Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent
Owing to accelerated climate change, recent decades have witnessed a concerning trend of deforestation and habitat conversion, particularly in Asia, leading to significant habitat loss for a large number of wildlife, including several keystones and/or indicator species. The binturong, Arctictis bint...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Ecological Informatics |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124004837 |
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| author | Imon Abedin Tanoy Mukherjee Ah Ran Kim Hyun-Woo Kim Soo Rin Lee Shantanu Kundu |
| author_facet | Imon Abedin Tanoy Mukherjee Ah Ran Kim Hyun-Woo Kim Soo Rin Lee Shantanu Kundu |
| author_sort | Imon Abedin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Owing to accelerated climate change, recent decades have witnessed a concerning trend of deforestation and habitat conversion, particularly in Asia, leading to significant habitat loss for a large number of wildlife, including several keystones and/or indicator species. The binturong, Arctictis binturong is no exception, facing multiple threats such as habitat loss, hunting pressure, and illegal trade in South and Southeast Asia. Despite these challenges, there is a limited number of comprehensive assessments regarding the ecology of this vulnerable mammal. To address this research gap, the present study aimed to assess the current and future distribution of the binturong across its range and evaluate the potential impacts of climate change on habitat suitability. Out of the 645,903 km2 extant distribution range, only 170,505 km2 (26 %) was found suitable in the present scenario. Further, future climate change projections (SSP245 and SSP585) revealed alarming declines in suitable habitat across all scenarios, with reductions reaching up to 93.78 % under the most severe emission scenario. Within the suitable range, Malaysia exhibited the highest mean habitat suitability score (0.766), while China had the lowest (0.024). Most of the countries sharing the distribution range showed a decrease of habitat suitability in future scenarios by over 10 %, except for Bhutan and China, which showed increases by 30 % to 90 % by 2061–2080 under both SSPs. These projections offer new insights into the potential climate-driven range shift of the binturong from tropical to subtropical regions. Additionally, the evaluation of biological connectivity identified nine transboundary corridors within the distribution range. The corridor between Thailand and Malaysia showed the highest mean connectivity (4.211), while the lowest was observed between Cambodia and Vietnam (0.226). The corridor connectivity is incongruent with habitat suitability in future climate change scenarios, highlighting the necessity for a comprehensive management plan of this indicator species conservation in the wild. In conclusion, this comprehensive SDM assessment of this mammalian species represents the first of its kind, providing crucial ecological information for implementing targeted conservation strategies to ensure the long-term survival in the rapidly changing South and Southeast Asian landscape. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6ff4d557e2eb40e6ba683c6669511e4d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1574-9541 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Ecological Informatics |
| spelling | doaj-art-6ff4d557e2eb40e6ba683c6669511e4d2025-01-19T06:24:36ZengElsevierEcological Informatics1574-95412025-03-0185102941Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continentImon Abedin0Tanoy Mukherjee1Ah Ran Kim2Hyun-Woo Kim3Soo Rin Lee4Shantanu Kundu5Agricultural and Ecological Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700108, IndiaAgricultural and Ecological Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700108, IndiaResearch Center for Marine Integrated Bionics Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Marine Integrated Biomedical Technology Center, National Key Research Institutes in Universities, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of KoreaResearch Center for Marine Integrated Bionics Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Department of Marine Biology, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Marine Integrated Biomedical Technology Center, National Key Research Institutes in Universities, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Airlangga University, Surabaya 60115, IndonesiaResearch Center for Marine Integrated Bionics Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author.Ocean and Fisheries Development International Cooperation Institute, College of Fisheries Science, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; International Graduate Program of Fisheries Science, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author at: Ocean and Fisheries Development International Cooperation Institute, College of Fisheries Science, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea.Owing to accelerated climate change, recent decades have witnessed a concerning trend of deforestation and habitat conversion, particularly in Asia, leading to significant habitat loss for a large number of wildlife, including several keystones and/or indicator species. The binturong, Arctictis binturong is no exception, facing multiple threats such as habitat loss, hunting pressure, and illegal trade in South and Southeast Asia. Despite these challenges, there is a limited number of comprehensive assessments regarding the ecology of this vulnerable mammal. To address this research gap, the present study aimed to assess the current and future distribution of the binturong across its range and evaluate the potential impacts of climate change on habitat suitability. Out of the 645,903 km2 extant distribution range, only 170,505 km2 (26 %) was found suitable in the present scenario. Further, future climate change projections (SSP245 and SSP585) revealed alarming declines in suitable habitat across all scenarios, with reductions reaching up to 93.78 % under the most severe emission scenario. Within the suitable range, Malaysia exhibited the highest mean habitat suitability score (0.766), while China had the lowest (0.024). Most of the countries sharing the distribution range showed a decrease of habitat suitability in future scenarios by over 10 %, except for Bhutan and China, which showed increases by 30 % to 90 % by 2061–2080 under both SSPs. These projections offer new insights into the potential climate-driven range shift of the binturong from tropical to subtropical regions. Additionally, the evaluation of biological connectivity identified nine transboundary corridors within the distribution range. The corridor between Thailand and Malaysia showed the highest mean connectivity (4.211), while the lowest was observed between Cambodia and Vietnam (0.226). The corridor connectivity is incongruent with habitat suitability in future climate change scenarios, highlighting the necessity for a comprehensive management plan of this indicator species conservation in the wild. In conclusion, this comprehensive SDM assessment of this mammalian species represents the first of its kind, providing crucial ecological information for implementing targeted conservation strategies to ensure the long-term survival in the rapidly changing South and Southeast Asian landscape.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124004837BearcatVulnerableKeystone speciesSpecies distribution modellingTransboundary corridorsBiodiversity conservation |
| spellingShingle | Imon Abedin Tanoy Mukherjee Ah Ran Kim Hyun-Woo Kim Soo Rin Lee Shantanu Kundu Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent Ecological Informatics Bearcat Vulnerable Keystone species Species distribution modelling Transboundary corridors Biodiversity conservation |
| title | Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent |
| title_full | Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent |
| title_fullStr | Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent |
| title_short | Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent |
| title_sort | shifting shadows assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong arctictis binturong in the conservation landscape of the asian continent |
| topic | Bearcat Vulnerable Keystone species Species distribution modelling Transboundary corridors Biodiversity conservation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124004837 |
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