Today's protected areas: supporting a more sustainable future for humanity

Predicting Conservation Status of Testudoformes under Climate Change Using Habitat Models

Climate change promotes variations in distribution ranges, potentially leading to biodiversity loss and increased extinction risks for species. It is crucial to investigate these variations under future climate change scenarios for effective biodiversity conservation. Here, we studied the future distribution ranges of 268 Testudoformes species under climate change using habitat models, specifically species distribution models (SDMs), to assess their conservation status. Our results have indicated that over half of species are projected to experience declines in their potential distribution ranges under two scenarios. In particular, we found that three critically endangered species-Three-striped roofed turtle (Batagur dhongoka), Durango mud turtle (Kinosternon durangoense), and Colombian mud turtle (Kinosternon dunni)-displayed extraction of their distribution ranges and faced extinction under global climate change. Additionally, our analysis revealed that the potential distribution ranges of some species might increase under future climate scenarios. However, these findings must be interpreted with caution as they do not account for other significant factors such as biological invasions, population structure, land-use change, anthropogenic disturbances, and inter-organism interrelationships. Future studies should incorporate these factors to provide a more comprehensive assessment of extinction risks. Our findings suggest that climate change, in conjunction with habitat degradation and human activities, must be considered when assessing the extinction risks of Testudoformes.

Assessing Reptile Conservation Status under Global Climate Change

Global climate change drives variations in species distribution patterns and affects biodiversity, potentially increasing the risk of species extinction. Investigating the potential distribution range of species under future global climate change is crucial for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. In this study, we collected distributional data for 5282 reptile species to assess their conservation status based on distributional ranges using species distribution models. Our predictions indicate that the potential distribution ranges for over half of these species are projected to decrease under different scenarios. Under future scenarios with relatively low carbon emissions, the increase in the number of threatened reptiles is significantly lower, highlighting the importance of human efforts. Surprisingly, we identified some endangered species that are projected to expand their distribution ranges, underscoring the potential positive effects of climate change on some special species. Our findings emphasize the increased extinction risk faced by reptile species due to climate change and highlight the urgent need to mitigate the effects of habitat degradation and human activities on their potential distribution in the future.

Predicting the Potential Distribution of the Szechwan Rat Snake (Euprepiophis perlacea) and Its Response to Climate Change in the Yingjing Area of the Giant Panda National Park

Climate change is a significant driver of changes in the distribution patterns of species and poses a threat to biodiversity, potentially resulting in species extinctions. Investigating the potential distribution of rare and endangered species is crucial for understanding their responses to climate change and for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem management. The Szechwan rat snake (Euprepiophis perlacea) is an endemic and endangered species co-distributed with giant pandas, and studying its potential distribution contributes to a better understanding of the distribution pattern of endangered species. In this study, we confirmed seven presence points of this species in the Yingjing Area of the Giant Panda National Park, and selected eleven key factors to predict the potential distribution of E. perlacea under current and future scenarios using MaxEnt models. Our study consistently achieved AUC values exceeding 0.79, meeting the precision requirements of the models. The results indicated that the high potential distribution area of E. perlacea is mainly located near Yunwu mountain and the giant panda rewilding and reintroduction base, accounting for approximately 12% of the protected area. Moreover, we identified the primary environmental factors influencing the distribution of E. perlacea as the distance from streams and the slope degree, with their contribution rates exceeding 41% and 31%, respectively. In comparison to the current scenario, the potential habitat range for E. perlacea did not show an overall reduction in the context of future climate scenarios. To ensure the long-term preservation of E. perlacea, it is advisable to validate its actual distribution based on the models' results. Particular attention should be given to safeguarding its core distribution areas and raising awareness among residents within the potential distribution range about the conservation of E. perlacea.

Microbial Networks Reveal the Structure of Water Microbial Communities in Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate Nature Reserve

Water microorganisms contribute to the key components of ecosystems in dryland waters, which are extremely important for wildlife. However, the distribution patterns of water microbes across different basal water sources are still largely unknown. This study was conducted to compare microorganisms in the water bodies of different types of water sources in the Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate Nature Reserve in China. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the undirected microbial co-existence network consisted of 15 main modules referring to different water sources, which indicated specific molecular co-existence relationships. It was found that the most dominant phyla (namely Proteobacteria, Patescibacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Actinobacteriota) of the molecular ecological network shared the same structures as the microbial community, which justified the construction of the network via a random network formation. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) based on Bray–Curtis distances revealed that there were still considerable variations among different habitats, showing separate sample clusters. Additionally, the different topological roles of subnetworks trimmed to a uniform size indicated different co-existence patterns in the microbiome. The artificially recharged water from concrete pond substrate (ARC) subnetworks had a relatively discrete co-occurrence, while the natural water sources (NRE) and artificially recharged water from earthen pond substrate (ARE) groups were more compact with giant modules. The NRE and ARE groups were also richer in microbial composition and had a higher number of species with low abundance. Consequently, concrete substrates may contribute to dysfunction in water microbiomes. Moreover, the functional diversity of the NRE and ARE groups is due to more intra-module connections and more inter-module connections, indirectly leading to a stable function resilient to external environmental influences. In conclusion, the microecology of the NRE was more stable than that of the concrete substrate, and artificial transportation had less effect on the microbial community.