天山中部雪豹栖息地适宜性研究初报

Preliminary study on habitat suitability of snow leopard(Panthera uncia)in central Tianshan Mountains

栖息地丧失和破碎化是许多濒危物种面临的主要威胁,对于分布在高原山地的濒危物种雪豹亦是如此。为了更好地了解天山雪豹的分布情况和栖息地质量,2018年11月至2019年6月,我们在天山中部借助红外相机开展野外调查,调查面积2 425 km2,共获得78个雪豹的出现位点。利用8个物种分布模型对雪豹在此地的生境选择建模,综合结果表明,崎岖度和海拔是影响雪豹分布的主要因素,其中崎岖度大于70和海拔1 700~2 900 m是雪豹出现频率最高的地区。集成模型空间预测显示大部分适宜栖息地集中于乌苏市以东至板房沟分局管辖地区。本研究通过野外调查和模型分析获得了天山中部雪豹的分布区域及环境因子对其的影响,为天山雪豹保护及跨境合作提供科学的数据支撑。

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to anthropogenic pressure have a detrimental impact on the long-term population viability of endangered species,especially for snow leopards(Panthera uncia)inhabiting plateau mountains.To evaluate the potential distribution and habitat quality for snow leopards in the Tianshan Mountains,78 snow leopard presence records were collected covering an area of 2 425 km~2 in central Tianshan Mountains from November 2018 to June 2019.Eight species distribution models of snow leopard habitat selection were simulated.The results indicated that topographic roughness and altitude were the major factors influencing snow leopard distribution in the study area.Snow leopards preferentially occur in areas with topographic roughness greater than 70 and at altitudes range from 1 700-2 900 m.Ensemble model prediction results indicated that suitable habitat is concentrated between the west of Usu City and Banfanggou.This study obtained the potential distribution area of snow leopards in central Tianshan Mountains and evaluated the influence of environmental factors on it based on field investigation and model analysis.The study provides valuable baseline knowledge in the context of transboundary snow leopard conservation in the Tianshan Mountains.