Ecological Connectivity of Vicuña ( Vicugna vicugna ) in a Remote Area of Chile and Conservation Implications

Cristina Mata (), Benito A. González, Denise S. Donoso, Nicolás Fuentes-Allende, Cristián F. Estades and Juan E. Malo
Additional contact information
Cristina Mata: Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C. Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Benito A. González: Laboratorio de Ecología de Vida Silvestre, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y de la Conservación de la Naturaleza, Universidad de Chile, Av. Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Santiago 8330015, Chile
Denise S. Donoso: Independent Researcher, Santiago 8301268, Chile
Nicolás Fuentes-Allende: Fundación Sudamérica Diversa, Panguipulli 5210205, Chile
Cristián F. Estades: Laboratorio de Ecología de Vida Silvestre, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y de la Conservación de la Naturaleza, Universidad de Chile, Av. Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Santiago 8330015, Chile
Juan E. Malo: Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C. Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Ecological connectivity is key for the long-term viability of species and is necessary when facing disturbance or global change, and geospatial analysis tools are key to exploring it with conservation aims. The vicuña is an ungulate endemic from South American highlands that faced extinction risk fifty years ago and is now slowly expanding and increasing in numbers. At present, it has a patchy distribution that may partially reflect connectivity limitations, an issue which can be key for its conservation under climate change. We developed a habitat suitability model using MaxEnt and location data of vicuñas in the Tarapacá region (Northern Chile), combined with spatial layers derived from remotely sensed imagery. We then used these results as the basis for a cost surface layer, and we examined habitat connectivity using least-cost and graph theory methods. Results showed the relevance for the species of habitat patches in the Southern part of the study area, out of protected areas, and the fact that ecological connectivity relies mainly on the intra-patch and flux components. These results should guide conservation actions for the species in the area and exemplify the relevance of remote sensing and geospatial models in the study of remote areas.

Keywords: circuitscape; connectivity conservation; fragmentation; graph theory; modeling; protected areas; spatial conservation planning; ungulate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/472/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/472/ (text/html)

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:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:4:p:472-:d:1371314

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().