Trends and current state of research on greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis): A systematic review of the literature over a period of 33 years (1985–2018)

Predicted declines in suitable habitat for greater one‐horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) under future climate and land use change scenarios

“…We endeavored to include meaningful predictor variables given that variable selection is considered a vital step in SDM (Araujo & Guisan, 2006 ). First, we identified a set of 28 variables (Appendix S1 ) primarily based on literature suggesting the significance of these variables for rhinoceros habitat suitability (Dinerstein, 2003 ; Dinerstein & Price, 1991 ; Jnawali, 1995 ; Laurie, 1982 ; Pant et al, 2020b ; Pradhan et al, 2008 ; Subedi, 2012 ). We then excluded those environmental variables with correlation coefficients >0.8 and variance inflation factor (VIF) >5 after testing the multicollinearity among environmental variables using the USDM (Uncertainty Analysis for Species Distribution Models) package in R to avoid model overfitting (Gareth et al, 2013 ; Naimi et al, 2014 ), retaining 14 variables for further analysis (Appendix S2 ).…”

“…Greater one‐horned rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis , hereafter “rhinoceros”) is a threatened megaherbivore, currently surviving in a few protected areas in the northern foothills of India and the southern parts of Nepal (Ellis & Talukdar, 2019 ; Pant et al, 2020b ). In Nepal, Chitwan National Park is a prime habitat for rhinoceros (Figure 1 ) and a small population of which was translocated to Bardia and Shuklaphanta National Parks from Chitwan (DNPWC, 2017 ).…”

“…Rhinoceroses are habitat specialists and prefer a mosaic of grassland patches dominated by Saccharum spontaneum and the riverine forests on alluvial floodplains along the foothills of the Himalayas, where green growth and water remain available all year round (Dinerstein & Price, 1991 ; Jnawali, 1995 ; Laurie, 1982 ; Pradhan et al, 2008 ). The inadequacy of currently available habitat is identified as a challenge for rhinoceros conservation (Pant et al, 2020b ), and the decrease in both quality and quantity of rhinoceros habitat has been observed in protected areas in both countries, which is likely to deteriorate in future and is thus likely to affect its survival (Medhi & Saha, 2014 ; Sarma et al, 2009 ; Subedi, 2012 ). Despite its population recovery, rhinoceros is facing conservation challenges due to habitat loss in terms of fragmentation and encroachment and the problem is likely to be intensified in future due to the impacts of climate change (DNPWC, 2017 ; Pant et al, 2020b ).…”

“…The inadequacy of currently available habitat is identified as a challenge for rhinoceros conservation (Pant et al, 2020b ), and the decrease in both quality and quantity of rhinoceros habitat has been observed in protected areas in both countries, which is likely to deteriorate in future and is thus likely to affect its survival (Medhi & Saha, 2014 ; Sarma et al, 2009 ; Subedi, 2012 ). Despite its population recovery, rhinoceros is facing conservation challenges due to habitat loss in terms of fragmentation and encroachment and the problem is likely to be intensified in future due to the impacts of climate change (DNPWC, 2017 ; Pant et al, 2020b ). Although a few researchers have recently begun studying rhinoceros in relation to climate change (Adhikari & Shah, 2020 ; Mukherjee et al, 2020 ; Pant et al, 2020a ), the likely consequences of the changing climate on rhinoceroses and their habitat are not well understood (DNPWC, 2009 ; Pant et al, 2020b ).…”

“…Despite its population recovery, rhinoceros is facing conservation challenges due to habitat loss in terms of fragmentation and encroachment and the problem is likely to be intensified in future due to the impacts of climate change (DNPWC, 2017 ; Pant et al, 2020b ). Although a few researchers have recently begun studying rhinoceros in relation to climate change (Adhikari & Shah, 2020 ; Mukherjee et al, 2020 ; Pant et al, 2020a ), the likely consequences of the changing climate on rhinoceroses and their habitat are not well understood (DNPWC, 2009 ; Pant et al, 2020b ).…”