Parker Edwin J, Koyama Nicola F, Hill Russell A
School of Biological & Environmental Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK.
Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Louis Trichardt South Africa.
Ecol Evol. 2021 May 5;11(12):8014-8026. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7631. eCollection 2021 Jun.
As habitat loss continues to accelerate with global human population growth, identifying landscape characteristics that influence species occurrence is a key conservation priority in order to prevent global biodiversity loss. In South Africa, the arboreal samango monkey ( sp.) is threatened due to loss and fragmentation of the indigenous forests it inhabits. The aim of this study was to determine the habitat preferences of the samango monkey at different spatial scales, and to identify key conservation areas to inform management plans for this species.
This study was carried out in the western Soutpansberg Mountains, which represents the northernmost population of samango monkeys within South Africa, and the only endangered subspecies (. ).
We used sequentially collected GPS points from two samango monkey groups followed between 2012 and 2017 to quantify the used and available habitat for this species within the western Soutpansberg Mountains. We developed 2nd-order (selection of ranging area), 3rd-order (selection within range), and 4th-order (feeding site selection) resource selection functions (RSFs) to identify important habitat features at each scale. Through scale integration, we identified three key conservation areas for samango monkeys across Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Habitat productivity was the most important landscape variable predicting probability of use at each order of selection, indicating the dependence of these arboreal primates on tall-canopy indigenous forests. Critical habitat across Limpopo was highly fragmented, meaning complete isolation between subpopulations is likely.
Understanding the habitat characteristics that influence samango monkey distribution across South Africa is crucial for prioritizing critical habitat for this species. Our results indicated that large, contiguous patches of tall-canopy indigenous forest are fundamental to samango monkey persistence. As such, protected area expansion of large forest patches and creation of forest corridors are identified as key conservation interventions for this species.
随着全球人口增长导致栖息地丧失加速，识别影响物种出现的景观特征是防止全球生物多样性丧失的关键保护重点。在南非，树栖的桑曼戈猴（ 种）因其栖息的原生林丧失和碎片化而受到威胁。本研究的目的是确定桑曼戈猴在不同空间尺度上的栖息地偏好，并确定关键的保护区，为该物种的管理计划提供信息。
本研究在西绍潘斯贝格山脉进行，该山脉代表南非桑曼戈猴最北端的种群，也是唯一的濒危亚种（ ）。
我们使用了2012年至2017年期间跟踪的两个桑曼戈猴群依次收集的GPS点，以量化西绍潘斯贝格山脉内该物种的已利用和可用栖息地。我们开发了二阶（活动范围选择）、三阶（活动范围内选择）和四阶（觅食地点选择）资源选择函数（RSF），以识别每个尺度上重要的栖息地特征。通过尺度整合，我们确定了南非林波波省桑曼戈猴的三个关键保护区。
栖息地生产力是预测每个选择阶次使用概率的最重要景观变量，表明这些树栖灵长类动物对高大树冠原生林的依赖性。林波波省的关键栖息地高度碎片化，这意味着亚种群之间可能完全隔离。
了解影响南非桑曼戈猴分布的栖息地特征对于确定该物种的关键栖息地优先级至关重要。我们的结果表明，大片相连的高大树冠原生林是桑曼戈猴生存的基础。因此，扩大大型森林斑块的保护区和创建森林走廊被确定为该物种的关键保护干预措施。
