Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)
Evaluating the habitat suitability of flagship species and its key influencing factors is vital for understanding potential conservation issues and developing coping strategies. We surveyed the wintering population size and distribution of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in the Yarlung Zan...
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Avian Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000222 |
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| author | Hongying Xu Ru Jia Hongrui Lv Ge Sun Dongping Liu Hongyan Yu Cunxin Ma Tian Ma Wenhong Deng Guogang Zhang |
| author_facet | Hongying Xu Ru Jia Hongrui Lv Ge Sun Dongping Liu Hongyan Yu Cunxin Ma Tian Ma Wenhong Deng Guogang Zhang |
| author_sort | Hongying Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Evaluating the habitat suitability of flagship species and its key influencing factors is vital for understanding potential conservation issues and developing coping strategies. We surveyed the wintering population size and distribution of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin (YZRB) from 10 to 29 January 2022, and predicted the current potentially suitable habitat distribution and its effective factors using the MaxEnt model. A total of 9337 wintering Black-necked Cranes were recorded in the YZRB in 2022, 76.58 % of which were primarily found in Lhunzub, Samzhubze, Namling, and Lhaze. Compared to 2018, the crane population has exhibited a notable decline in Samzhubze and Taktse, likely due to farmland plowing, winter irrigation, changes in agricultural practices, road construction and hydraulic projects. The crane population within various counties exhibited a significant positive correlation with the suitable habitat area (r = 0.70, P = 0.002, n = 17). We also found that the currently suitable habitat area covered 17,204 km2, of which only 3244 km2 (18.86 %) was effectively protected at the national level, which was predominantly distributed in farmland and rangeland habitats characterized by gentle slopes, altitudes not exceeding 4500 m, and proximity to human settlements along rivers, where suitable isothermal values (51) and less seasonal precipitation (20 mm) prevail. Our study will be helpful for formulating reasonable conservation strategies to protect the core population of this threatened highland flagship species. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2053-7166 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
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| series | Avian Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-6c2ec7fc2b2c4d29b6f3180e28555db42025-08-20T02:24:43ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Avian Research2053-71662025-06-0116210024310.1016/j.avrs.2025.100243Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)Hongying Xu0Ru Jia1Hongrui Lv2Ge Sun3Dongping Liu4Hongyan Yu5Cunxin Ma6Tian Ma7Wenhong Deng8Guogang Zhang9Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China; Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, ChinaKey Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, ChinaQilian Mountain National Park Qinghai Province Management Bureau, Qinghai, 810400, ChinaQilian Mountain National Park Qinghai Province Management Bureau, Qinghai, 810400, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, ChinaKey Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, ChinaKey Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China; Corresponding author. Key Laboratory of Forest Protection of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, National Bird Banding Center of China, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China.Evaluating the habitat suitability of flagship species and its key influencing factors is vital for understanding potential conservation issues and developing coping strategies. We surveyed the wintering population size and distribution of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin (YZRB) from 10 to 29 January 2022, and predicted the current potentially suitable habitat distribution and its effective factors using the MaxEnt model. A total of 9337 wintering Black-necked Cranes were recorded in the YZRB in 2022, 76.58 % of which were primarily found in Lhunzub, Samzhubze, Namling, and Lhaze. Compared to 2018, the crane population has exhibited a notable decline in Samzhubze and Taktse, likely due to farmland plowing, winter irrigation, changes in agricultural practices, road construction and hydraulic projects. The crane population within various counties exhibited a significant positive correlation with the suitable habitat area (r = 0.70, P = 0.002, n = 17). We also found that the currently suitable habitat area covered 17,204 km2, of which only 3244 km2 (18.86 %) was effectively protected at the national level, which was predominantly distributed in farmland and rangeland habitats characterized by gentle slopes, altitudes not exceeding 4500 m, and proximity to human settlements along rivers, where suitable isothermal values (51) and less seasonal precipitation (20 mm) prevail. Our study will be helpful for formulating reasonable conservation strategies to protect the core population of this threatened highland flagship species.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000222Black-necked CraneFlag speciesMaxEnt modelPopulation sizePotentially suitable habitatYarlung Zangbo River |
| spellingShingle | Hongying Xu Ru Jia Hongrui Lv Ge Sun Dongping Liu Hongyan Yu Cunxin Ma Tian Ma Wenhong Deng Guogang Zhang Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) Avian Research Black-necked Crane Flag species MaxEnt model Population size Potentially suitable habitat Yarlung Zangbo River |
| title | Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) |
| title_full | Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) |
| title_fullStr | Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) |
| title_short | Habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species, the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) |
| title_sort | habitat suitability and influencing factors of a threatened highland flagship species the black necked crane grus nigricollis |
| topic | Black-necked Crane Flag species MaxEnt model Population size Potentially suitable habitat Yarlung Zangbo River |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000222 |
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