Spatial Associations and Co-Occurrence Networks of Sympatric Species in an Asian Elephant Community

Understanding how species share resources (niche dynamics) and associate with each other is crucial for maintaining stable ecological communities. Using infrared camera traps, we constructed spatial association networks for an isolated Asian elephant population. The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), a keystone species in tropical forests, faces significant threats from habitat fragmentation and human disturbances, particularly in the isolated population of Nangunhe National Nature Reserve, Yunnan, China. Using infrared camera trapping, niche analysis, and interspecific association models, we examined the ecological role of Asian elephants and their sympatric species networks in fragmented habitats. We identified 44 species, including 11 species with higher relative abundance showing significant ecological correlations with elephants. Asian elephants exhibited the broadest spatial distribution, consistent with their role as ecological engineers due to high environmental tolerance and diverse resource utilization. Sympatric herbivores exhibited moderate spatial co-occurrence. Wild boars (Sus scrofa), red-bellied squirrels (Callosciurus erythraeus), northern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca leonina), and red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) demonstrated significant spatial associations with elephants. Lambda coefficient analysis revealed asymmetric associations reflecting spatial reliance of red-bellied squirrels and wild boars on elephant activity zones. Temporally, Asian elephants exhibited a stable bimodal activity pattern at dawn and dusk. Despite varying degrees of diel overlap with sympatric species, no significant temporal avoidance was detected, suggesting fine-scale coexistence mechanisms beyond the temporal dimension. We argue that conservation strategies are in urgent need of a transformation from single-species protection to the preservation of ecological interaction networks. This study clarifies the dominant position of Asian elephants in the community by mapping the spatial association networks between Asian elephants and sympatric species, and its findings hold substantial guiding significance for the recovery and protection of isolated Asian elephant populations.