Comparative Habitat Divergence and Fragmentation Analysis of Two Sympatric Pheasants in the Qilian Mountains, China

Wen-Dong Xie, Jia Jia, Kai Song (), Chang-Li Bu, Li-Ming Ma, Ge-Sang Wang-Jie, Quan-Liang Li, Heng-Qing Yin, Feng-Yi Xu, Dui-Fang Ma, Xin-Hai Li, Yun Fang and Yue-Hua Sun ()
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Wen-Dong Xie: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Jia Jia: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Kai Song: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Chang-Li Bu: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Li-Ming Ma: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Ge-Sang Wang-Jie: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Quan-Liang Li: Qinghai Service Center of Qilian National Park, Xining 810000, China
Heng-Qing Yin: Qinghai Service Center of Qilian National Park, Xining 810000, China
Feng-Yi Xu: Qinghai Service Center of Qilian National Park, Xining 810000, China
Dui-Fang Ma: Zhangye Management Division of Gansu Provincial Administration of Qilian National Park, Zhangye 734000, China
Xin-Hai Li: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yun Fang: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yue-Hua Sun: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Habitat fragmentation is considered a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Two endangered species, the blood pheasant ( Ithaginis cruentus ) and the blue eared pheasant ( Crossoptilon auritum ), co-exist in a fragmented forest in the Qilian Mountains. However, how their habitats react to the fragmenting landscape remains unclear. Therefore, we carried out a field survey in the core habitat of the two species in Qilian Mountains National Park and used the MaxEnt Model to predict their potential distribution and to assess the protection efficiency. Then, we utilized a modified within-patch fragmentation categorizing model to identify how their functional fragmentations differentiated. The results showed that the habitat utilization of the two pheasant species was significantly different, with a potential distribution area of 18,281 km 2 for the blood pheasant and 43,223 km 2 for the blue eared pheasant. The habitat of the blue eared pheasant is highly fragmented with 27.7% categorized as ‘Interior’ and 49.3% as ‘Edge’, while the habitat of the blood pheasant is more severe with 2.1% categorized as ‘Interior’ and 50.4% as ‘Edge’. Analysis shows that large areas of habitat for the two pheasants remain unprotected by the Qilian Mountains National Park. The intense grazing and human infrastructure may have a large effect on the currently highly fragmented landscape. Future measurements are needed to alleviate this conflict.

Keywords: blue eared pheasant; blood pheasant; human interference; MaxEnt; protected areas; sympatric species (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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