Representation of threatened vertebrates by a protected area system in Southeast Asia: The importance of non-forest habitats
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Author list: Tantipisanuh N., Gale G.A.
Publication year: 2013
Journal: Raffles bulletin of Zoology (0217-2445)
Volume number: 61
Issue number: 1
Start page: 359
End page: 395
Number of pages: 37
ISSN: 0217-2445
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
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Abstract
Many of the protected area systems in newly developed countries are established on an ad hoc basis and as such may not be sufficiently representative to protect significant portions of their threatened biota. Thailand has one of the most extensive protected area systems in Southeast Asia, a region with particularly high levels of habitat destruction, but the representation of even this system has not been assessed for threatened species. This study assessed the representation of near-threatened and threatened species of terrestrial vertebrates using habitat type as a surrogate (i.e., how well these species were represented by Thailand's current protected area system). Habitat use data of potential focal species was reviewed from 286 original survey publications and other primary data sources. For each major habitat type, we calculated representation indices and the degree of representation. These indices were then used to evaluate the degree of representation of 505 focal species. Several habitats are underrepresented by the current protected area system including lowland mixed deciduous forest (below 200 m), dry dipterocarp forest, mangrove forest, swamp forest, grassland & shrub habitat, wetlands, salt flats, freshwater habitat, and beach habitat, indicating that the current protected area system is heavily biased toward a few specific habitat types, resulting in the underrepresentation of 229 near-threatened and threatened species which 128 of them were globally threatened. Evergreen forest was the most widely used habitat for all taxa. The second-most used was freshwater habitats for amphibians, reptiles and birds, as well as mixed deciduous forest for mammals. Approximately 13% of the threatened vertebrates were restricted to non-forest habitats (e.g., open wetlands, beaches, salt flats, etc.), while another 32% could utilise both forest and non-forest habitats. Near-threatened and threatened species utilising non-forest habitats are the least represented by Thailand's protected area system, and highly likely to be underrepresented by all other protected areas in Southeast Asia. ฉ National University of Singapore.
Keywords
Conservation planning, Degree of representation, Gap analysis, Representation targets
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