Synergistic effects of anthropogenic disturbances on giant pandas

Livestock grazing and the collection of bamboo shoots are the main threats to giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat in the Liangshan Mountains in China. It is important to clarify the effect of these disturbances to the giant panda to formulate targeted management policies. Based on species d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 2024-04, Vol.88 (3), p.n/a
Main Authors: Pu, Guanhua, Feng, Bin, Huang, Yaohua, Zhang, Jindong, Yin, Huakang, Yang, Shuai, Fu, Liqiang, Zhou, Caiquan, Bai, Wenke
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
activity rhythm
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Anthropogenic factors
Bamboo
Collection
collection of bamboo shoots
Conservation practices
Disturbances
Environmental policy
Geographical distribution
Grazing
Habitat preferences
habitat suitability
Habitats
Liangshan Mountains
Livestock
Livestock grazing
Mountains
Pandas
Policies
Population distribution
Shoots
Synergistic effect
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife management
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Livestock grazing and the collection of bamboo shoots are the main threats to giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat in the Liangshan Mountains in China. It is important to clarify the effect of these disturbances to the giant panda to formulate targeted management policies. Based on species distribution models and daily activity models, we investigated the effects of livestock grazing and bamboo shoot collection on giant pandas from May 2021 to July 2022. Our results indicated the giant panda's suitable habitat in the reserve covered 51.83 km2 (15.02% of the reserve area). Grazing and bamboo shoot collection led to losses of 19.08 km2 and 7.68 km2 of suitable habitat, respectively. Together, the 2 activities resulted in a loss of 28.35 km2 of suitable habitat, which was more than half of the area of panda habitat. The areas of suitable habitat for giant pandas significantly overlapped with the areas affected by both disturbances. Giant pandas did not show significant differences in daily activity rhythms under a single disturbance, but the daily activity rhythms of giant pandas differed when we compared the area combining the 2 disturbances with the undisturbed area. Our study reveals that the anthropogenic disturbances in the reserve have varying effects on the suitable habitat range and daily activity rhythm of giant pandas and evidence of a synergistic effect. Therefore, when formulating relevant conservation policies, it is important to fully evaluate the extent and characteristics of anthropogenic disturbances in shaping the population distribution and habitat preferences of the giant panda and other wildlife to enhance the efficacy of conservation management practices. This study employed a species distribution model and a daily activity model to quantify variations in the potential suitable habitat and daily activity rhythms of giant pandas in response to anthropogenic disturbance. We evaluated the degree to which different disturbances affect giant pandas and determined if the combined effects of multiple disturbances produced a compounded impact.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.1002/jwmg.22555