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Measuring protected-area outcomes with leech iDNA: large-scale quantification of vertebrate biodiversity in Ailaoshan nature reserve

View ORCID ProfileChristopher CM Baker, Yinqiu Ji, View ORCID ProfileViorel D Popescu, Jiaxin Wang, Chunying Wu, View ORCID ProfileZhengyang Wang, Yuanheng Li, Lin Wang, Chaolang Hua, Zhongxing Yang, Chunyan Yang, View ORCID ProfileCharles CY Xu, Alex Diana, Qingzhong Wen, View ORCID ProfileNaomi E Pierce, View ORCID ProfileDouglas W Yu
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.10.941336
Christopher CM Baker
1Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA 02138 USA
2US Army ERDC Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover NH 03755 USA
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  • For correspondence: bakerccm@gmail.com npierce@oeb.harvard.edu dougwyu@mac.com
Yinqiu Ji
3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 32 Jiaochang Dong Lu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223 China
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Viorel D Popescu
4Department of Biological Sciences and Sustainability Studies Theme, 107 Irvine Hall, Ohio University, Athens OH 45701 USA
5Center for Environmental Studies (CCMESI), University of Bucharest, 1 N. Balcescu Blvd., Bucharest, Romania
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Jiaxin Wang
3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 32 Jiaochang Dong Lu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223 China
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Chunying Wu
3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 32 Jiaochang Dong Lu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223 China
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Zhengyang Wang
1Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA 02138 USA
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Yuanheng Li
1Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA 02138 USA
3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 32 Jiaochang Dong Lu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223 China
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Lin Wang
6Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
7Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
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Chaolang Hua
8Yunnan Institute of Forest Inventory and Planning, 289 Renmin E Rd, Kunming Yunnan 650028 China
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Zhongxing Yang
8Yunnan Institute of Forest Inventory and Planning, 289 Renmin E Rd, Kunming Yunnan 650028 China
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Chunyan Yang
3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 32 Jiaochang Dong Lu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223 China
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Charles CY Xu
9Redpath Museum and Department of Biology, McGill University, 859 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, PQ H3A2K6 Canada
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Alex Diana
10School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Kent, Sibson Building, Canterbury, Kent CT27FS, UK
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Qingzhong Wen
8Yunnan Institute of Forest Inventory and Planning, 289 Renmin E Rd, Kunming Yunnan 650028 China
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Naomi E Pierce
1Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA 02138 USA
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  • For correspondence: bakerccm@gmail.com npierce@oeb.harvard.edu dougwyu@mac.com
Douglas W Yu
3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 32 Jiaochang Dong Lu, Kunming, Yunnan 650223 China
11Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Yunnan, 650201 China
12School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk NR47TJ, UK
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  • For correspondence: bakerccm@gmail.com npierce@oeb.harvard.edu dougwyu@mac.com
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1 Abstract

Protected areas are central to meeting biodiversity conservation goals, but measuring their effectiveness is challenging. We address this challenge by using DNA from leech-ingested bloodmeals to estimate vertebrate occupancies across the 677 km2 Ailaoshan reserve in Yunnan, China. 163 park rangers collected 30,468 leeches from 172 patrol areas. We identified 86 vertebrate species, including amphibians, mammals, birds, and squamates. Multi-species occupancy modelling showed that species richness increased with elevation and distance to reserve edge, including the distributions of most of the large mammals (e.g. sambar, black bear, serow, tufted deer). The exceptions were the three domestic mammal species (cows, sheep, goats) and muntjak deer, which were more common at lower elevations. eDNA-estimated vertebrate occupancies are Granular, Repeatable, Auditable, Direct, Efficient, and Simple-to-understand measures that can be used to assess conservation effectiveness and thus to improve the contributions that protected areas make to achieving global biodiversity goals.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Revised occupancy modelling and corresponding figures, including the addition of a metacommunity analysis to better estimate total species richness of vertebrates. Removed Bayesian variable selection to compensate for increased model complexity. Revised introduction and discussion to connect more directly to policy on area-based conservation and the need for outcome-based measures of effectiveness.

  • https://github.com/dougwyu/screenforbio-mbc-ailaoshan/releases/tag/1.3

  • https://github.com/jiyinqiu/ailaoshan_leeches_method_code

  • https://github.com/bakerccm/leeches2018-public

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted August 31, 2021.
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Measuring protected-area outcomes with leech iDNA: large-scale quantification of vertebrate biodiversity in Ailaoshan nature reserve
Christopher CM Baker, Yinqiu Ji, Viorel D Popescu, Jiaxin Wang, Chunying Wu, Zhengyang Wang, Yuanheng Li, Lin Wang, Chaolang Hua, Zhongxing Yang, Chunyan Yang, Charles CY Xu, Alex Diana, Qingzhong Wen, Naomi E Pierce, Douglas W Yu
bioRxiv 2020.02.10.941336; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.10.941336
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Measuring protected-area outcomes with leech iDNA: large-scale quantification of vertebrate biodiversity in Ailaoshan nature reserve
Christopher CM Baker, Yinqiu Ji, Viorel D Popescu, Jiaxin Wang, Chunying Wu, Zhengyang Wang, Yuanheng Li, Lin Wang, Chaolang Hua, Zhongxing Yang, Chunyan Yang, Charles CY Xu, Alex Diana, Qingzhong Wen, Naomi E Pierce, Douglas W Yu
bioRxiv 2020.02.10.941336; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.10.941336

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