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Prioritizing tiger conservation through landscape genetics and habitat linkages
Bibek Yumnam1, Yadvendradev V Jhala1, Qamar Qureshi1
1Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India.
Plos One
|November 14, 2014
Summary
Protecting tiger populations requires identifying crucial habitat corridors. This study uses genetic analysis and landscape modeling to map these vital tiger movement pathways in Central India, confirming contemporary migration and guiding conservation efforts.
Area of Science:
- Conservation Biology
- Genetics
- Landscape Ecology
Background:
- Tiger (Panthera tigris) survival is threatened by poaching, habitat loss, and fragmentation, with only 3,000 individuals remaining in scattered populations.
- Securing habitat linkages is crucial for maintaining gene flow and long-term conservation of endangered carnivores, but corridors are often lost to development.
- Lack of objective evidence on the importance of habitat corridors hinders their protection against development projects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and prioritize critical habitat corridors for tiger movement in the Central Indian Landscape.
- To combine individual-based genetic analysis with landscape permeability models to assess connectivity.
- To provide objective evidence supporting the protection of essential tiger habitat linkages.
Main Methods:
- Conducted individual-based genetic analysis using 11 microsatellites on 587 scat and 17 tissue samples to identify 169 individual tigers.
- Utilized spatially explicit tiger occupancy data from landscape-scale surveys and correlated it with environmental covariates.
- Employed least-cost and circuit theory pathway analyses, parameterized by tiger occupancy probability, to model habitat linkages.
Main Results:
- Identified four genetic clusters within Central India, with limited gene flow among three, and detected 17 tigers with recent immigrant ancestry.
- Key factors influencing tiger occupancy included large, remote, dense forest patches, abundant ungulates, and low human footprint.
- Modeled linkage costs, derived from habitat permeability, better explained pairwise genetic differences (FST) than Euclidean distances, indicating functional connectivity.
Conclusions:
- Evidence of contemporary tiger migration suggests many corridors remain functional despite habitat fragmentation.
- Conservation strategies must prioritize granting legal protection to identified corridors.
- Implementing smart green infrastructure and habitat restoration is essential to mitigate development impacts and preserve connectivity.
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