Linking wetland waterbird conservation to ecological security pattern: A methodological approach applied to the...

Ecological security patterns (ESP) are vital for balancing conservation and development, yet their integration with species protection remains underexplored. This study constructed an ESP from a wetland waterbird conservation perspective, using three endangered species (Aythya baeri, Ciconia boyciana, Grus japonensis) as indicators for the Yellow River Basin in Shandong Province, China. We integrated environmental factors (landform, urbanization, food sources, climate) and satellite imagery to analyze changes from 2002 to 2023. The results showed that: (1) mean temperature of wettest quarter, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of driest quarter, precipitation of wettest month, and mean temperature of wettest quarter are the five climatic factors all contribute positively to the habitat suitability; (2) Waterbird habitats shrank substantially, the overlap between high-suitability areas and ecological sources dropped sharply from 45.89% (2002) to 11.19% (2023); (3) Satellite imagery enabled identification of priority zones: key protected regions, ecological restoration regions, and urban development isolation zones. Findings indicated climatic factors and ecological source overlap strongly correlated with waterbird habitat suitability. However, suitable habitat and overlap rates had declined sharply, underscoring the urgent need for zone-based management and ecological restoration. The proposed strategies provide a basis for reducing biodiversity loss and enhancing basin ecological security.