Elsevier

Ecological Engineering

Volume 159, 15 January 2021, 106080
Ecological Engineering

Identifying high-priority conservation areas for endangered waterbirds using a flagship species in the Korean DMZ

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2020.106080Get rights and content

Highlights

  • The Habitat predictive model for the WNC were similar for the endangered migratory birds.

  • When using the SCP model for habitat conservation of endangered birds and WNC, the selected area was similar.

  • The most suitable conservation areas identified through SCP are the Hangang-Imjingang River and the western DMZ areas.

  • WNC act as umbrella species in the Hangang-Imjingang estuary basin, so the WNC habitat protection is essential for wetland.

Abstract

The Hangang River and Imjingang River estuaries in Korea are part of the main transit route for many migratory birds that use the East Asia-Pacific flyway. Despite the global importance of this area as a seasonal bird stopover site and resting area, conservation areas have not been established in this area based on ecological properties. This study aimed to examine the umbrella effect of the white-naped crane (Antigone vipio), which is one of the best-known flagship species in East Asia, and to determine the effectiveness of establishing a conservation plan in the western DMZ based on the distribution of white-naped cranes. Species distribution modeling was performed for the white-naped crane; other threatened waterbirds wintering in the western DMZ; Group 1, including species with ecological traits similar to those of the white-naped crane; and Group 2, including species with ecological traits different from those of the white-naped crane. The modeling was based on field survey data from a citizen science project, and a systematic conservation planning approach was adopted for each species group. The results showed no significant differences between the plan for the target species and the plans for the other species groups, indicating that protecting white-naped cranes habitat can also protect the habitat of other threatened waterbirds.

Introduction

The Imjingang River and the Hangang River estuaries in Korea are part of the main transit route for many migratory birds that use the East Asia-Pacific route and are important places for a variety of seasonal birds (Archibald and Meine, 1996). The rivers are part of the western demilitarized zone (DMZ) area of Korea, and the geographic features of the area such as the sedimentary layer of the river estuaries and the vast plains provide favorable conditions for birds (GRI, 2008). That being so, endangered birds such as cranes, eagles, vultures, and geese come to the estuary of the Hangang-Imjingang River (Kang et al., 2008). However, conservation planning in these areas has been neither clear nor based on biodiversity information (but see KEI, 2003). Most importantly, there is no conservation plan for the Imjingang River despite its biological importance.

Even worse, heavy development pressures that threaten the survival of a variety of wildlife exist in the Hangang-Imjingang River estuary and the western DMZ (John, 1998). The proximity to the metropolitan areas provides advantages for development activities (Koh, 2019; Sung and Cho, 2012). In addition, as inter-Korean relations improve, the sense of expectancy may encourage property speculation (Park and Paek, 2019). Currently, the trend of cultivating cash crops such as ginseng is another threat to regional biodiversity (Kim et al., 2006; Park and Nam, 2013; Sung et al., 2016). In short, despite the ecological value of the Korean DMZ, military activities, geopolitical factors, and economic feasibility make it a challenge to design conservation plans for this area.

Recently, long-term monitoring data from citizen science have emerged as an effective means for conservation planning (Coxen et al., 2017; Gouraguine et al., 2019; Parsons et al., 2018). Citizen science data can be used widely, but in general, they are inclined to focus on charismatic species that are easier to distinguish than many less recognizable species (Chase and Levine, 2016; Morelli et al., 2017; Sequeira et al., 2014). Although flagship species concept including charismatic species has been utilized regardless of the species' status or influence in the ecosystem, it is worth examining the status of the flagship species in the certain ecosystem as the effectiveness of a conservation policy may have high relevance to public awareness (Caro et al., 2004). In this study, the umbrella effect of the white-naped crane (Antigone vipio), a charismatic species representing the western DMZ ecosystem, including the Hangang-Imjingang River estuaries was investigated.

To propose a conservation plan for the Hangang-Imjingang River system from an ecological perspective, it is necessary to consider the ecosystem characteristics with species distribution and biodiversity. The species distribution modeling (SDM) and the systematic conservation planning (SCP) were applied to generate a cost-efficient conservation plan that reflects biogeographical factors as well as various interests or costs, including social and political factors (Margules and Pressey, 2000). Therefore, an optimal conservation plan of the Hangang-Imjingang River estuary could be developed.

The objectives of this study are (i) to investigate whether protecting the habitat of white-naped cranes is effective in preserving the habitats of other endangered birds regardless of their ecological characteristics, and (ii) to establish an effective and cost-efficient conservation plan for migratory birds that use these river estuaries.

Section snippets

Target species

Cranes are known as one of the most ancient families of birds on earth and are now globally endangered; they are large and beautiful, with unique calls and complex behaviors (Archibald and Meine, 1996). Three crane species that are near extinction spend the winter on the Korean Peninsula: the red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), the white-naped crane (WNC, Antigone vipio), and the hooded crane (Grus monacha). Of these three cranes, a number of WNCs come to the Hangang-Imjingang River estuary

Threatened species characteristics

A total of 31 species of threatened birds were found over the last six years, with a cumulative population of 389,460 (Supplementary data, Table S1). The threatened avian species were classified into two groups (Fig. S1). The species in Group 1, which includes WNC, consume mostly plants and seeds and live mainly in waterbodies such as rivers, lakes, estuaries, and so on. The species that belong to Group 2 are predatory and prefer to live in forests and grasslands (Fig. 3).

Species distribution models

The average AUC for

Discussion

This study suggested that the WNC can act as an umbrella species as well as a flagship species in the Hangang-Imjingang River estuary and the western DMZ. The ecological characteristics of the WNC and those of the other threatened birds were not identical, but the results of our analyses showed that the distribution of the WNC would include that of the other species, thus helping to preserve the habitat of the other threatened birds.

The umbrella effect of the WNC may derive from its ecological

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the citizen scientists of the DMZ Ecology Research Institute, who have participated in weekly surveys.

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