Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustard
A large proportion of endangered species lack good-quality data for assessing population trends. Obtaining these data is especially challenging in remote arid ecosystems, in part because these desert environments have historically attracted less scientific attention and funding than more mesic areas...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003177 |
| _version_ | 1797650728738619392 |
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| author | Ramiro D. Crego Haydée Hernández-Yáñez Thomas Rabeil Yves Hingrat Peter Leimgruber Jared A. Stabach |
| author_facet | Ramiro D. Crego Haydée Hernández-Yáñez Thomas Rabeil Yves Hingrat Peter Leimgruber Jared A. Stabach |
| author_sort | Ramiro D. Crego |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A large proportion of endangered species lack good-quality data for assessing population trends. Obtaining these data is especially challenging in remote arid ecosystems, in part because these desert environments have historically attracted less scientific attention and funding than more mesic areas. The Sahara-Sahel biome in northern Africa is home to over 1000 species of terrestrial vertebrates, of which 79 have been classified as threatened or near-threatened by the IUCN Red List. This includes the Nubian bustard (Neotis nuba), a species with deficient ecological information and unknown population trends. In this study we used non-systematic data collected over a 10-year period (2008–2017) across the Termit and Tin-Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger to i) study the temporal trend in the proportion of areas occupied, ii) map occurrence, and iii) assess how vegetation productivity, elevation, and surface roughness affect species occupancy. We implemented a single-species, multi-year site-occupancy model with an intrinsic conditional autoregressive structure to account for detection probability and the spatial autocorrelation nature of the non-systematic patrolling dataset. Our results showed that birds were imperfectly detected, and detection probability increased for longer transects. Occupancy probability was higher in higher elevated areas and in smoother terrain. Contrary to expected, occupancy probability decreased with increasing vegetation productivity. However, all parameters presented high uncertainty. We found a small positive trend in the proportion of areas occupied by Nubian bustards across the study area and mapped the spatial distribution after accounting for the spatial autocorrelation. Our study provides a better understanding of the population status of Nubian bustards across the ecosystem and will serve as a guide to target and improve surveys for future conservation efforts. Systematic data collection is always advisable for monitoring biodiversity. However, our analysis demonstrates that combining advanced modeling with observations from non-systematic patrolling activities in protected areas can be used for assessing population trends of other endangered and data-deficient species across remote areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:05:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f6d08c2f43314ed685f39178075129e2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:05:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-f6d08c2f43314ed685f39178075129e22023-10-25T04:16:25ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942023-11-0147e02682Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustardRamiro D. Crego0Haydée Hernández-Yáñez1Thomas Rabeil2Yves Hingrat3Peter Leimgruber4Jared A. Stabach5Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA; RENECO Wildlife Consultants LLC, PO Box 61741, Abu Dhabi, UAE; School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences - Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork T23TK30, Ireland; Corresponding author at: Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA.Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA; The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Field Office, 2424 Spruce St., Boulder, CO 80302, USAWild Africa Conservation, G3P9+RXP, Niamey, NigerRENECO Wildlife Consultants LLC, PO Box 61741, Abu Dhabi, UAESmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USASmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA 22630, USAA large proportion of endangered species lack good-quality data for assessing population trends. Obtaining these data is especially challenging in remote arid ecosystems, in part because these desert environments have historically attracted less scientific attention and funding than more mesic areas. The Sahara-Sahel biome in northern Africa is home to over 1000 species of terrestrial vertebrates, of which 79 have been classified as threatened or near-threatened by the IUCN Red List. This includes the Nubian bustard (Neotis nuba), a species with deficient ecological information and unknown population trends. In this study we used non-systematic data collected over a 10-year period (2008–2017) across the Termit and Tin-Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger to i) study the temporal trend in the proportion of areas occupied, ii) map occurrence, and iii) assess how vegetation productivity, elevation, and surface roughness affect species occupancy. We implemented a single-species, multi-year site-occupancy model with an intrinsic conditional autoregressive structure to account for detection probability and the spatial autocorrelation nature of the non-systematic patrolling dataset. Our results showed that birds were imperfectly detected, and detection probability increased for longer transects. Occupancy probability was higher in higher elevated areas and in smoother terrain. Contrary to expected, occupancy probability decreased with increasing vegetation productivity. However, all parameters presented high uncertainty. We found a small positive trend in the proportion of areas occupied by Nubian bustards across the study area and mapped the spatial distribution after accounting for the spatial autocorrelation. Our study provides a better understanding of the population status of Nubian bustards across the ecosystem and will serve as a guide to target and improve surveys for future conservation efforts. Systematic data collection is always advisable for monitoring biodiversity. However, our analysis demonstrates that combining advanced modeling with observations from non-systematic patrolling activities in protected areas can be used for assessing population trends of other endangered and data-deficient species across remote areas.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003177CAR modelsConservationMonitoring programNeotis nubaOccupancy modelsSahara-Sahel |
| spellingShingle | Ramiro D. Crego Haydée Hernández-Yáñez Thomas Rabeil Yves Hingrat Peter Leimgruber Jared A. Stabach Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustard Global Ecology and Conservation CAR models Conservation Monitoring program Neotis nuba Occupancy models Sahara-Sahel |
| title | Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustard |
| title_full | Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustard |
| title_fullStr | Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustard |
| title_full_unstemmed | Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustard |
| title_short | Non-systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data-deficient Nubian bustard |
| title_sort | non systematic surveys reveal increases in areas occupied by endangered and data deficient nubian bustard |
| topic | CAR models Conservation Monitoring program Neotis nuba Occupancy models Sahara-Sahel |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423003177 |
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