Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 July 2021 | 13(8): 18959–18966
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3952.13.8.18959-18966
#3952 | Received 12 August 2020 | Final
received 13 October 2020 | Finally accepted 08 June 2021
Distribution and habitat
preferences of the Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla
(Mammalia: Manidae) in the mid-hills of Nepal
Suman Acharya 1, Hari
Prasad Sharma 2, Rajeev Bhattarai 3, Beeju
Poudyal 4, Sonia Sharma 5 &
Suraj Upadhaya 6
1 Anthropology and Environmental
Policy, Department of Anthropology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
1 Climate Change Institute,
University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA.
1,4,6 Himalayan Conservation and
Research Institute, Dolpa 21400, Nepal.
2 Central Department of Zoology,
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44618, Nepal.
3 University of Maine, School of
Forest Resources, Orono, ME, 04469, USA.
5 Department of Forest, Ministry of
Forests and Environment, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal.
6 Department of Natural Resource
Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA.
1 suman.acharya@maine.edu
(corresponding author), 2 hpsharma@cdztu.edu.np, 3 rajeev.bhattarai@maine.edu,
4 beeju.poudyal@gmail.com, 5 me.sonia07@gmail.com,
6 surajupadhaya99@gmail.com
Editor: Anonymity
requested. Date of publication:
26 July 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Acharya, S., H.P. Sharma, R.
Bhattarai, B. Poudyal, S. Sharma & S. Upadhaya (2021). Distribution
and habitat preferences of the Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla
(Mammalia: Manidae) in the mid-hills of Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(8): 18959–18966. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3952.13.8.18959-18966
Copyright: © Acharya et al. 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: This research was funded
by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC),
Nepal.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Author details: Suman Acharya is a PhD candidate
in Anthropology and Environmental Policy and Climate Change Institute at the
University of Maine, USA and a social science researcher at Himalayan
Conservation and Research Institute, Nepal. He works on power and politics of
climate change adaptation, collective action theory, and wildlife conservation.
Sonia Sharma is an Assistant Forest Officer under the Ministry of Forests and
Environment at the Divisional Forest Office, Dailekh,
Nepal. Her research areas include human dimensions of natural resource
management and human-wildlife conflict. Suraj Upadhaya
is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Natural Resource
Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, and director at Himalayan
Conservation and Research Institute. He conducts research and teaches in the
areas of socio-ecological systems and human dimensions of natural resource
management. His academic and professional’s goals are to explore
the dynamic relationship between natural resources and people, ensure the
sustainability of natural resources in developed and developing countries, and
channel his research to benefit the underprivileged population. Hari Prasad
Sharma is a faculty member at Tribhuvan University. He studies wildlife ecology
and human-wildlife interaction in Nepal. His research is focused on species’
habitat utilization, conservation, and niche modeling. Beeju
Poudyal is a Conservation Program Director at
Himalayan Conservation and Research Institute. Ms. Poudyal
specializes in human dimensions of natural resources management, human-wildlife
conflict, watershed management, and ecosystem services. Rajeev
Bhattarai is a PhD student at the University of Maine (School of Forest
Resources). He works with linking forest health to remote sensing.
Author contributions: SA—research design, data
collection, data analysis and interpretation, drafting manuscript, critical
review, revisions at different stages. HPS—methodology design, write up, data
analysis, revisions at different stages. RB—drafting manuscript, and revisions
at different stages. BP—draft manuscript preparation, reviewing, editing.
SS—conceptualization, drafting manuscript, reviewing, editing. SU—
conceptualization, writing: draft preparation, data analysis, reviewing,
editing.
Acknowledgements: We are thankful to the National
Trust for Nature Conservation, Nepal, for providing the financial support for
this study. We would like to thank Suraj Humagain,
and Pralhad Humagain for
their help in the fieldwork. We are grateful to Mahesh Paudel
for helping in the fieldwork and preparing the distribution map.
Abstract: The Chinese Pangolin is a
‘Critically Endangered’ species, which is estimated to have declined by over
90% in the last 21 years due to increased anthropogenic activities on the species
and its habitat. Only a few pieces of research on the Chinese Pangolin have
been done throughout Nepal; there is little information among the mammal
species of Nepal, especially on distribution and habitat preference. This study
was set to assess the distribution
and habitat preferences of the Chinese Pangolin in Panauti
municipality, central Nepal. We identified the most preferred habitat of the
Chinese Pangolin using different covariates. Its preferred habitat was found
ranging 1,450–1,600 m of elevation within a moderate slope of 5–25° steepness,
forested areas in west-facing slopes. The maximum number of burrows of the
species were found to be distributed in open canopy (0–50 % coverage). The
increase anthropogenic activities in the agricultural land and deforestation in
forested land has negatively impacted the occurrence of the Chinese Pangolin.
We recommend that the community-based conservation initiatives like community
forestry programs should be robustly implemented in the study area for better
conservation of species and habitat in the coming years.
Keywords: Critically Endangered species,
distribution, habitat, pangolin, wildlife.
Introduction
Anthropogenic
activities like illegal hunting and trading, deforestation, wildfire, increased
agricultural landscape, and habitat fragmentation are the major threats to the
biodiversity conservation in the contemporary world (Nepstad et al. 1999; Wolfe
et al. 2005; Jha & Bawa 2006; Gibson et al. 2011;
Laurance et al. 2014; Abood
et al. 2015). The major impact of these activities can be found on flora and
fauna. To minimize the anthropogenic effects, several areas are demarcated
under the protected areas system for biodiversity conservation around the world
(Bruner et al. 2001; Naughton-Treves et al. 2005). However, a majority of
anthropogenic threats are highly confined outside the protected areas that
accounts for approximately 86% of the earth’s total land (Deguignet
et al. 2014) and are highly vulnerable in terms of species distribution and
habitat management (Sharma & Acharya 2017). The established protected areas
in most of the countries including Nepal do not cover all threatened species
under the protected area system (Jnawali et al. 2011;
Polak et al. 2016). As other wildlife species, the
pangolin’s more suitable habitat is predicted outside the protected area of
Nepal (Sharma et al. 2020a; DNPWC & DoF 2018),
and the species is also facing survival threats due to similar anthropogenic
activities that have reduced the distribution of the pangolin (Challender et al. 2014; Acharya 2015; Kaspal
et al. 2016; Katuwal et al. 2017; Acharya et al.
2018; Sharma et al. 2020a,b).
Nepal hosts
two species of pangolin out of eight species distributed across the world: The
Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla and the
Indian Pangolin M. crassicaudata (Baral & Shah 2008; Jnawali et
al. 2011; Challender et al. 2019). Indian Pangolins
are distributed below 500 m and Chinese Pangolins are
distributed in lower regions as well as mountain areas with a maximum elevation
of 2,400 m (Baral & Shah 2008; Jnawali et al. 2011; Kaspal et
al. 2016; Sharma et al. 2020a). Globally, the Chinese Pangolin is found in
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Lao, Myanmar, Nepal,
Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam (Challender et al.
2019). In Nepal, the Chinese Pangolin is distributed from east to west at the
extreme limits of the Gandaki Province (Baral &
Shah 2008; Jnawali et al. 2011; Acharya 2016; Katuwal et al. 2017; Acharya et al. 2018; Suwal et al. 2020; Sharma et al. 2020a,b,c). Within these
geographic regions, the Chinese Pangolin inhabits forests, agricultural lands,
degraded landscape, and nearby human settlements (Katuwal
et al. 2017; Sharma et al. 2020a,b) and its occurrence is influenced by forest
canopy, soil, distance to water sources, distance to human settlements, road or
foot path, and slope (Wu et al. 2003; Acharya 2016; Katuwal
et al. 2017; Sharma et al. 2020a,b). Generally, its distribution in these
habitats will be supported by food availability such as termites and ants (Challender et al. 2019).
However,
the species is protected in different nations including Nepal with strong
national laws and acts (Challender & Waterman
2017; Challender et al. 2019), the population status
of the species is declining day by day mainly due to poaching for meat and
scales in China and Vietnam (Pantel & Chin 2009; Challender & Heywood 2012; Heinrich et al. 2016;
Ghimire et al. 2020; Sharma et al. 2020d) and these threats are assumed in
almost all countries including Nepal (DNPWC & DoF
2018; Challender et al. 2019). Therefore, the IUCN
Red List categorized the species under ‘Critically Endangered’ (Challender et al. 2019), under protected mammal species in
Nepal, and Appendix I on CITES. In spite of these status, the detail site specific
information on the Chinese Pangolin and its habitat especially on distribution
and habitat preference is little known, therefore, we aimed to provide the site
specific information on the habitat preferences of the Chinese Pangolin for
developing a management plan.
Materials and Methods
Study Area
We
performed this study in the Balthali of Panauti Municipality (former Balthali
Village Development Committee) in Kavrepalanchowk
district of Nepal. The study area is located outside the protected area system
and will be more crucial for designing the site-specific management plan for
long term conservation of the Chinese Pangolin. The study area comprises 9.5km2
(27.540N, 85.540E), and ranges at 1,300–1,900 m of
elevation. The area is occupied by agricultural land, grassland, and forest.
This area is quite famous for multiple agricultural products like rice, wheat,
potato, barley, maize, pea, and mustard. These two sentences are combined as:
The area is inhabited by many fauna and flora such as Leopard Panthera pardus, Indian Palm
Squirrel Funambulus penantii,
Golden Jackal Canis aureus, Porcupine Hystrix spp. Mongoose Herpestes
auropuncatatus, and Yellow-throated Marten Martes flavigula. Balthali supports
mixed types of forest species including Pine Pinus roxburghii,
Nepalese Alder Alnus nepalensis,
Wild Himalayan Pear Pyrus pashia, Wild
Himalayan Cherry Prunus cerasoides, and
Needlewood Schima wallichii.
Methods
We collected data between
December 2017 to March 2018. A reconnaissance survey was carried out in the
first week of December 2017 in the study area to identify the potential sites
of the pangolin. It was performed in consultation with local people and
district forest officials before we initiated our fieldwork. After confirmation
of the Chinese Pangolin’s presence in the study area, a random sampling
technique was followed to collect data. We followed the method applied by Katuwal et al. (2017); however, we modified it based on our
study area in which we divided the study area into 160 grids and each grid was
250 × 250 m. We established 10 × 10 m of plot at the center of each alternate
grid to collect the information on pangolin presence records.
We recorded slope, aspect,
elevation, canopy, and habitat information in each plot, which are influencing
factors for the Chinese Pangolin occurrence (Katuwal
et al. 2017; DNPWC & DoF 2018; Sharma et al.
2020b). However, the present study was not able to include all influencing
factors such as food, nearest distance to road and other anthropogenic factors
because of financial and time constraints. We noticed the slope and aspect of
each plot using a clinometer, and elevation and spatial locations by global
positioning system (GPS) Etrex 10 (Garmin Ltd.,
Olathe, Kansas). We recorded the canopy cover by using a crucial mobile
application (Gap Light Analysis Mobile Application) (Tichy
2016; Sharma et al. 2020b) and categorized into open (0–50%) and close
(50–100%) canopy. We identified the habitat types into forest, shrubs,
grassland, and agricultural land. However, we did not notice the occurrence of
Chinese Pangolins in shrubs and grassland during our study period, therefore we
excluded these variables for data analysis. We noticed the presence/absence of
Chinese Pangolin based on its signs such as burrows, scratches, and feces. We
categorized burrows as old and new burrows based on scratches and pugmarks (Katuwal et al. 2017) and presence of any types of burrows
recognized as presence.
Data Analysis
We calculated the descriptive
statistics (Mean +SD) of the continuous variables. We used logistic regression
to estimate the effects of slope, aspect, canopy cover, elevation, habitat
types on the presence of Chinese Pangolin. We ran all combinations of variables
without interactions. As our sample size was small, we adjusted Akaike
information criterion (AIC) for small samples as suggested by Burnham &
Anderson (2002). We used this AIC to rank the models. The relative strength of
evidence for each model were estimated using the Akaike model weights. To estimate
95% confidence intervals for each independent variable we conducted model
averaging of all the models.
Results
Distribution of Chinese Pangolin
We found altogether 258 burrows
of Chinese Pangolin in the study area. These coordinates were plotted in the
Arc GIS map to depict the distribution in the Balthali
of Panauti municipality (Figure 2).
Habitat preference
The presence of the Chinese
Pangolin was found in 47 plots (59%) out of 80 plots. The observed plots were
found at 1,300–1,895 m of elevation (mean 1,562.13 ±14.61 m SD). Mean elevation
of plots with and without pangolin was 1,564.93 ± 17.94 m and 1,556.35 ± 25.15
m, respectively. Elevation class of 1,450–1,600 m hosts the highest evidence of
Chinese Pangolin presence. The studied plots were found from 5–<30° slope.
The Chinese Pangolin’s occurrences were found between 5–25° slopes. Mean slope
of plots with and without pangolin was 17.11 ± 1.15° and 22.23 ± 1.57°,
respectively. Comparatively more Chinese Pangolin presence (44%) was found in west
aspect and followed by the east aspect (30%), south (19%) and the least was
found in north aspect (7%), respectively. We found that 78% of Chinese Pangolin
presence was detected in open canopy whereas only 22% of presence was found in
close canopy. Similarly, 60% of Chinese Pangolin presence was detected in
forest land followed by 40% in agricultural land.
Using the Akaike information
criterion adjusted for small samples (AIC), our model revealed that the
best-supported models included canopy, habitat and slopes followed by the model
containing canopy, habitat, slope, and aspect (Table 1). Chinese Pangolin
preferred habitat with 0–50% of tree canopy, i.e., open canopy. Increased tree
canopy had negative effects on the occurrence of Chinese Pangolin (Table 2).
They preferred to live at lower slope (10–20°), and the number of their
occurrences decreases with increasing slope (Table 2). Their occurrences was
greatly influenced by habitat including forest and majority of the presence was
detected in forested areas than agricultural areas. West facing slopes
supported the occurrence of Chinese Pangolin (Table 2; Figure 3). Their
occurrence was decreased with increasing elevation (Table 2).
Discussion
In our study both forest and
agricultural lands support the occurrence of Chinese Pangolin may be due to the
availability of higher food such as ants and termites. These are the major
habitats in Nepal (Gurung 1996; Bhandari & Chalise
2014; Katuwal et al. 2017; Suwal
et al. 2020; Sharma et al. 2020a,b) for the species. Among these habitats, the
forest supports the higher proportion of occurrence, which might be due to food
availability in the forest and less disturbances, which was also indicated by
Sharma et al. (2020a) in mid-mountain regions of Nepal. The forest provides
ample space and food for pangolins because ants and termites are found
abundantly in this habitat (Okwakol 2000; Ellwood
2002; Lee et al. 2017), that could support the robust presence of its
population in forest (Swart et al. 1999). The
pangolin prefers the west slope probably for getting sunlight before foraging.
We also documented 40% of the
pangolins preferred agricultural land as a suitable habitat. The occurrence of
the Chinese Pangolin is higher in those settlement areas that are near to forest
and surrounded by shrubs and diverse forest vegetation (Carter & Glimour 1989; Acharya 2006; Sharma et al. 2020a,b). As the
presence of farmers in agricultural land for their daily chores disturb the
movement of the pangolins, therefore the species preferred forest adjoining the
agricultural land (Katuwal et al. 2017; Sharma et al.
2020b). Moreover, during our survey we directly observed the presence of
shrubs, small trees, ants, termites, and tree leaves in the agricultural land
that promote habitat preference of the pangolins (Richer et al. 1997). However,
increase in insecticides use, habitat destruction due to construction works in
agricultural land, and deforestation has affected the presence and distribution
of the pangolins (Acharya et al. 2018).
Our study revealed that the
elevation range of 1,300–1,895 m hosts the occurrence of Chinese Pangolins, and
most preferred range was 1,450–1,600 m of elevation located in the mid-mountain
regions of Nepal. This range also fall under the predicted suitable habitat for
the Chinese Pangolins (Sharma et al. 2020a; Suwal et
al. 2020) and field based (Thapa et al. 2014; Dorji
et al. 2017; Wu et al. 2020) except 200–1,000 m of elevation in Taiwan (Sun et
al. 2019). Their preferences might be due to increased forest in the mountain
regions of Nepal.
We report the Chinese Pangolins
prefer open canopy forest (0–50% coverage) such that the increase in canopy
coverage has negative effect on its occurrence. The occurrence of large number
of fallen logs and cut stumps in open canopy forest might support the
occurrence of ants and termites. However, Katuwal et
al. (2017) claimed the presence of Chinese Pangolin in dense canopy cover,
which might support in the habitat protection from erosion.
This study found that the burrows
of Chinese Pangolin were distributed between 5–25° slopes, so that they can
move easily in the area to avoid the terrain slope. In most of the areas of
Nepal a maximum number of burrows was recorded at 15–22° slopes (Sharma et al.
2020b). Sharma et al. (2020a,b) argued that the presence of large number of
burrows in lower slope could be due to the presence of plethora of fallen logs
and prey species (ants and termites). However, Wu et al. (2003), Dorji et al. (2017), and Suwal et
al. (2020) noticed the preferred slopes for Chinese Pangolin was <50°. The
presence of the pangolin in varied slope recorded in different locations might
be due to physiographic condition of the locality.
In conclusion, Balthali of Panauti municipality
is one of the suitable places in Nepal that supports the pangolins occurrences.
The Chinese Pangolin’s suitable habitat is influenced by habitat and habitat
related covariates, therefore, we recommend the development and implementation
of extensive conservation strategies such as community-based conservation
initiatives like community forestry programs for species conservation to
prevent the loss of this critically endangered species from the earth.
Table 1. Logistic regression
models describing the occurrence of the Chinese Pangolin in Balthali
of Panauti municipality, Kavrepalanchowk
for 2017 year, ranked according to the Akaike information criterion adjusted
for small sample size (AICc). Model parameters
include aspect (°), canopy (%), elevation (m), slope (°), habitat (agricultural/forest),
(presence/absence). K is the number of parameters, ΔAICc
is the difference between the AICc value of the
best-supported model and successive models, LogLik is
used for a model fitted by maximum likelihood and Wi is the Akaike model
weight.
Models |
K |
LogLik |
AICc |
ΔAICc |
Wi |
Canopy + Habitat + Slope |
4 |
-34.358 |
76.7 |
0 |
0.448 |
Aspect + Canopy + Habitat +
Slope |
5 |
-34.01 |
78 |
1.3 |
0.234 |
Canopy + Elevation + Habitat +
Slope |
5 |
-34.232 |
78.5 |
1.75 |
0.187 |
Aspect + Canopy + Elevation +
Habitat + Slope |
6 |
-33.956 |
79.9 |
3.2 |
0.091 |
Canopy + Slope |
3 |
-39.144 |
84.3 |
7.57 |
0.01 |
Aspect + Canopy + Slope |
4 |
-38.537 |
85.1 |
8.36 |
0.007 |
Canopy + Habitat |
3 |
-39.758 |
85.5 |
8.8 |
0.006 |
Aspect + Canopy + Habitat |
4 |
-38.913 |
85.8 |
9.11 |
0.005 |
Canopy + Elevation + Slope |
4 |
-39.016 |
86 |
9.31 |
0.004 |
Aspect + Canopy + Elevation +
Slope |
5 |
-38.295 |
86.6 |
9.87 |
0.003 |
Canopy + Elevation + Habitat |
4 |
-39.752 |
87.5 |
10.79 |
0.002 |
Aspect + Canopy + Elevation +
Habitat |
5 |
-38.91 |
87.8 |
11.1 |
0.002 |
Habitat + Slope |
3 |
-42.243 |
90.5 |
13.77 |
0 |
Canopy |
2 |
-43.566 |
91.1 |
14.41 |
0 |
Elevation + Habitat + Slope |
4 |
-41.672 |
91.3 |
14.63 |
0 |
Aspect + Canopy |
3 |
-42.689 |
91.4 |
14.66 |
0 |
Aspect + Habitat + Slope |
4 |
-42.105 |
92.2 |
15.49 |
0 |
Aspect + Canopy + Elevation |
4 |
-42.199 |
92.4 |
15.68 |
0 |
Canopy + Elevation |
3 |
-43.205 |
92.4 |
15.69 |
0 |
Aspect + Elevation + Habitat +
Slope |
5 |
-41.591 |
93.2 |
16.47 |
0 |
Habitat |
2 |
-46.038 |
96.1 |
19.36 |
0 |
Aspect + Habitat |
3 |
-45.474 |
96.9 |
20.23 |
0 |
Elevation + Habitat |
3 |
-45.803 |
97.6 |
20.89 |
0 |
Aspect + Elevation + Habitat |
4 |
-45.31 |
98.6 |
21.9 |
0 |
Slope |
2 |
-47.361 |
98.7 |
22.01 |
0 |
Aspect + Slope |
3 |
-46.983 |
100 |
23.25 |
0 |
Elevation + Slope |
3 |
-47.353 |
100.7 |
23.99 |
0 |
Aspect + Elevation + Slope |
4 |
-46.981 |
102 |
25.25 |
0 |
Null |
1 |
-50.446 |
102.9 |
26.18 |
0 |
Aspect |
2 |
-49.82 |
103.6 |
26.92 |
0 |
Elevation |
2 |
-50.409 |
104.8 |
28.1 |
0 |
Aspect + Elevation |
3 |
-49.754 |
105.5 |
28.79 |
0 |
Table 2. Model averaged parameter
estimates and 95 % confidence limits (CL) for Chinese Pangolin occurrence.
Variables detail was described in Table 1. Significant variables are in bold.
|
Estimate |
SE |
Lower 95% CL |
Upper 95% CL |
Z |
p |
(Intercept) |
6.623250 |
2.708539 |
1.24022 |
12.00627 |
2.412 |
0.015886 |
Canopy |
-0.063462 |
0.017954 |
-0.09922 |
-0.0277020 |
3.478 |
0.000505 |
Habitat |
-2.473016 |
0.964771 |
-4.39456 |
-0.5514705 |
2.522 |
0.011654 |
Slope |
-0.112887 |
0.038628 |
-0.18983 |
-0.0359469 |
2.876 |
0.004032 |
Aspect |
0.252597 |
0.303325 |
-0.35166 |
0.8568507 |
0.819 |
0.412599 |
Elevation |
-0.001260 |
0.002520 |
-0.00628 |
0.0037597 |
0.492 |
0.622816 |
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