Anthropology Centre for Conservation, Environment and Development, Department of Anthropology and Geography, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2013 Jan 30;3(1):45-62. doi: 10.3390/ani3010045.
Species misidentification often occurs when dealing with co-existing and morphologically similar species such as macaques, making the study of their ecology challenging. To overcome this issue, we use reliable occurrence data from camera-trap images and transect survey data to model their respective ecological niche and potential distribution locally in Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA), central-Eastern Laos. We investigate niche differentiation of morphologically similar species using four sympatric macaque species in NNT NPA, as our model species: rhesus Macaca mulatta (Taxonomic Serial Number, TSN 180099), Northern pig-tailed M. leonina (TSN not listed); Assamese M. assamensis (TSN 573018) and stump-tailed M. arctoides (TSN 573017). We examine the implications for their conservation. We obtained occurrence data of macaque species from systematic 2006-2011 camera-trapping surveys and 2011-2012 transect surveys and model their niche and potential distribution with MaxEnt software using 25 environmental and topographic variables. The respective suitable habitat predicted for each species reveals niche segregation between the four species with a gradual geographical distribution following an environmental gradient within the study area. Camera-trapping positioned at many locations can increase elusive-species records with a relatively reduced and more systematic sampling effort and provide reliable species occurrence data. These can be used for environmental niche modelling to study niche segregation of morphologically similar species in areas where their distribution remains uncertain. Examining unresolved species' niches and potential distributions can have crucial implications for future research and species' management and conservation even in the most remote regions and for the least-known species.
在处理共存且形态相似的物种（如猕猴）时，经常会发生物种误识别，这使得对它们的生态学研究具有挑战性。为了克服这个问题，我们使用来自相机陷阱图像和样带调查数据的可靠出现数据，在老挝中东部那凯-南敦国家保护区（Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area，NNT NPA）局部对其各自的生态位和潜在分布进行建模。我们调查了 NNT NPA 中四种形态相似的猕猴物种的生态位分化，作为我们的模型物种：恒河猕猴（Taxonomic Serial Number，TSN 180099）、北方猪尾猕猴（未列出 TSN）；阿萨姆猕猴（TSN 573018）和短尾猕猴（TSN 573017）。我们研究了它们保护的意义。我们从系统的 2006-2011 年相机陷阱调查和 2011-2012 年样带调查中获得了猕猴物种的出现数据，并使用 MaxEnt 软件使用 25 个环境和地形变量来模拟它们的生态位和潜在分布。每个物种预测的适宜栖息地揭示了这四个物种之间的生态位分离，并且在研究区域内沿着环境梯度的地理分布逐渐变化。在许多地点设置的相机陷阱可以增加难以捉摸的物种记录，而相对减少和更系统的采样工作，并提供可靠的物种出现数据。这些数据可用于环境生态位建模，以研究形态相似的物种在其分布不确定的地区的生态位分离。研究未解决的物种生态位和潜在分布对未来的研究以及物种管理和保护具有至关重要的意义，即使在最偏远的地区和最不为人知的物种也是如此。
