Use of Human Dominated Landscape as Connectivity Corridors among Fragmented Habitats for Wild Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Eastern Part of Thailand

Chaiyarat, Rattanawat; Wettasin, Maneepailin; Youngpoy, Namphung; Cheachean, Navee

doi:10.3390/d15010006

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…When large areas of habitat are fragmented, resources are reduced, and this can lead to declines in a species' population and even threaten its survival. Fragmentation divides individuals into several parts within a population and cuts them off from crucial resources [46]. Habitat fragmentation and loss can also reduce population connectivity between habitat patches, increase isolation, alter the composition and configuration of key habitats, increase the risk of species extinction, and ultimately affect biodiversity and ecosystem health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Diversity and Population Differentiation of a Chinese Endangered Plant Ammopiptanthus nanus (M. Pop.) Cheng f.

et al. 2023

Genes

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Ammopiptanthus nanus (M. Pop.) Cheng f. is a very important resource plant that integrates soil and water conservation, afforestation of barren mountains, and ornamental, medicinal, and scientific research functions and is also a critically endangered plant in China, remaining in only six small fragmented populations in the wild. These populations have been suffering from severe anthropomorphic disturbances, causing further losses in genetic diversity. However, its genetic diversity level and genetic differentiation degree among the fragmented populations are still unclear. Inthis study, DNA was extracted from fresh leaves from the remnant populations of A. nanus, and the inter-simple-sequence repeat (ISSR) molecular marker system was used to assess its level of genetic diversity and differentiation. The result was that its genetic diversity is low at both species and population levels, with only 51.70% and 26.84% polymorphic loci, respectively. The Akeqi population had the highest genetic diversity, whereas the Ohsalur and Xiaoerbulak populations had the lowest. There was significant genetic differentiation among the populations, and the value of the genetic differentiation coefficient (Gst) was as high as 0.73, while the gene flow value was as low as 0.19 owing to spatial fragmentation and a serious genetic exchange barrier among the populations. It is suggested that a nature reserve and germplasm banks should be established as soon as possible for elimination of the anthropomorphic disturbances, and mutual introductions between the populations and introduced patches of the species, such as with habitat corridors or stepping stones, should be performed simultaneously to improve the genetic diversity of the isolated populations for the conservation of this plant.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Diversity and Population Differentiation of a Chinese Endangered Plant Ammopiptanthus nanus (M. Pop.) Cheng f.

et al. 2023

Genes

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“… Vasudev et al (2021) used the randomised shortest path (RSP) framework to model connectivity in northeast India. Chaiyarat et al (2023) , Suksavate, Duengkae & Chaiyes (2019) and Neupane et al (2022) utilized least-cost path (LCP) and circuit theory approaches to quantify the connectivity between core habitats of elephant populations in Thailand and Nepal, respectively. Despite these studies, more studies are needed to cover the specific information from various landscapes within its range and to elucidate the effects of different factors on habitat suitability and connectivity of Asian elephants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the elephant trails: habitat suitability and connectivity for Asian elephants in eastern Indian landscape

Palei,

Jangid,

Hanumant

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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Identifying suitable habitats and conserving corridors are crucial to the long-term conservation of large and conflict-prone animals. Being a flagship species, survival of Asian elephants is threatened by human-induced mortality and habitat modification. We aimed to assess the habitat suitability and connectivity of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 habitat in the state of Odisha in eastern India. We followed the ensemble of spatial prediction models using species presence data and five environmental variables. We used least-cost path and circuit theory approaches to identify the spatial connectivity between core habitats for Asian elephants. The results revealed that normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI; variable importance 42%) and terrain ruggedness (19%) are the most influential variables for predicting habitat suitability of species within the study area. Our habitat suitability map estimated 14.6% of Odisha’s geographical area (c. 22,442 km2) as highly suitable and 13.3% (c. 20,464 km2) as moderate highly suitable. We identified 58 potential linkages to maintain the habitat connectivity across study area. Furthermore, we identified pinch points, bottlenecks, and high centrality links between core habitats. Our study offers management implications for long-term landscape conservation for Asian elephants in Odisha and highlights priority zones that can help maintain spatial links between elephant habitats.

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Suitable habitats shifting toward human-dominated landscapes of Asian elephants in China

Yu,

Hu,

Huang

et al. 2023

Biodivers Conserv

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Although intensifying human activity in Asian elephants' natural habitats has led to gradual habitat changes, fragmentation, and contraction in recent decades, their population has continued to increase and disperse due to a series of conservation efforts, resulting in increased severe human-elephant con icts. The habitat adaptation strategies of Asian elephants remain unclear. Here, we used the maximum entropy models to explore habitat selection strategies of Asian elephants at different spatial scales in Southwest China based on the occurrence data. Using habitat suitability predictions, we identi ed the key environmental, anthropogenic, and climatic variables in uencing Asian elephants' habitat utilization. We also assessed the historical dispersal trend of Asian elephants and the overlap between suitable habitat ranges and human-dominated regions. The results showed that inherent topographic variables, such as elevation and slope, strongly in uence the habitat selection of Asian elephants across spatial scales and that human activity in uence is stronger at larger scales. There is currently approximately 17,744 km2 of suitable habitat and 25,590 km2 of sub-suitable habitat for Asian elephants in China, mainly in Xishuangbanna and central and south Pu'er, with 63.73% of these habitats overlapping human-dominated regions. Under the high-emissions climate change scenario, suitable and sub-suitable habitats of Asian elephants would shrink by 61% and 31% by the 2050s. In areas of high overlaps between suitable habitats of Asian elephants and human-dominated regions, strategies such as habitat restoration, construction of ecological corridors, and land use improvement could effectively alleviate human-elephant con ict and promote human-elephant coexistence.

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Use of Human Dominated Landscape as Connectivity Corridors among Fragmented Habitats for Wild Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Eastern Part of Thailand

Cited by 5 publications

References 56 publications

Genetic Diversity and Population Differentiation of a Chinese Endangered Plant Ammopiptanthus nanus (M. Pop.) Cheng f.

Genetic Diversity and Population Differentiation of a Chinese Endangered Plant Ammopiptanthus nanus (M. Pop.) Cheng f.

On the elephant trails: habitat suitability and connectivity for Asian elephants in eastern Indian landscape

Suitable habitats shifting toward human-dominated landscapes of Asian elephants in China

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