Historical data for conservation: reconstructing range changes of Chinese pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla ) in eastern China (1970–2016)

Abstract

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) has long suffered from intense exploitation driven by consumer demand for medicinal use and food. Effective conservation management is hampered by insufficient data on pangolin status and distribution. We integrated ecological niche modelling with long-term ecological records at the local scale (e.g. from local historical documents, grey and published literature and interviews) to estimate the magnitude of potential distribution change of the Chinese pangolin in eastern China (Fujian, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces) over time. Our results suggest that the range of the species decreased by 52.20% between the 1970s and early 2000s and that the population is now mainly confined to the Wuyi Mountains. This reduction in potential distribution range is attributable to anthropogenic pressures. According to our conservation prioritization analysis, the priority conservation area for the Chinese pangolin in eastern China is 51 268.4 km2, 5.62% of which is covered by nature reserves. There are 18 nature reserves and 46 prefectures which are priority areas for conservation in China. The priority-level nature reserves and prefectures in eastern China are mainly located in the centre of the Wuyi Mountains, and areas declared important tend to be around the Wuyi Mountains. We propose several actions to improve the conservation status of this species: establish or enlarge nature reserves, ensure local governments at the prefecture level prioritize conservation management and encourage local communities to participate in pangolin conservation.

Genomic consequences of population decline in critically endangered pangolins and their demographic histories

“…China [12,16,18]. After the split, MPA and MPB experienced abrupt population decline around the last glacial period (LGP, ca.…”

“…Notably, two Asian pangolins, Malayan and Chinese pangolins are the most threatened pangolin species with the highest extinction risk. Malayan pangolin is mainly found in Southeast Asia [9,14,15] and Chinese pangolin mainly inhabits south of China and some northern Southeast Asia [16][17][18]. Both species have been recognized as the most-traded mammals in Asia [2,5,7,14] and classified as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list [19].…”

Use of historical data to improve conservation of the black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) in Northeast China

“…Following the data collection process described in previous studies (Yang et al. , , ), we collected historical black grouse data from five sources: local gazetteers, fauna surveys, nature reserve scientific surveys, published scientific papers, and interviews. A total of 113 documents were collected, 80 from local gazetteers, 8 from fauna surveys, 14 from nature reserve scientific surveys, and 11 from published scientific papers.…”

“…, Yang et al. ), covering 19 prefecture‐level cities in Heilongjiang Province, Jilin Province, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Appendix ). We recorded the locality information from all sources.…”

“…, Yang et al. ). To reduce uncertainty, we selected four optimal modeling techniques, tuned the model parameters, and repeated the models 20 times.…”