Surprising leopard restoration in fragmented ecosystems reveals connections as the secret to conservation success
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Surprising leopard restoration in fragmented ecosystems reveals connections as the secret to conservation success. / Yanwen, Fu; Guojing, Zhao; Wenqian, Dai; Yue, Wang; Jiawei, Li; Mengyu, Tan; Yan, Li; Haoran, Liu; Bing, Xie; Xiao, Jin; Enyu, Fan; Lulu, Zhao; Jian, Cao; Lei, Yue; Chenghao, Wu; Yongfeng, Chen; Guoqiang, Chen; Yong, Zhang; Kezi, Luo; Haitao, Yang; Xuemei, Han; Jianping, Ge; Jun, Zhu; Limin, Feng.
In: Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 858, 159790, 2023.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Surprising leopard restoration in fragmented ecosystems reveals connections as the secret to conservation success
AU - Yanwen, Fu
AU - Guojing, Zhao
AU - Wenqian, Dai
AU - Yue, Wang
AU - Jiawei, Li
AU - Mengyu, Tan
AU - Yan, Li
AU - Haoran, Liu
AU - Bing, Xie
AU - Xiao, Jin
AU - Enyu, Fan
AU - Lulu, Zhao
AU - Jian, Cao
AU - Lei, Yue
AU - Chenghao, Wu
AU - Yongfeng, Chen
AU - Guoqiang, Chen
AU - Yong, Zhang
AU - Kezi, Luo
AU - Haitao, Yang
AU - Xuemei, Han
AU - Jianping, Ge
AU - Jun, Zhu
AU - Limin, Feng
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The Chinese Loess Plateau has been the cradle of Chinese civilization and the main human settlement in China for thousands of years, where anthropogenic activities are believed to have deeply eroded natural landscapes. After decades of minimal leopard sighting in forests of northern China, due to serious human interference, we recently discovered that the leopard population is recovering. This finding provides hope for successful biodiversity conservation in human-dominated ecosystems. To understand the mechanism of leopard return into such a highly fragmented landscape, we applied the concept of ecological networks (ENs) to identify key factors promoting leopard restoration and quantify the ecological links among habitats. We first determined the existence of a healthy leopard population in the study area based on the size of its home range and presence of breeding individuals. We then innovatively used the relationship between species richness and top predators to generate ENs, and found that the connectivity of ENs had a significant positive interaction with leopard survival. Our study validates the effectiveness of establishing ecologically connected habitats for leopard protection, and highlights the importance of applying ENs for conservation planning in highly fragmented ecosystems. This study provides a successful case for the protection of top predators in human-dominated landscapes.
AB - The Chinese Loess Plateau has been the cradle of Chinese civilization and the main human settlement in China for thousands of years, where anthropogenic activities are believed to have deeply eroded natural landscapes. After decades of minimal leopard sighting in forests of northern China, due to serious human interference, we recently discovered that the leopard population is recovering. This finding provides hope for successful biodiversity conservation in human-dominated ecosystems. To understand the mechanism of leopard return into such a highly fragmented landscape, we applied the concept of ecological networks (ENs) to identify key factors promoting leopard restoration and quantify the ecological links among habitats. We first determined the existence of a healthy leopard population in the study area based on the size of its home range and presence of breeding individuals. We then innovatively used the relationship between species richness and top predators to generate ENs, and found that the connectivity of ENs had a significant positive interaction with leopard survival. Our study validates the effectiveness of establishing ecologically connected habitats for leopard protection, and highlights the importance of applying ENs for conservation planning in highly fragmented ecosystems. This study provides a successful case for the protection of top predators in human-dominated landscapes.
KW - Biodiversity
KW - Conservation program
KW - Ecological networks
KW - Leopard
KW - Top predator
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159790
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159790
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36309282
AN - SCOPUS:85140987149
VL - 858
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
M1 - 159790
ER -
ID: 333310743