Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.

Conservation of large carnivores, such as the African lion, requires preservation of extensive core habitat areas, linkages between them, and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. However, there are few rigorous examples of efforts that prioritized conservation actions for all three of these critic...

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Main Authors: Samuel A Cushman, Nicholas B Elliot, Dominik Bauer, Kristina Kesch, Laila Bahaa-El-Din, Helen Bothwell, Michael Flyman, Godfrey Mtare, David W Macdonald, Andrew J Loveridge
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6033387?pdf=render
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author Samuel A Cushman
Nicholas B Elliot
Dominik Bauer
Kristina Kesch
Laila Bahaa-El-Din
Helen Bothwell
Michael Flyman
Godfrey Mtare
David W Macdonald
Andrew J Loveridge
author_facet Samuel A Cushman
Nicholas B Elliot
Dominik Bauer
Kristina Kesch
Laila Bahaa-El-Din
Helen Bothwell
Michael Flyman
Godfrey Mtare
David W Macdonald
Andrew J Loveridge
author_sort Samuel A Cushman
collection DOAJ
description Conservation of large carnivores, such as the African lion, requires preservation of extensive core habitat areas, linkages between them, and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. However, there are few rigorous examples of efforts that prioritized conservation actions for all three of these critical components. We used an empirically optimized resistance surface to calculate resistant kernel and factorial least cost path predictions of population connectivity and conflict risk for lions across the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) and surrounding landscape. We mapped and ranked the relative importance of (1) lion dispersal areas outside National Parks, (2) corridors between the key areas, and (3) areas of highest human-lion conflict risk. Spatial prioritization of conservation actions is critical given extensive land use redesignations that are reducing the extent and increasing the fragmentation of lion populations. While our example focuses on lions in southern Africa, it provides a general approach for rigorous, empirically based comprehensive conservation planning based on spatial prioritization.
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spelling doaj.art-e0e1070cc7eb4baca40438713611ea882022-12-21T20:25:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-01137e019621310.1371/journal.pone.0196213Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.Samuel A CushmanNicholas B ElliotDominik BauerKristina KeschLaila Bahaa-El-DinHelen BothwellMichael FlymanGodfrey MtareDavid W MacdonaldAndrew J LoveridgeConservation of large carnivores, such as the African lion, requires preservation of extensive core habitat areas, linkages between them, and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. However, there are few rigorous examples of efforts that prioritized conservation actions for all three of these critical components. We used an empirically optimized resistance surface to calculate resistant kernel and factorial least cost path predictions of population connectivity and conflict risk for lions across the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) and surrounding landscape. We mapped and ranked the relative importance of (1) lion dispersal areas outside National Parks, (2) corridors between the key areas, and (3) areas of highest human-lion conflict risk. Spatial prioritization of conservation actions is critical given extensive land use redesignations that are reducing the extent and increasing the fragmentation of lion populations. While our example focuses on lions in southern Africa, it provides a general approach for rigorous, empirically based comprehensive conservation planning based on spatial prioritization.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6033387?pdf=render
spellingShingle Samuel A Cushman
Nicholas B Elliot
Dominik Bauer
Kristina Kesch
Laila Bahaa-El-Din
Helen Bothwell
Michael Flyman
Godfrey Mtare
David W Macdonald
Andrew J Loveridge
Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.
PLoS ONE
title Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.
title_full Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.
title_fullStr Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.
title_full_unstemmed Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.
title_short Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa.
title_sort prioritizing core areas corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern africa
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6033387?pdf=render
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