Context

Understanding the environmental and anthropogenic factors influencing habitat selection of multiple species is a foundation for quantifying human impacts on biodiversity and developing effective conservation measures.

Objectives

To determine the effect of multiple scales of environmental/topographic and anthropogenic variables and landscape patterns on habitat suitability of terrestrial mammals in Bhutan, assess the effectiveness of the current protected area network, identify areas of high species richness outside of the existing protected area, and evaluate the potential effectiveness of indicator and umbrella species for conservation planning.

Methods

We modelled multi-scale habitat selection of sixteen species of terrestrial mammals across Bhutan using data from a nation-wide camera trap survey. We used the predicted species distribution maps to assess the multi-species conservation effectiveness of the existing protected area network. We performed simulations to identify high priority areas for multiple species based on their habitat suitability, proximity to existing protected areas and overall connectivity within the predicted distribution of species. We used correlation analysis among predicted occurrence maps and multivariate cluster analysis to identify potential indicator species. We evaluated the potential utility of each species as umbrella species by assessing how well optimal protected areas for that species would protect suitable habitat for all 16 species simultaneously.

Results

Protected areas and forest cover were strongly associated with habitat use of most modelled species. Additionally, topographical features, like terrain roughness and slope position, contributed to habitat selection of multiple species, but often in different ways. Environmental and topographical variables were mostly selected at medium to broad scales. Anthropogenic variables (agriculture and built-up areas) were negatively associated with habitat suitability of most species at both fine and broad scales. Conservation effectiveness assessment of existing protected areas found protected areas in south-central Bhutan have high effectiveness in terms of both mean and total richness protected. Similarly, biological corridors in the south-central region offered high mean richness protection. Our simulation of optimal areas for additional protection found areas abutting protected areas in southern Bhutan offered high relative species richness protection. Our umbrella species analysis found muntjac, wild pig, serow, sambar and Asian golden cat are the most effective umbrella species for broader biodiversity protection. Our indicator species analysis found tiger, gaur, dhole, clouded leopard, Asian black bear and common leopard as effective indicator species.

Conclusions

This study highlights the need to protect optimally located species-rich areas outside the current protected areas. This kind of multi-species habitat assessment provides important information to optimize future conservation and development plans at national and regional scales.

中文翻译：

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在不丹现有保护区网络之外确定保护区的优先级：使用多物种，多尺度生境适应性模型

语境

了解影响多种物种栖息地选择的环境和人为因素，是量化人类对生物多样性的影响并制定有效的保护措施的基础。

目标

为确定环境/地形和人为因素的多种尺度和景观格局对不丹陆地哺乳动物栖息地适宜性的影响，评估当前保护区网络的有效性，确定现有保护区之外物种丰富度高的地区，以及评估指标和保护伞物种在保护规划中的潜在有效性。

方法

我们使用来自全国相机陷阱调查的数据，对不丹境内16种陆生哺乳动物的多尺度生境选择进行了建模。我们使用预测的物种分布图来评估现有保护区网络的多物种保护有效性。我们进行了模拟，以根据其栖息地的适宜性，与现有保护区的邻近度以及预计的物种分布内的总体连通性，为多个物种确定高优先级区域。我们使用预测的发生图之间的相关性分析和多元聚类分析来识别潜在的指标种类。我们通过评估该物种的最佳保护区同时保护所有16个物种的合适栖息地的能力，评估了每个物种作为保护伞物种的潜在效用。

结果

保护区和森林覆盖与大多数模拟物种的栖息地使用密切相关。此外，地形特征（如地形粗糙度和坡度）有助于选择多种物种，但通常以不同的方式进行。环境和地形变量大多是在中到大型范围内选择的。在精细和广泛的尺度上，人为变量（农业和建筑面积）与大多数物种的生境适宜性负相关。对现有保护区的保护有效性评估发现，不丹中南部的保护区在保护的平均丰富度和总丰富度两方面均具有很高的有效性。同样，中南部地区的生物走廊也提供了很高的平均丰富度保护。我们对最佳保护区进行了模拟，发现与不丹南部保护区相邻的区域提供了较高的相对物种丰富度保护。我们对雨伞物种的分析发现，孟买，野猪，瑟劳，水鹿和亚洲金猫是对更广泛的生物多样性保护最有效的雨伞物种。我们的指标物种分析发现，老虎，高卢，野鸭，云豹，亚洲黑熊和普通豹是有效的指标物种。

结论

这项研究强调了需要保护当前保护区以外位置最理想的物种丰富的地区。这种多物种栖息地评估为在国家和地区范围内优化未来的保护和发展计划提供了重要信息。