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Using remotely sensed and climate data to predict the current and potential future geographic distribution of a bird at multiple scales:
Freeman, Benedictus Jiménez-Garcia, Daniel Barca, Benjamin Grainger, Matthew
Freeman, Benedictus
Jiménez-Garcia, Daniel
Barca, Benjamin
Grainger, Matthew
Citations
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Abstract
Background:Understanding geographic distributions of species is a crucial step in spatial planning for biodiversity conservation, particularly as regards changes in response to global climate change. This information is especially important for species of global conservation concern that are susceptible to the effects of habitat loss and climate change. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling to assess the current and future geographic distributional potential of White‑breasted Guineafowl (Agelastes meleagrides) (Vulnerable) across West Africa.Methods:We used primary occurrence data obtained from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and national parks in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and two independent environmental datasets (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer normalized difference vegetation index at 250 m spatial resolution, and Worldclim climate data at 2.5′ spatial resolution for two representative concentration pathway emissions scenarios and 27 general circulation models for 2050) to build ecological niche models in Maxent.Results:From the projections, White‑breasted Guineafowl showed a broader potential distribution across the region compared to the current IUCN range estimate for the species. Suitable areas were concentrated in the Gola rainforests in northwestern Liberia and southeastern Sierra Leone, the Tai‑Sapo corridor in southeastern Liberia and southwest‑ern Côte d’Ivoire, and the Nimba Mountains in northern Liberia, southeastern Guinea, and northwestern Côte d’Ivoire. Future climate‑driven projections anticipated minimal range shifts in response to climate change.Conclusions:By combining remotely sensed data and climatic data, our results suggest that forest cover, rather than climate is the major driver of the species’ current distribution. Thus, conservation efforts should prioritize forest protec‑tion and mitigation of other anthropogenic threats (e.g. hunting pressure) affecting the species.
Description
The data analyzed during the current study are available in the following databases: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; https ://www.gbif.org). Data from surveys in Sapo National Park in Liberia and Gola Rainforest National Park in Sierra Leone are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Environmental datasets are available at https ://terra .nasa.gov/data and http://www.worldclim.org.
Date
2019-06-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
BMC
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Climate change, Conservation, Conservation planning, Ecological niche modeling, Species distribution, Upper Guinea Forest, White-breasted Guineafowl
Citation
TY - JOUR
AU - Freeman, Benedictus
AU - Jiménez-GarcÃa, Daniel
AU - Barca, Benjamin
AU - Grainger, Matthew
PY - 2019
DA - 2019/06/10
TI - Using remotely sensed and climate data to predict the current and potential future geographic distribution of a bird at multiple scales: the case of Agelastes meleagrides, a western African forest endemic
JO - Avian Research
SP - 22
VL - 10
IS - 1
AB - Understanding geographic distributions of species is a crucial step in spatial planning for biodiversity conservation, particularly as regards changes in response to global climate change. This information is especially important for species of global conservation concern that are susceptible to the effects of habitat loss and climate change. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling to assess the current and future geographic distributional potential of White-breasted Guineafowl (Agelastes meleagrides) (Vulnerable) across West Africa.
SN - 2053-7166
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-019-0160-y
DO - 10.1186/s40657-019-0160-y
ID - Freeman2019
ER -