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Identifying potential refugia and corridors under climate change: A case study of endangered Sichuan golden monkey ( Rhinopithecus roxellana ) in Qinling Mountains, China
Author(s) -
Li Jia,
Li Diqiang,
Xue Yadong,
Wu Bo,
He Xiaojia,
Liu Fang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.22929
Subject(s) - endangered species , habitat , climate change , geography , ecology , nature reserve , habitat destruction , range (aeronautics) , national park , vulnerable species , biology , materials science , composite material
Climate change threatens endangered species and challenges current conservation strategies. Effective conservation requires vulnerability assessments for species susceptible to climate change and adaptive strategies to mitigate threats associated with climate. In this paper, we used the Maxent to model the impacts of climate change on habitat suitability of Sichuan golden monkey Rhinopithecus roxellana . Our results showed that (i) suitable habitat for Sichuan golden monkey was predicted to decrease by 37% in 2050s under climate change; (ii) the mean elevations of suitable habitat in the 2050s was estimated to shift 160 m higher; (iii) nature reserves protect 62% of current suitable habitat and 56% of future suitable habitat; and (iv) 49% of current suitable habitat was predicted to be vulnerable to future climate change. Given these results, we proposed conservation implications to mitigate the impacts of climate change on Sichuan golden monkey, including adjusting range of national park, establishing habitat corridors, and conducting long‐term monitoring.