Suitable habitat prediction and overlap analysis of two sympatric species, giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in Liangshan Mountains

doi:10.17520/biods.2018167

Abstract

Abstract:

Understanding spatial distribution and habitat overlap of sympatric species is essential to developing integrated policies for conserving species and regional biodiversity. This study combined data from the 4th National Survey of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and long-term field survey. We used the Maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to predict the distributions of two sympatric bears, the giant panda and Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in Liangshan Mountains. Based on spatial distribution of two species, we measured habitat fragmentation and spatial overlap of habitat use, and assessed environmental requirements of both species. Our results indicated that: (1) both species had similar distributions of suitable habitats, both were mainly distributed on the ridges of Liangshan Mountains. The suitable habitat area of giant panda and black bear were 1,383.84 km²and 2,411.49 km², respectively. (2) The habitats of both species were fragmented and separated into many patches. However, habitat connectivity for the black bear was better than for giant panda. (3) Niche overlap indices, calculated by ENMTools, showed that two species have high overlap in their ecological niche (D = 0.654 and I = 0.901). The overlapping habitat comprised 958.29 km² of the study area, which contained 69.25% of giant panda habitat and 39.74% of black bear habitat. (4) We used permutation techniques to estimate the importance of environmental variables in the MaxEnt model. Distance to residents and altitude were the most influential predictors for both species. Vegetation types and mean temperature of coldest quarter were the third and fourth important predictor for giant panda, while annual maximum enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and distance to roads was important for the black bear. To protect these two species more effectively, a series of measures have to be adopted, such as strengthening vegetation restoration, controlling disturbance, and enhancing connectivity between habitat patches. We recommend that a systematic, multi-species conservation plan should be developed.

http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/detail/html/SWDY201811005

Key words: giant panda, Asiatic black bear, MaxEnt, conservation, sympatry, Liangshan Mountains

Meixiang He, Lixin Chen, Gai Luo, Xiaodong Gu, Ge Wang, Jianghong Ran. Suitable habitat prediction and overlap analysis of two sympatric species, giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in Liangshan Mountains[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2018, 26(11): 1180-1189.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2018167

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2018/V26/I11/1180

Figures/Tables 7

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景观指数 Landscape pattern index	大熊猫 Ailuropoda melanoleuca	黑熊 Ursus thibetanus
斑块数目 Number of patches (NP)	5,340	5,983
斑块密度 Patch density (PD, ind./km²)	0.340	0.381
平均斑块面积 Mean patch size (MPS, km²)	0.26	0.40
最大斑块面积 Largest patch size (LPS, km²)	339.535	1,115.759
最大斑块指数 Largest patch index (LPI, %)	2.160	7.097
斑块结合度指数 Patch cohesion index (COHESION)	99.506	99.822
分割指数 Segmentation index (DIVISION)	0.999	0.994
分离度指数 Separation index (SPLIT)	1,552.672	166.004

景观指数 Landscape pattern index	大熊猫 Ailuropoda melanoleuca	黑熊 Ursus thibetanus
斑块数目 Number of patches (NP)	5,340	5,983
斑块密度 Patch density (PD, ind./km²)	0.340	0.381
平均斑块面积 Mean patch size (MPS, km²)	0.26	0.40
最大斑块面积 Largest patch size (LPS, km²)	339.535	1,115.759
最大斑块指数 Largest patch index (LPI, %)	2.160	7.097
斑块结合度指数 Patch cohesion index (COHESION)	99.506	99.822
分割指数 Segmentation index (DIVISION)	0.999	0.994
分离度指数 Separation index (SPLIT)	1,552.672	166.004

区县 County	大熊猫适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of giant panda (km²)	黑熊适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of black bear (km²)	重叠的栖息地 Overlap habitat
区县 County	大熊猫适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of giant panda (km²)	黑熊适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of black bear (km²)	面积 Area (km²)	占大熊猫适宜生境比例 Percent of giant panda suitable habitat area (%)	占黑熊适宜生境比例 Percent of black bear suitable habitat area (%)
峨边县 Ebian County	459.81	846.91	369.38	80.33	43.62
金口河区 Jinkouhe District	12.73	66.68	11.18	87.83	16.77
甘洛县 Ganluo County	159.94	254.95	105.10	65.71	41.22
马边县 Mabian County	155.45	492.47	129.16	83.09	26.23
沐川县 Muchuan County	0	15.64	0	-	0
屏山县 Pingshan County	0	32.50	0	-	0
美姑县 Meigu County	290.02	239.89	175.86	60.64	73.31
雷波县 Leibo County	214.56	427.38	148.41	69.17	34.73
越西县 Yuexi County	91.33	35.07	19.20	21.02	54.74
总计 Total	1,383.84	2,411.49	958.29	69.25	39.74

区县 County	大熊猫适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of giant panda (km²)	黑熊适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of black bear (km²)	重叠的栖息地 Overlap habitat
区县 County	大熊猫适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of giant panda (km²)	黑熊适宜生境面积 Suitable habitat area of black bear (km²)	面积 Area (km²)	占大熊猫适宜生境比例 Percent of giant panda suitable habitat area (%)	占黑熊适宜生境比例 Percent of black bear suitable habitat area (%)
峨边县 Ebian County	459.81	846.91	369.38	80.33	43.62
金口河区 Jinkouhe District	12.73	66.68	11.18	87.83	16.77
甘洛县 Ganluo County	159.94	254.95	105.10	65.71	41.22
马边县 Mabian County	155.45	492.47	129.16	83.09	26.23
沐川县 Muchuan County	0	15.64	0	-	0
屏山县 Pingshan County	0	32.50	0	-	0
美姑县 Meigu County	290.02	239.89	175.86	60.64	73.31
雷波县 Leibo County	214.56	427.38	148.41	69.17	34.73
越西县 Yuexi County	91.33	35.07	19.20	21.02	54.74
总计 Total	1,383.84	2,411.49	958.29	69.25	39.74

环境因子 Variables	大熊猫 Ailuropoda melanoleuca	黑熊 Ursus thibetanus	环境因子 Variables	大熊猫 Ailuropoda melanoleuca	黑熊 Ursus thibetanus
距居民点距离 Distance to residents	31.8	59.7	坡度 Slope	4.2	1.7
距道路距离 Distance to roads	4.9	6.4	坡向 Aspect	1.5	2.3
植被类型 Vegetation types	10.9	2.5	坡位 Position on slope	1.1	2.8
年最大EVI指数 Annual maximum EVI	1.9	6.9	距河流距离 Distance to rivers	2.8	1.6
年平均EVI指数 Annual average EVI	1.7	1.4	最干季降水量 Percipitation of driest quarter (Bio17)	4.8	3.7
海拔 Altitude	26.4	9.6	最冷季均温 Mean temperature of coldest quarter (Bio11)	8	1.5