A Synthesis of Giant Panda Habitat Selection
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A synthesis of giant panda habitat selection Author(s): Vanessa Hull, Gary Roloff, Jindong Zhang, Wei Liu, Shiqiang Zhou, Jinyan Huang, Weihua Xu, Zhiyun Ouyang, Hemin Zhang, and Jianguo Liu Source: Ursus, 25(2):148-162. 2014. Published By: International Association for Bear Research and Management DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-13-00011.1 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2192/URSUS-D-13-00011.1 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. 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A synthesis of giant panda habitat selection Vanessa Hull1,7, Gary Roloff2, Jindong Zhang1,3,4, Wei Liu1,5, Shiqiang Zhou6, Jinyan Huang6, Weihua Xu3, Zhiyun Ouyang3, Hemin Zhang6, and Jianguo Liu1 1Center For Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 2Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 3State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China 4Institute of Rare Animals and Plants, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China 5International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria 6China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Wolong Nature Reserve, Sichuan, 623006, China Abstract: The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a global conservation icon, but its habitat selection patterns are poorly understood. We synthesized previous studies on giant panda habitat selection. We confirmed that pandas generally selected forests with moderate to high bamboo densities, mid-elevations, both primary and secondary forests, and areas more distant from human activities. Pandas did not select steep slopes. We also highlighted the interactive effects among different habitat components, such as weaker selection for gentle slope and large patch size in disturbed secondary forests compared with primary forests. Pandas selected for land cover and disturbance at the level of the geographic range and selected for variables such as slope and bamboo density at the level of the home range. Furthermore, selection for higher bamboo cover did not change with bamboo availability, but selection against secondary forest declined as availability of this forest type increased. Our results have implications for the conservation of pandas, particularly the need for inclusion of areas previously seen as less suitable (e.g., moderate slopes and secondary forest) in protected area and habitat restoration planning. Key words: Ailuropoda melanoleuca, bamboo, China, conservation, coupled human and natural system, forest, giant panda, habitat selection, wildlife DOI: 10.2192/URSUS-D-13-00011.1 Ursus 25(2):148–162 (2014) The study of habitat has important implications explicitly addressed habitat selection (i.e., use as a for understanding resource needs and ongoing function of availability). Habitat selection studies are threats to the most endangered ursid in the world, needed to better understand how pandas prioritize the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Various where to spend time, given limited available options. habitat factors have been explored, including char- Giant pandas are currently found in the forests of acteristics of the geophysical environment (e.g., southwestern China. They are part of coupled elevation, topographic slope, and aspect; Schaller human and natural systems (Liu et al. 2007, Liu et al. 1985, Liu et al. 1999), vegetation structure (e.g., et al. 2013). Human impacts have relegated the bamboo and tree cover; Reid and Hu 1991, Vin˜a remaining 1,600 wild giant pandas to small and et al. 2008, Tuanmu et al. 2011), natural disturbances fragmented areas totaling roughly 21,300 km2 (State (Linderman et al. 2006, Vin˜a et al. 2011), and human Forestry Administration 2006, Vin˜a et al. 2010). impacts (e.g., timber harvesting, livestock grazing; Pandas were once distributed throughout the low- Liu et al. 2001, Pan et al. 2001, Hull et al. 2011b). lands of western China, but today are limited to a Generally, studies to date have focused on habitat fraction of their historical range in 6 fragmented, use (i.e., panda occupancy of a given area with mountainous regions (Wei et al. 2012). Panda habi- certain environmental conditions) and few have tat is currently being managed to help sustain the population, including via creation of nature re- 7email: [email protected] serves and implementation of payments for ecosystem 148 GIANT PANDA HABITAT SELECTION N Hull et al. 149 services programs that recruit locals for forest moni- Habitat availability characterized by variables such toring and re-plantation (Liu et al. 2008, Vina et al. as slope, aspect, elevation, and forest disturbance 2010). varies considerably across the geographic range of The giant panda is a specialist species, with pandas (Zhang and Hu 2000, Hu and Wei 2004, Yang bamboo comprising about 99% of its diet (Schaller et al. 2006). Panda habitats tend to occur as multi- et al. 1985). Pandas consume .60 bamboo species ple insular areas associated with different mountain across their range (Hu and Wei 2004) and forage for ranges. For instance, panda habitat in the Qinling up to 14 hours/day (Schaller et al. 1985). Despite mountain range tends to occur at lower elevations and possessing specialized enzymes for digesting cellulose is flatter when compared with the rest of panda range in the gut (Zhu et al. 2011), pandas have a short, due to both natural and human factors (Hu and Wei carnivorous digestive tract that lacks compartments 2004, Tuanmu et al. 2012). Hu and Wei (2004) and for rumination, so passage rates are high (Schaller Wang et al. (2010) also noted that the available et al. 1985). Nutrient uptake is also low due to the habitat in the Xiangling mountain ranges was more low nutrient quality of bamboo (Schaller et al. 1985). fragmented than habitats in the rest of panda range. This limitation means that pandas need to be highly Although several authors have identified differences in selective when choosing habitats to fulfill their habitat availability throughout the range of pandas, foraging needs. quantitative studies on selection of those habitats are Panda habitat is mixed coniferous–deciduous lacking (but see Zhang and Hu 2000 for a comparison forest with bamboo dominating the understory (up between Dafengding and Yele reserves). to 90% of the understory cover) with a varying mid- We sought to better understand panda–habitat and overstory tree species mix and structure (Bearer relationships by synthesizing existing studies, empha- et al. 2008). These assemblages provide opportunities sizing habitat selection. To our knowledge, this is the for pandas to use diverse bamboo species, ages, and first effort at quantitatively analyzing findings across plant parts as environmental conditions change the available panda habitat-selection studies. In doing (Reid et al. 1989). The high availability of bamboo so, we characterized selection by giant pandas with throughout the mountain ranges in southwestern respect to available geophysical, vegetation, and dis- China allows pandas to occur at higher densities turbance conditions. We also synthesized the com- than many other bear species throughout the world plexities of the habitat selection process for pandas: (1) (Garshelis 2004). multivariate effects, (2) interactions among different Whereas giant panda reliance on bamboo is well- habitat factors, and (3) variation in selection across documented, other elements of panda habitat habitat selection levels (from geographic range to selection are not well-understood (Liu et al. 2005, within-home range; Johnson 1980). Exploration of Hull et al. 2011a). Pandas occupy remote, inacces- habitat selection complexities is needed because most sible areas with thick vegetation, making research previous panda research focused on single-variable logistically difficult. Additionally, the Chinese gov- relationships at one selection level, thus potentially ernment imposed an 11-year ban (1995–2006) on oversimplifying the habitat selection process for this telemetry-based tracking of giant pandas for animal species. We conclude with a discussion of current safety reasons (Durnin et al. 2004). Yang et al. weaknesses and future directions for research on giant (2006) has summarized panda habitat-selection panda habitat selection that could facilitate conserva- patterns from published studies, but the authors tion planning for this species. did not present a quantitative analysis and also did not differentiate habitat selection and use, thus confounding the