Modelling the Species Distribution of Flat-Headed Cats (Prionailurus planiceps), an Endangered South-East Asian Small Felid

Abstract

BackgroundThe flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) is one of the world's least known, highly threatened felids with a distribution restricted to tropical lowland rainforests in Peninsular Thailand/Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. Throughout its geographic range large-scale anthropogenic transformation processes, including the pollution of fresh-water river systems and landscape fragmentation, raise concerns regarding its conservation status. Despite an increasing number of camera-trapping field surveys for carnivores in South-East Asia during the past two decades, few of these studies recorded the flat-headed cat.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn this study, we designed a predictive species distribution model using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm to reassess the potential current distribution and conservation status of the flat-headed cat. Eighty-eight independent species occurrence records were gathered from field surveys, literature records, and museum collections. These current and historical records were analysed in relation to bioclimatic variables (WorldClim), altitude (SRTM) and minimum distance to larger water resources (Digital Chart of the World). Distance to water was identified as the key predictor for the occurrence of flat-headed cats (>50% explanation). In addition, we used different land cover maps (GLC2000, GlobCover and SarVision LLC for Borneo), information on protected areas and regional human population density data to extract suitable habitats from the potential distribution predicted by the MaxEnt model. Between 54% and 68% of suitable habitat has already been converted to unsuitable land cover types (e.g. croplands, plantations), and only between 10% and 20% of suitable land cover is categorised as fully protected according to the IUCN criteria. The remaining habitats are highly fragmented and only a few larger forest patches remain.Conclusion/SignificanceBased on our findings, we recommend that future conservation efforts for the flat-headed cat should focus on the identified remaining key localities and be implemented through a continuous dialogue between local stakeholders, conservationists and scientists to ensure its long-term survival. The flat-headed cat can serve as a flagship species for the protection of several other endangered species associated with the threatened tropical lowland forests and surface fresh-water sources in this region.

Predicted distributions and conservation status of two threatened Southeast Asian small carnivores: the banded civet and Hose’s civet

“…We georeferenced records with only described localities using Global Gazetteer v 2.1 ( www.fallingrain.com/world/ ). To ensure that all the records were independent, and to minimize the effects of spatial autocorrelation on the modelling analyses, additional records from the same exact location or within 1 km were not used (Wilting et al 2010 ). Specimen records from museum databases and publications were crosschecked to eliminate any duplicates.…”

“…Presence-only ecological niche modelling (ENM) can be a useful tool for predicting the distributions of poorly known species in remote and inaccessible regions (Gaubert et al 2006, Papes and Gaubert 2007, Wilting et al 2010, Jennings and Veron 2011, Jenks et al 2012. The outputs of ENM can aid conservation planning by highlighting potential unknown populations and key areas for fieldwork and conservation initiatives (Peterson 2006 , Thorn et al 2009 , Jackson andRobertson 2011 ).…”

Mapping the distribution of dholes, Cuon alpinus (Canidae, Carnivora), in Thailand

“…We used MaxEnt because it performs better than other presence-only modeling techniques (Elith et al 2006 ), especially with low numbers of occurrence locations (Papes and Gaubert 2007 ). This method has been used to develop habitat suitability models for a range of mammals (e.g., DeMatteo and Loiselle 2008 , Monterroso et al 2009, Wilting et al 2010, Jennings and Veron 2011.…”

Stray cats in Auckland, New Zealand: Discovering geographic information for exploratory spatial analysis

“…Given the limited funds available to promote sterilization and owner education there is a need to establish readily accessible information on the nature of stray cats for supporting relevant planning, management and decision-making efforts. In the literature GIS has been explicitly used to determine the influence of climate and other environment factors on the distribution of feline borne infections in Bangkok (Simking et al, 2010), endangered cat species (Marino et al, 2011;Wilting et al, 2010) and impact of inside/outside domestic cats on an urban forest reserve Kays and DeWan (2004). Geospatial techniques were also used in determining the relationship between cat deaths, human deaths and socioeconomic indicators reflecting deprivation across Boston neighbourhoods (Patronek, 2010).…”