingying Zhuo
Mimi Kessler
Muyang Wang
Wenxuan Xu
Feng Xu
Weikang Yang
author_facet Yingying Zhuo
Mimi Kessler
Muyang Wang
Wenxuan Xu
Feng Xu
Weikang Yang
author_sort Yingying Zhuo
title Habitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China
title_short Habitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China
title_full Habitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China
title_fullStr Habitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China
title_full_unstemmed Habitat suitability assessment for the Great Bustard Otis tarda tarda in Tacheng Basin, western China
title_sort habitat suitability assessment for the great bustard otis tarda tarda in tacheng basin, western china
publisher Elsevier
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/a79a64a0d3934efd856157229f52d1d3
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AT muyangwang habitatsuitabilityassessmentforthegreatbustardotistardatardaintachengbasinwesternchina
AT wenxuanxu habitatsuitabilityassessmentforthegreatbustardotistardatardaintachengbasinwesternchina
AT fengxu habitatsuitabilityassessmentforthegreatbustardotistardatardaintachengbasinwesternchina
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