title: Tracking changes and preventing loss in critical tiger habitat.
abstract: The global population of wild tigers remains dangerously low at fewer than 3500 individuals. Habitat loss, along with poaching, can undermine the international target recovery of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022. Using a new satellite-based monitoring system, we analyzed 14 years of forest loss data within the 76 landscapes (ranging from 278 to 269,983 km(2)) that have been prioritized for conservation of wild tigers. Our analysis provides an update of the status of tiger habitat and describes new applications of technology to detect precisely where forest loss is occurring in order to curb future habitat loss. Across the 76 landscapes, forest loss was far less than anticipated (79,597 ± 22,629 km(2), 7.7% of remaining habitat) over the 14-year study period (2001-2014). Habitat loss was unevenly distributed within a subset of 29 landscapes deemed most critical for doubling wild tiger populations: 19 showed little change (1.5%), whereas 10 accounted for more than 98% (57,392 ± 16,316 km(2)) of habitat loss. Habitat loss in source population sites within 76 landscapes ranged from no loss to 435 ± 124 km(2) ([Formula: see text], SD = 89, total = 1676 ± 476 km(2)). Doubling the tiger population by 2022 requires moving beyond tracking annual changes in habitat. We highlight near-real-time forest monitoring technologies that provide alerts of forest loss at relevant spatial and temporal scales to prevent further erosion.
authors.affiliation: Conservation Biology Program, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
authors.forename: Anup R
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2565-5495
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dinerstein
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1373-6952
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wikramanayake
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3298-8418
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.affiliation: Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.; Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC 20013, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seidensticker
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lumpkin
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: World Resources Institute, 10 G St., Washington, DC 20002, USA.
authors.forename: Nigel C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Sizer
authors.affiliation: World Resources Institute, 10 G St., Washington, DC 20002, USA.
authors.forename: Crystal L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palminteri
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program, RESOLVE, 1255 23rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan R
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1429-6722
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D056727:Endangered Species; D065928:Forests; D006801:Humans; D046010:Tigers
keywords: FORMA alerts.; GIS; Remote Sensing; forest loss; global forest change; global forest watch; habitat monitoring; spatial analysis; tiger conservation landscapes; tigers