title: The minimum area requirements (MAR) for giant panda: an empirical study.
abstract: Habitat fragmentation can reduce population viability, especially for area-sensitive species. The Minimum Area Requirements (MAR) of a population is the area required for the population's long-term persistence. In this study, the response of occupancy probability of giant pandas against habitat patch size was studied in five of the six mountain ranges inhabited by giant panda, which cover over 78% of the global distribution of giant panda habitat. The probability of giant panda occurrence was positively associated with habitat patch area, and the observed increase in occupancy probability with patch size was higher than that due to passive sampling alone. These results suggest that the giant panda is an area-sensitive species. The MAR for giant panda was estimated to be 114.7 km2based on analysis of its occupancy probability. Giant panda habitats appear more fragmented in the three southern mountain ranges, while they are large and more continuous in the other two. Establishing corridors among habitat patches can mitigate habitat fragmentation, but expanding habitat patch sizes is necessary in mountain ranges where fragmentation is most intensive.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China.|Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qing
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China.
authors.forename: Zhisong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Institute of Rare Animals and Plants, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, China.
authors.forename: Zejun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Station of Wild life survey and Management, Chengdu, 610082, China.
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Station of Wild life survey and Management, Chengdu, 610082, China.
authors.forename: Xuyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Provincial Institute of Forestry Survey and Planning, Chengdu, 610082, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Conservation International, Chengdu, 610064, China.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, Chengdu, 610086, China.
authors.forename: Dunwu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D056727:Endangered Species; D006801:Humans; D001503:Ursidae / Q000502:physiology*