Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon
Across the planet, biodiversity is facing ever-growing threats including habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation, and pollution. Pangolins of the order Pholidota are the only scaly mammal species worldwide and are considered the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, being widely exploite...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423000306 |
| _version_ | 1811159901869703168 |
|---|---|
| author | Alain D.T. MOUAFO Luc Roscelin Dongmo TÉDONZONG Daniel J. INGRAM Valery A. BINDA Itoe Constantine NFOR NGWAYI Theodore B. MAYAKA |
| author_facet | Alain D.T. MOUAFO Luc Roscelin Dongmo TÉDONZONG Daniel J. INGRAM Valery A. BINDA Itoe Constantine NFOR NGWAYI Theodore B. MAYAKA |
| author_sort | Alain D.T. MOUAFO |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Across the planet, biodiversity is facing ever-growing threats including habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation, and pollution. Pangolins of the order Pholidota are the only scaly mammal species worldwide and are considered the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, being widely exploited for their meat and scales. The giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea, GP) is one of the least studied species of this order, with little being known about their response to environmental and anthropogenic variables, as well as their distribution patterns in forest-savannah transition areas. Our study aimed to increase ecological knowledge about GP by investigating the environmental factors associated with the distribution of suitable habitat for GP within a protected forest/savannah transition area of Cameroon. Using data on the locations of GP resting burrows collected using line transects and employing a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modelling approach, we explored GP habitat suitability within a forest-savannah transition area of Cameroon. Our model revealed a good level of accuracy based on the average test area under the Receiver Operator Curve metric. The jackknife test found that Euclidian distance to the national park’s boundaries, normalized difference vegetation index, elevation, and distance to river were the most important predictors determining the distribution of GP burrows. Areas predicted to be suitable for GP burrows were patchily distributed within dense forests, ecotone and savannah, with 19.24% of the study area being suitable and 1% very suitable. Overall, our study shows the possible importance of habitat suitability modeling for understanding GP distribution, as well as planning and prioritising their conservation actions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:49:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5725d08df05740b7a32dfdf5d715da1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:49:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-5725d08df05740b7a32dfdf5d715da1c2023-03-05T04:24:44ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942023-06-0143e02395Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central CameroonAlain D.T. MOUAFO0Luc Roscelin Dongmo TÉDONZONG1Daniel J. INGRAM2Valery A. BINDA3Itoe Constantine NFOR NGWAYI4Theodore B. MAYAKA5University of Dschang, Faculty of Science, Research Unit of Biology and Applied Ecology, P. O. Box 67, Dschang, West Region, Cameroon; Agriculture and Bio-conservation Organization for Youth Empowerment and Rural Development, Dschang, West Region, Cameroon; IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group, ℅ Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK; Corresponding author at: University of Dschang, Faculty of Science, Research Unit of Biology and Applied Ecology, P. O. Box 67, Dschang, West Region, Cameroon.Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, BelgiumIUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group, ℅ Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK; Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UKAgriculture and Bio-conservation Organization for Youth Empowerment and Rural Development, Dschang, West Region, CameroonMinistry of Forestry and Wildlife, Yaoundé, CameroonUniversity of Dschang, Faculty of Science, Research Unit of Biology and Applied Ecology, P. O. Box 67, Dschang, West Region, CameroonAcross the planet, biodiversity is facing ever-growing threats including habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation, and pollution. Pangolins of the order Pholidota are the only scaly mammal species worldwide and are considered the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, being widely exploited for their meat and scales. The giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea, GP) is one of the least studied species of this order, with little being known about their response to environmental and anthropogenic variables, as well as their distribution patterns in forest-savannah transition areas. Our study aimed to increase ecological knowledge about GP by investigating the environmental factors associated with the distribution of suitable habitat for GP within a protected forest/savannah transition area of Cameroon. Using data on the locations of GP resting burrows collected using line transects and employing a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modelling approach, we explored GP habitat suitability within a forest-savannah transition area of Cameroon. Our model revealed a good level of accuracy based on the average test area under the Receiver Operator Curve metric. The jackknife test found that Euclidian distance to the national park’s boundaries, normalized difference vegetation index, elevation, and distance to river were the most important predictors determining the distribution of GP burrows. Areas predicted to be suitable for GP burrows were patchily distributed within dense forests, ecotone and savannah, with 19.24% of the study area being suitable and 1% very suitable. Overall, our study shows the possible importance of habitat suitability modeling for understanding GP distribution, as well as planning and prioritising their conservation actions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423000306EcotoneCameroonMammalsManis giganteaSpecies distribution modelingSuitable habitat |
| spellingShingle | Alain D.T. MOUAFO Luc Roscelin Dongmo TÉDONZONG Daniel J. INGRAM Valery A. BINDA Itoe Constantine NFOR NGWAYI Theodore B. MAYAKA Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon Global Ecology and Conservation Ecotone Cameroon Mammals Manis gigantea Species distribution modeling Suitable habitat |
| title | Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon |
| title_full | Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon |
| title_fullStr | Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon |
| title_short | Maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea (Illiger, 1815) habitat suitability in a protected forest-savannah transition area of central Cameroon |
| title_sort | maximum entropy modeling of giant pangolin smutsia gigantea illiger 1815 habitat suitability in a protected forest savannah transition area of central cameroon |
| topic | Ecotone Cameroon Mammals Manis gigantea Species distribution modeling Suitable habitat |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423000306 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alaindtmouafo maximumentropymodelingofgiantpangolinsmutsiagiganteailliger1815habitatsuitabilityinaprotectedforestsavannahtransitionareaofcentralcameroon AT lucroscelindongmotedonzong maximumentropymodelingofgiantpangolinsmutsiagiganteailliger1815habitatsuitabilityinaprotectedforestsavannahtransitionareaofcentralcameroon AT danieljingram maximumentropymodelingofgiantpangolinsmutsiagiganteailliger1815habitatsuitabilityinaprotectedforestsavannahtransitionareaofcentralcameroon AT valeryabinda maximumentropymodelingofgiantpangolinsmutsiagiganteailliger1815habitatsuitabilityinaprotectedforestsavannahtransitionareaofcentralcameroon AT itoeconstantinenforngwayi maximumentropymodelingofgiantpangolinsmutsiagiganteailliger1815habitatsuitabilityinaprotectedforestsavannahtransitionareaofcentralcameroon AT theodorebmayaka maximumentropymodelingofgiantpangolinsmutsiagiganteailliger1815habitatsuitabilityinaprotectedforestsavannahtransitionareaofcentralcameroon |