Correlating habitat suitability with landscape connectivity: A case study of Sichuan golden monkey in China

Fang Liu, William J. McShea and Diqiang Li

Ecological Modelling, 2017, vol. 353, issue C, 37-46

Abstract: We examined the landscape suitability of the region currently occupied by the Sichuan golden money (Rhinopithecus roxellana) using occupancy models constructed in Maxent with presence-only data and environmental variables. The aim of the study was to estimate potential dispersal corridors between presently disjunct populations. Least-cost path analysis was used to estimate its dispersal paths across the fragmented landscape. The results indicate that core areas of suitable habitat are located in the Qinling, Dabashan, and Minshan Mountains, as well as small patches in the Qionglai, Daxiangling and Liangshan Mountains; the most suitable habitats are in nature reserves of the Minshan Mountain. Elevation and density of the human settlements were the most important factors for identifying suitable habitat; and we identified location of less populated areas where some suitable forest patches offer the potential for dispersal corridors for this species. The study implies that there is potential for expansion of the species distribution, if steps are taken to preserve current forest patches that maybe too small for residency but suitable for dispersal.

Keywords: Connectivity; Corridors; Habitat suitability; Maxent; Rhinopithecus roxellana (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380016303805
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:353:y:2017:i:c:p:37-46

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.09.004

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Modelling is currently edited by Brian D. Fath

More articles in Ecological Modelling from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().