Classification of potential habitat of the Central American tapir (Tapirus bairdii Gill, 1865) for their conservation in Guatemala

Abstract

Tapir distribution in Guatemala has dropped dramatically over the past century, causing populations to be restricted to protected areas of the northeastern region of the country. This study seeks to determine the conservation status of the species habitat in the country based on its presence, the importance of forest remnants in system connectivity and coverage of formal mechanisms of protection. The Maxent distribution modeling was performed using 62 records of presence 10 climatic variables and terrain elevation. The resulting map was reclassified into a binary map (cutoff 0.3) and using the Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis tool of GUIDOS program, a map in which the 12 larger forest remnants were selected was obtained. To these remnants the Integral Connectivity Index (dIIC) with Sensinode CONEFOR program was calculated. From the above, classifications of forest remnants were established to determine the conservation status of the species habitat. The potential distribution model had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.815 and from the binary map it was estimated that the potential habitat of the tapir in 2012 was 26,095.82 km 2 . The Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis showed that the tapir habitat is mainly composed of core area (43 %). The connectivity analysis indicated that the forest remnants of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (Northeast and West) and the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve have a dIIC of 33.505662, 0.51311405 and 0.38876015, respectively. The remnants of larger extension and higher dIIC correspond to the northeast and west section of the Maya Biosphere Reserve and Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve. Compared with previous studies, there is a tendency in reducing coverage and degradation (fragmentation) tapir habitat, highlighting the vulnerability of the species populations in the country.La distribución del tapir en Guatemala se ha reducido drásticamente durante el último siglo, provocando que sus poblaciones estén restringidas a las áreas protegidas de la región nororiente del país. En este estudio se determinó el estado de conservación del hábitat para la especie en el país basado en su presencia, la importancia de los remanentes boscosos en la conectividad del sistema y la cobertura de mecanismos formales de protección. Se realizó el modelado de distribución con Maxent, utilizando 62 registros de presencia, 10 variables climáticas y la elevación. El mapa resultante se reclasificó en un mapa binario (umbral de corte 0.3) y utilizando la herramienta Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis del Programa GUIDOS, se obtuvo un mapa en el que se seleccionaron los 12 remanentes boscosos de mayor superficie. A estos remanentes se les calculó el Índice Integral de Conectividad (dIIC) con el programa CONEFOR Sensinode. A partir de lo anterior se establecieron clasificaciones de los remanentes boscosos para establecer el estado de conservación de los mismos. El modelo de distribución potencial tuvo un área bajo la curva (AUC) de 0.815 y a partir del mapa binario se estimó que el hábitat p...

Domestic horses within the Maya biosphere reserve: A possible threat to the Central American tapir (Tapirus bairdii)

“…The Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) is considered a Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot and has the largest tapir population in Guatemala (Vettorazzi and Manrique 2016). Monzón and Schuster (2013) reported the presence of biting tabanid flies of the genera Tabanus and Chlorotabanus in the MBR.…”