Habitat Suitability Index Modelling for Bluebull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in Pench Tiger Reserve, M.P. India

The habitats for the wild animals are shrinking due to the clearance of forests for agriculture and industrialization.The idea of wildlife conservation begins with the identification of their acceptable habitat.Since this crucial information helps in the development and maintenance of the protected areas.The requirement of habitat varies with different landscapes.The bluebull(Boselaphus tragocamelus)is Asia’s largest antelope,widespread throughout the northern Indian subcontinent.Peter Simon Pallasin(1766)described it as the only member of the genus Boselaphus.The Wildlife(Protection)Act of 1972 lists it as a Schedule III animal,while the IUCN lists it as Least Concern(LC).Our goal was to design a habitat appropriateness model for blue bull so that it could reduce the conflict with farming community due to crop damage.Model will be develop using RS&GIS technique to protect the species inside the Pench Tiger Reserve(77°55’W to 79°35’E and 21°08’S to 22°00’N)the central highlands of India.The satellite data from LANDSAT-8 of 4th April 2015,Path-144,Row-45,with a ground resolution of 30 meters,were collected from the USGS website.This satellite image was then transferred in image format to ERDAS IMAGINE 2013 for further analysis.The data from satellites were gathered and analysed.The purpose of the field survey was to gather information about the presence of various ungulates.A ground truthing exercise was also carried out.For data processing and GIS analysis,ERDAS IMAGINE 13 and Arc GIS 10 were used.Analytical Hierarchy Process(AHP)was used Factors were identified who were influencing the spatial distribution of the species for conservation planning.The linear additive model was used for HSI.The results show that 242 km^(2)(29.48 percent)of Pench Tiger Reserve forest was recognized to be highly suitable for bluebull,while 196 km^(2)(23.87 percent)was moderately suitable,231 km^(2)(28.14 percent)was suitable,109 km^(2)(13.28 percent)was least suitable,and about 43 km^(2)(5.249 percent)of PTR was completely avoided by bluebull.

Optimization of environmental variables in habitat suitability modeling for mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria in the Haizhou Bay and adjacent waters

Habitat suitability index(HSI)models have been widely used to analyze the relationship between species abundance and environmental factors,and ultimately inform management of marine species.The response of species abundance to each environmental variable is different and habitat requirements may change over life history stages and seasons.Therefore,it is necessary to determine the optimal combination of environmental variables in HSI modelling.In this study,generalized additive models(GAMs)were used to determine which environmental variables to be included in the HSI models.Significant variables were retained and weighted in the HSI model according to their relative contribution(%)to the total deviation explained by the boosted regression tree(BRT).The HSI models were applied to evaluate the habitat suitability of mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria in the Haizhou Bay and adjacent areas in 2011 and 2013–2017.Ontogenetic and seasonal variations in HSI models of mantis shrimp were also examined.Among the four models(non-optimized model,BRT informed HSI model,GAM informed HSI model,and both BRT and GAM informed HSI model),both BRT and GAM informed HSI model showed the best performance.Four environmental variables(bottom temperature,depth,distance offshore and sediment type)were selected in the HSI models for four groups(spring-juvenile,spring-adult,falljuvenile and fall-adult)of mantis shrimp.The distribution of habitat suitability showed similar patterns between juveniles and adults,but obvious seasonal variations were observed.This study suggests that the process of optimizing environmental variables in HSI models improves the performance of HSI models,and this optimization strategy could be extended to other marine organisms to enhance the understanding of the habitat suitability of target species.

Habitat suitability of Scapharca subcrenata (Lischke) inthe shallow water of the Xiaoheishan Island

The habitat suitability index(HSI) model was used to identify potential sites for sustainable restoration of ark shell, Scapharca subcrenata(Lischke), in the shallow water of Xiaoheishan Island, using a geographic information system framework. The seven input variables of the HSI model were sediment composition, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, water depth, p H, and ammonia. A non-linear suitability function for each variable factor was used to transform the value into a normalized quality index ranging from 0(nonsuitability) to 1(best suitability). In present study, the analysis of habitat suitability was conducted for four seasons respectively. The majority of the study area has a high HSI value(>0.6) year round, which implies a strong suitability for restoration, with the optimal habitat located on the eastern side of the island.Correspondence analysis indicated that water temperature was the main factor causing seasonal variation,while sediment composition and water depth were the two major reasons for the differences in sites. The results of this work could provide support for restoration decision making through identification of potential sites for sustainable establishment of S. subcrenata.

Balancing timber production and habitat conservation of Okinawa Rails(Gallirallus okinawae): Application of a harvest scheduling optimization model in subtropical forest in Okinawa, Japan

Finding the right balance between timber production and the management of forest-dependent wildlife species,present a difficult challenge for forest resource managers and policy makers in Okinawa,Japan.A possible explanation of this can be found in the unique nature of the forest management area which is populated with various kinds of rare and endangered species.This issue has been brought to light as a result of the nomination of northern Okinawa Island in 2018 as a candidate for World Natural Heritage site.The nomination has raised public awareness to the possibility of conflicting management objectives between timber extraction and the conservation of habitat for forest-dependent wildlife species.Managing exclusively for one objective over the other may fail to meet the demand for both forest products and wildlife habitat,ultimately jeopardizing the stability of human and wildlife communities.It is therefore important to achieve a better balance between the objective of timber production and conservation of wildlife habitat.Despite the significance of this subject area,current ongoing discussions on how to effectively manage for forest resources,often lack scientific basis to make sound judgement or evaluate tradeoffs between conflicting objectives.Quantifying the effect of these forest management activities on wildlife habitat provides useful and important information needed to make forest management and policy decisions.In this study we develop a spatial timber harvest scheduling model that incorporates habitat suitability index(HSI)models for the Okinawa Rail(Gallirallus okinawae),an endangered avian species found on Okinawa,Japan.To illustrate how the proposed coupling model assembles spatial information,which ultimately aids the study of forest management effects on wildlife habitat,we apply these models to a forest area in Okinawa and conduct a simple simulation analysis.

Influence of environmental data of different sources on marine species habitat modeling:A case study for Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The quality of environmental data and its possible impact on the marine species habitat modelling are often overlooked while the sources for these data are increasing.This study selected sea surface temperature(SST)from two commonly used sources,the NOAA Ocean Watch and IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library,and then constructed habitat suitability index model to evaluate the influences of SST from the two sources on the outcomes of Ommastrephes bartramii habitat models for the months of July–October in the Northwest Pacific Ocean during 1996–2012.This study examined the differences in the amount of estimated unfavourable/favourable habitat area when the SST used for model building and inference were the same or different.Dynamics in suitable habitat area calculated from SST was insensitive to the two different SST products.In the fishing season of O.bartramii,the changes of magnitude and trend of monthly suitable habitat area in August and September were similar over time,whereas there were large differences for July and October.Importantly,there is a substantial lack of consistency in the O.bartramii habitat distribution based on SST of two sources.This study considered the sources of environmental data for habitat modelling and then inferred species habitat distribution whether by the same or different data source.

Identification and Mapping of Essential Fish Habitats Using Remote Sensing and GIS on Lake Victoria, Kenya

Fisheries in Lake Victoria have been threatened by declining fish stocks and diversity, environmental degradation due to increased input of pollutants, industrial and municipal waste, overfishing and use of unapproved fishing methods, infestation by aquatic weeds especially water hyacinth, de-oxygenation and a reduction in the quantity and quality of water. Remote sensing and GIS are essential tools in detection of fishing grounds which is important in providing fish sustainability for human beings and allows fishing grounds detection at minimal cost and optimizes effort. This research tends to identify the most favorable both environmentally and ecologically satisfactory factors which favor fish breeding and growth. The main aim of the study was to identify habitat variables that promote fish breeding and growth to maturity including the extraction of environmental variables from Landsat 8 images for the study period and using suitability index derived from fishery data. The study concentrated on establishing suitability ratings in different parts of Lake Victoria using lake surface temperature and chlorophyll-a levels. The study was conducted for months;January, May and December 2019 on Lake Victoria (limited by the availability of recent data). The factors were analysed and the favorable regions mapped satisfying the conditions for fish breeding. The output obtained illustrated the availability of suitable and habitable zones within the lake using satellite imagery and the suitability index. The fish catch data and satellite derived variables were used to determine habitat suitability indices for fish during January, May and December 2019. More than 90% of the total catch was found to come from the areas with sea surface temperature of 23.0˚C - 28.3˚C and chlorophyll-a concentration between 0.72 - 1.31 mg/m3. The catch data was used to validate the images. This study indicated the capability of High Satellite Resolution Imageries (HSI) as a tool to map the potential fishing grounds of fish species in Lake Victoria. The variables were affected by climatic change factors like rainfall and temperature of the lake basin and other human activities around the lake and also the species ecosystem like competition or predation.