Impacts of environmental change on large mammal distributions in Southeast Asia

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Impacts of environmental change on large mammal distributions in Southeast Asia

Taesuk, Nonthiwat; (2021) Impacts of environmental change on large mammal distributions in Southeast Asia. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

It is suggested climate change contributes considerably to global biodiversity loss. Southeast Asia, one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots, is predicted to lose most of its species by 2100. Hence, it is important to identify the key impact of environmental changes in order to develop more appropriate and effective conservation plans to mitigate species extinction risks. In this thesis, Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) techniques were used to predict potential species distributions in relation to 6 climatic variables. The effects of climate changes on large mammal distributions were examined across three time intervals: past (the last interglacial ~120,000 – 140,000 years before present), present (AD 1945 - present) and future (2050); while rates of species range shifts between the time intervals were also determined. It is found that large mammals are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The species will have to move 33 – 105 times faster than they once did in the past in order to search out suitable habitat. There is also evidence of niche conservatism and niche shift among the taxa. However, species niche shifts likely result from anthropogenic factors. Limited availability of species occurrence data in many parts of the world leads to an increased use of species range maps in research on species responses to changing environments. Predictions based on SDMs suggest that relying on a single data source may skew the species’ realistic threatened status and misguide conservation planning. The Zonation software was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) in Thailand under future warming climate and identify high priority areas. Currently, nearly 60% of high priority areas fall within the PAs. In the future, the conservation values of the PAs are expected to remain relatively unchanged. However, it is suggested that enhancing PAs connectivity in the northern part of the country may yield a high return on conservation investment. A deliberate and consistent conservation effort will also be needed to maintain the effectiveness of the existing PAs.

Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification:	Ph.D
Title:	Impacts of environmental change on large mammal distributions in Southeast Asia
Event:	UCL
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language:	English
Additional information:	Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10136951