Safeguarding Asian tapir habitat in Sumatra, Indonesia

Autor: Irene M.R. Pinondang, Nicolas J. Deere, Maria Voigt, Ardiantiono, Agus Subagyo, Alexander Moßbrucker, Antika Fardilla, Desy S. Chandradewi, Fahrudin Surahmat, Febri A. Widodo, Gabriella Fredriksson, Hariyo T. Wibisono, Jatna Supriatna, M. Irfansyah Lubis, Nuri Asmita, Sunarto, Tengku Lidra, Tomi Ariyanto, Wido R. Albert, Wilson Novarino, Wulan Pusparini, Yoan Dinata, Matthew J. Struebig
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Oryx, Vol 58, Pp 451-461 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 00306053
0030-6053
1365-3008
DOI: 10.1017/S0030605323001576
Popis: The Asian tapir Tapirus indicus is the only tapir species in Southeast Asia. It is declining across its range and is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The forests of Sumatra are critical to Asian tapir conservation as they contain some of the last remaining populations of the species, yet conservation efforts are hindered by a lack of information on habitat suitability. We collated camera-trap data from nine landscapes across 69,500 km2 of Sumatran rainforest to help predict suitable habitat for Asian tapirs on the island. Predictions from Bayesian occupancy models demonstrated that tapir occupancy was greatest in forests below 600 m elevation and exclusively in forests with high aboveground biomass. Forests around the Barisan Mountains on the west of Sumatra provide the most suitable habitat for the species. Only 36% of the most critical habitat (i.e. 80th percentile of predicted occupancy values, or above) for tapirs is formally protected for conservation, with much of the remainder found in forests allocated to watershed protection (35%) or logging (23%). We highlight several key areas in Sumatra where tapir conservation could be bolstered, such as by leveraging existing conservation efforts for other charismatic flagships species on the island.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals