Species distribution modeling reveals strongholds and potential reintroduction areas for the world’s largest eagle

Abstract

The highly interactive nature of predator-prey relationship is essential for ecosystem conservation; predators have been extirpated, however, from entire ecosystems all over the Earth. Reintroductions comprise a management technique to reverse this trend. Species Distribution Models (SDM) are preemptive tools for release-site selection, and can define levels of habitat quality over the species distribution. The Atlantic Forest of South America has lost most of its apex predators, and Harpy Eagles Harpia harpyja —Earth’s largest eagle—are now limited to few forest pockets in this domain. Harpy Eagles are supposedly widespread in the Amazon Forest, however, where habitat loss and degradation is advancing at a rapid pace. We aim to describe the suitability of threatened Amazonian landscapes for this eagle. We also aim to assess the suitability of remaining Atlantic Forest sites for Harpy Eagle reintroductions. Here we show that that considerable eagle habitat has already been lost in Amazonia due to the expansion of the “Arc of Deforestation”, and that Amazonian forests currently represent 93% of the current distribution of the species. We also show that the Serra do Mar protected areas in southeastern Brazil is the most promising region for Harpy Eagle reintroductions in the Atlantic Forest. Reintroduction and captive breeding programs have been undertaken for Harpy Eagles, building the technical and biological basis for a successful restoration framework. Our distribution range for this species represents a 41% reduction of what is currently proposed by IUCN. Furthermore, habitat loss in Amazonia, combined with industrial logging and hunting suggest that the conservation status of this species should be reassessed. We suggest researchers and conservation practitioners can use this work to help expand efforts to conserve Harpy Eagles and their natural habitats.

The uncertain case for human-driven extinctions prior toHomo sapiens

“…Johnson et al (2017) did the same in their overview of anthropogenic biodiversity loss, when they asserted that hominin impacts extend back to ~2 Ma. These studies also accept and reiterate the argument that hominin carnivory led to extinction of carnivorans, as do many others (e.g., Hoag and Svenning, 2017; Miranda et al, 2019; Sandom et al, 2017). Reading this literature, which uncritically accepts ancient anthropogenic extinction scenarios, one might conclude that the underlying evidence is exceptionally robust.…”

Peer Review #2 of "High moon brightness and low ambient temperatures affect sloth predation by harpy eagles (v0.1)"

“…These features reinforce our premise that behavioural crypsis is the main antipredator strategy of sloths, which we suggest to be the underlying reasons for the patterns observed in our study. Indeed, the latitudinal boundaries of the geographic distribution of sloths are far more restricted than those of harpy eagles (Moreira et al, 2014;Miranda et al, 2019). Sloths of the Choloepus genus are PeerJ reviewing PDF | (2020:03:46963:2:0:NEW 24 Jul 2020)…”

Accessing habitat suitability and connectivity for the westernmost population of Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus, Blanford, 1877) based on climate changes scenarios in Iran

“…By creating the intermediate models, these models identify areas suitable for recording pseudo-absence points. Since false pseudo-absence points can affect the outputs [92], to increase the accuracy of pseudoabsence records, the output of presence-only models was used [93]. This is more standard than the other methods of preparing pseudo-absence points [91].…”