Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas
Habitat characteristics associated with species occurrences represent important baseline information for wildlife management and conservation, but have rarely been assessed for countries recently joining the EU. We used footprint tracking data and landscape characteristics in Romania to investigate...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9040814b2efa42cb867f4d2c3906ef77 2024-01-07T09:42:34+01:00 Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas Bogdan Cristescu Csaba Domokos Kristine J. Teichman Scott E. Nielsen 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6549 https://doaj.org/article/9040814b2efa42cb867f4d2c3906ef77 EN eng PeerJ Inc. https://peerj.com/articles/6549.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/6549/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.6549 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/9040814b2efa42cb867f4d2c3906ef77 PeerJ, Vol 7, p e6549 (2019) Canis lupus Carnivore occurrence National park Gap analysis Ursus arctos Natura 2000 Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6549 2023-12-10T01:52:30Z Habitat characteristics associated with species occurrences represent important baseline information for wildlife management and conservation, but have rarely been assessed for countries recently joining the EU. We used footprint tracking data and landscape characteristics in Romania to investigate the occurrence of brown bear (Ursus arctos), gray wolf (Canis lupus) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and to compare model predictions between Natura 2000 and national-level protected areas (gap analysis). Wolves were more likely to occur where rugged terrain was present. Increasing proportion of forest was positively associated with occurrence of all large carnivores, but forest type (broadleaf, mixed, or conifer) generally varied with carnivore species. Areas where cultivated lands were extensive had little suitable habitat for lynx, whereas bear occurrence probability decreased with increasing proportion of built areas. Pastures were positively associated with wolf and lynx occurrence. Brown bears occurred primarily where national roads with high traffic volumes were at low density, while bears and lynx occurred at medium-high densities of communal roads that had lower traffic volumes. Based on predictions of carnivore distributions, natural areas protected in national parks were most suitable for carnivores, nature parks were less suitable, whereas EU-legislated Natura 2000 sites had the lowest probability of carnivore presence. Our spatially explicit carnivore habitat suitability predictions can be used by managers to amend borders of existing sites, delineate new protected areas, and establish corridors for ecological connectivity. To assist recovery and recolonization, management could also focus on habitat predicted to be suitable but where carnivores were not tracked. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus gray wolf Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PeerJ 7 e6549 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Canis lupus Carnivore occurrence National park Gap analysis Ursus arctos Natura 2000 Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
Canis lupus Carnivore occurrence National park Gap analysis Ursus arctos Natura 2000 Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Bogdan Cristescu Csaba Domokos Kristine J. Teichman Scott E. Nielsen Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas |
topic_facet |
Canis lupus Carnivore occurrence National park Gap analysis Ursus arctos Natura 2000 Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Habitat characteristics associated with species occurrences represent important baseline information for wildlife management and conservation, but have rarely been assessed for countries recently joining the EU. We used footprint tracking data and landscape characteristics in Romania to investigate the occurrence of brown bear (Ursus arctos), gray wolf (Canis lupus) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and to compare model predictions between Natura 2000 and national-level protected areas (gap analysis). Wolves were more likely to occur where rugged terrain was present. Increasing proportion of forest was positively associated with occurrence of all large carnivores, but forest type (broadleaf, mixed, or conifer) generally varied with carnivore species. Areas where cultivated lands were extensive had little suitable habitat for lynx, whereas bear occurrence probability decreased with increasing proportion of built areas. Pastures were positively associated with wolf and lynx occurrence. Brown bears occurred primarily where national roads with high traffic volumes were at low density, while bears and lynx occurred at medium-high densities of communal roads that had lower traffic volumes. Based on predictions of carnivore distributions, natural areas protected in national parks were most suitable for carnivores, nature parks were less suitable, whereas EU-legislated Natura 2000 sites had the lowest probability of carnivore presence. Our spatially explicit carnivore habitat suitability predictions can be used by managers to amend borders of existing sites, delineate new protected areas, and establish corridors for ecological connectivity. To assist recovery and recolonization, management could also focus on habitat predicted to be suitable but where carnivores were not tracked. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bogdan Cristescu Csaba Domokos Kristine J. Teichman Scott E. Nielsen |
author_facet |
Bogdan Cristescu Csaba Domokos Kristine J. Teichman Scott E. Nielsen |
author_sort |
Bogdan Cristescu |
title |
Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas |
title_short |
Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas |
title_full |
Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas |
title_fullStr |
Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for Romania and associated predictions for protected areas |
title_sort |
large carnivore habitat suitability modelling for romania and associated predictions for protected areas |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6549 https://doaj.org/article/9040814b2efa42cb867f4d2c3906ef77 |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus gray wolf Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
op_source |
PeerJ, Vol 7, p e6549 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://peerj.com/articles/6549.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/6549/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.6549 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/9040814b2efa42cb867f4d2c3906ef77 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6549 |
container_title |
PeerJ |
container_volume |
7 |
container_start_page |
e6549 |
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