Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, India.
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Wildlife Conservation Society, India Program, Bengaluru, India; School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Feb 25;809:151106. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151106. Epub 2021 Oct 22.
Global land-use changes and rapid infrastructure development necessitate identification and conservation of wildlife corridors. Connectivity through corridors is shaped by species' structural, ecological and behavioral constraints. In multi-use landscapes, species' interactions with humans could additionally influence connectivity. Using the tiger Panthera tigris as a case study, we make simultaneous assessments of potential connectivity, habitat use and examine their links with the species' negative interactions with humans in central India. We assessed potential connectivity across 10, 000 sq. km of the Kanha-Pench forest corridor using graph-theoretic methods. Combining indirect sign surveys and occupancy models, we examined habitat use, and evaluated its congruence with potential connectivity. Next, we estimated spatial probabilities of livestock depredation through application of multi-state occupancy models to interview-based survey data from local residents. Habitat use by tigers was negatively associated with forest fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance. Livestock depredation was positively associated with size of settlements and areas most frequented by tigers, and negatively with anthropogenic disturbance within forests. We found high congruence between connectivity and habitat use (r = 0.80); but the strong correlation did not hold in areas with very high levels of livestock depredation levels. Our results indicate that when areas of high use by tigers are constrained by limited connectivity, there are higher chances of human-tiger conflict, and these areas may be ecological traps for the species. Interactions with humans can be crucial in mediating connectivity for large carnivores in shared habitats. Our findings present an opportunity to consolidate areas where carnivore conservation and local livelihood needs can be balanced. Our framework also provides a foundation for spatial prioritization that incorporates a plurality of dimensions, with utility for connectivity conservation of other wide-ranging carnivores.
全球土地利用变化和快速基础设施发展需要确定和保护野生动物走廊。通过走廊的连通性受到物种结构、生态和行为限制的影响。在多用途景观中，物种与人类的相互作用也可能影响连通性。本研究以老虎 Panthera tigris 为例，同时评估了潜在的连通性、栖息地利用情况，并研究了它们与该物种在印度中部与人类的负面相互作用之间的联系。我们使用图论方法评估了卡纳哈-彭奇森林走廊 10000 平方公里范围内的潜在连通性。通过间接标志调查和占有模型的结合，我们研究了栖息地的利用情况，并评估了其与潜在连通性的一致性。接下来，我们通过对基于访谈的调查数据应用多状态占有模型，估计了牲畜被捕食的空间概率，这些数据来自当地居民。老虎的栖息地利用与森林破碎化和人为干扰呈负相关。牲畜被捕食与定居点的大小以及老虎最常出没的区域呈正相关，与森林内的人为干扰呈负相关。我们发现连通性和栖息地利用之间存在高度一致性(r=0.80)；但是，当牲畜被捕食率非常高的区域中，这种强相关性并不成立。我们的研究结果表明，当老虎高度利用的区域受到连通性限制时，人与虎冲突的可能性更高，这些区域可能是该物种的生态陷阱。在共享栖息地中，与人类的相互作用可能是调节大型食肉动物连通性的关键因素。我们的研究结果提供了一个机会，可以整合食肉动物保护和当地生计需求的区域。我们的框架还为纳入多个维度的空间优先级排序提供了基础，这对于其他广泛分布的食肉动物的连通性保护具有实用价值。
