Predicting the current habitat refugia of Himalayan Musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) across Nepal
Article
Dhami, Bijaya, Chhetri, Nar Bahadur, Neupane, Bijaya, Adhikari, Binaya, Bashyal, Bijay, Maraseni, Tek Maraseni, Thapamagar, Tilak, Dhakal, Yogesh, Tripathi, Aashish and Koju, Narayan Prasad. 2024. "Predicting the current habitat refugia of Himalayan Musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) across Nepal." Ecology and Evolution. 14 (2). https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10949
| Article Title | Predicting the current habitat refugia of Himalayan Musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) across Nepal |
|---|---|
| ERA Journal ID | 200398 |
| Article Category | Article |
| Authors | Dhami, Bijaya, Chhetri, Nar Bahadur, Neupane, Bijaya, Adhikari, Binaya, Bashyal, Bijay, Maraseni, Tek Maraseni, Thapamagar, Tilak, Dhakal, Yogesh, Tripathi, Aashish and Koju, Narayan Prasad |
| Journal Title | Ecology and Evolution |
| Journal Citation | 14 (2) |
| Article Number | e10949 |
| Number of Pages | 13 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Publisher | John Wiley & Sons |
| Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
| ISSN | 2045-7758 |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10949 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.10949 |
| Abstract | Himalayan Musk deer, Moschus chrysogaster is widely distributed but one of the least studied species in Nepal. In this study, we compiled a total of 429 current presence points of direct observation of the species, pellets droppings, and hoofmarks based on field-based surveys during 2018–2021 and periodic data held by the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation. We developed the species distribution model using an ensemble modeling approach. We used a combination of bioclimatic, anthropogenic, topographic, and vegetation-related variables to predict the current suitable habitat for Himalayan Musk deer in Nepal. A total of 16 predictor variables were used for habitat suitability modeling after the multicollinearity test. The study shows that the 6973.76 km2 (5%) area of Nepal is highly suitable and 8387.11 km2 (6%) is moderately suitable for HMD. The distribution of HMD shows mainly by precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the warmest quarter, temperature ranges, distance to water bodies, anthropogenic variables, and land use and land cover change (LULC). The probability of occurrence is less in habitats with low forest cover. The response curves indicate that the probability of occurrence of HMD decreases with an increase in precipitation seasonality and remains constant with an increase in precipitation of the warmest quarter. Thus, the fortune of the species distribution will be limited by anthropogenic factors like poaching, hunting, habitat fragmentation and habitat degradation, and long-term forces of climate change. © 2024 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
| Keywords | anthropogenic variables; climate change impacts; habitat suitability modeling; Himalaya; predictive performance; species distribution models |
| Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 410406. Natural resource management |
| Byline Affiliations | University of Alberta, Canada |
| IUCN/SSC Deer Specialist Group, Switzerland | |
| Division Forest Office, Nepal | |
| Tribhuvan University, Nepal | |
| University of Helsinki, Finland | |
| University of Kentucky, United States | |
| University of Southern Queensland | |
| Himalayan Biodiversity Network Nepal, Nepal | |
| Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal | |
| Pokhara University, Nepal |
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| Ecology and Evolution - 2024 - Dhami - Predicting the current habitat refugia of Himalayan Musk deer Moschus chrysogaster .pdf | ||
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