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Is there a future for A mur tigers in a restored tiger conservation landscape in N ortheast C hina?
Author(s) -
Hebblewhite M.,
Zimmermann F.,
Li Z.,
Miquelle D. G.,
Zhang M.,
Sun H.,
Mörschel F.,
Wu Z.,
Sheng L.,
Purekhovsky A.,
Chunquan Z.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
animal conservation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.111
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1469-1795
pISSN - 1367-9430
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00552.x
Subject(s) - tiger , habitat , ungulate , population , tiger salamander , ecology , biology , geography , medicine , computer science , larva , computer security , environmental health
The future of wild tigers is dire, and the G lobal T iger I nitiative's ( GTI ) goal of doubling tiger population size by the next year of the tiger in 2022 will be challenging. The GTI has identified 20 tiger conservation landscapes ( TCL ) within which recovery actions will be needed to achieve these goals. The A mur tiger conservation landscape offers the best hope for tiger recovery in C hina where all other subspecies have most likely become extirpated. To prioritize recovery planning within this TCL , we used tiger occurrence data from adjacent areas of the R ussian F ar E ast to develop two empirical models of potential habitat that were then averaged with an expert‐based habitat suitability model to identify potential tiger habitat in the C hangbaishan ecosystem in N ortheast C hina. We assessed the connectivity of tiger habitat patches using least‐cost path analysis calibrated against known tiger movements in the R ussian F ar E ast to identify priority tiger conservation areas ( TCA s). Using a habitat‐based population estimation approach, we predicted that a potential of 98 (83–112) adult tigers could occupy all TCAs in the C hangbaishan ecosystem. By combining information about habitat quality, connectivity and potential population size, we identified the three best TCAs totaling over 25 000 km 2 of potential habitat that could hold 79 (63–82) adult tigers. Strong recovery actions are needed to restore potential tiger habitat to promote recovery of Amur tigers in C hina, including restoring ungulate populations, increasing tiger survival through improved anti‐poaching activities, land‐use planning that reduces human access and agricultural lands in and adjacent to key TCAs , and maintaining connectivity both within and across international boundaries. Our approach will be useful in other TCLs to prioritize recovery actions to restore worldwide tiger populations.