Earth observation: overlooked potential to support species reintroduction programmes

Abstract

Habitat evaluation is considered an essential step for assessing the potential for an area to support a viable reintroduced population. Remote sensing techniques can support such investigations, by greatly enhancing the temporal and spatial coverage of habitat assessments. This study makes use of freely available earth observation data to evaluate the suitability of the Ouadi Rim e-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve in central Chad for the reintroduction of the Scimitar-horned Oryx. The reserve was the last stronghold of the species within its historical range, prior to extinction in the wild in the 1980s, providing a basis for reintroduction. Results show that since the 1980s, there has been a steady increase in average annual precipitation and satellite-derived estimates of primary production. The spatial downscaling of the average trend in primary production showed that the north of the protected area exhibited a drying trend over the period 1982-2008, while the south was associated with intense greening. As a result, the subdesert transition zone preferred by oryx is currently narrowing. If this is correct, this implies a potential reduction of favourable habitat for the oryx, which could have detrimental effects on the success of establishing a self-sustaining reintroduced population.

Testing the water: detecting artificial water points using freely available satellite data and open source software

“…Research by Freemantle et al. (), identified the central ‘sub‐desert’ transition zone (habitat preferred by Scimitar‐horned oryx) as narrowing under intense greening in the south and drying in the north. This alone was highlighted as a concern in terms of establishing a successful self‐sustaining Scimitar‐horned oryx population (Freemantle et al.…”

“…This alone was highlighted as a concern in terms of establishing a successful self‐sustaining Scimitar‐horned oryx population (Freemantle et al. ). Alongside data derived from this framework, it is clear that high artificial water point density exists in the greening southern region, as well as, but to a lesser extent, within the central transition zone (Fig.…”

“…Due to greening in the southern and central transition zone of the reserve, future increases in densities of people and livestock are possible (Freemantle et al. ). As a result, consequent increases in artificial water point density are likely, leading to potential increased overgrazing and livestock wildlife competition in areas of preferred Scimitar‐horned oryx habitat.…”

Oil in the Sahara: mapping anthropogenic threats to Saharan biodiversity from space

“…Moreover, monitoring of the expansion of novel oil exploration across desert regions may be of great importance for determining sites for future reintroduction efforts for threatened desert animal species under climate change (e.g. the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah); [99]). …”

Management Effectiveness and Potential for Tourism of Peri-Urban Lusaka National Park, Zambia: A Preliminary Assessment

“…Selection of wildlife species for translocation congruent to suitability of recipient wildlife habitat is critical aspects of managing introduced wild animals (Bothma & Du Toit, 2010) as well as determination of habitat suitability for animals (Sinclair, Fryxell, & Caughley, 2009;Freemantle, Wacher, Newby, & Pottorelli, 2013). Lusaka National Park has several exotic and out-of-range species that were introduced there for tourism purposes.…”