Analysis Of Landscape Connectivity In Habitat Of Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus Bieti) Combining With Landscape Genetics

Biodiversity conservation is becoming more challenging and imminent due to rapid habitat loss and fragmentation under ever growing global natural resource demanding. Habitat loss and fragmentation can lower migration rate between populations of a species, thereby reducing gene flow and genetic variability, leading to increased risk of extinction. Because of the relationship between genetic diversity and landscape characters, biodiversity conservation should involve the study of landscape characteristics and their changes. Thus, conservation efforts should not only focus on single species but also should consider all components of its habitats. Landscape genetics is the interdisciplinary of population genetics, landscape ecology, and spatial statistics. It is used to quantify the effects of landscape characters on population genetic structures. Results from such studies may have great implications for biodiversity conservation and reserve management. The current focus of the research is landscape connectivity combining with genetic data.Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) is one of the rarest species in severe danger. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation, its gene communication was blocked and genetic diversity was threatened. Major concepts and techniques of landscape genetics were discussed in this paper, aimed to provide theories and methods for biodiversity conservation and reserve management. By the landscape pattern analysis, area properties index, perimeter properties index, patch area properties index, patch shape properties index, and landscape diversity index were selected to illustrate the differences of various landscape types. Landscape pattern and fragmentation of habitat were analyzed quantitative and evaluated.Meanwhile, the method utilizing least-cost model and genetic data is developed to evaluate landscape connectivity. To demonstrate the use and potential of this method, the paper presented an example of application to a case study for the Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, and evaluated the landscape connectivity, identified those habitat areas that were sensitive to overall landscape connectivity. This method can guide biodiversity conservation and reserve management more effectively and practically. All results show that:(1) Forest land area, including suitable habitat was 2/3 of the total landscape area, and it is the dominant landscape type. The landscape pattern of study area was influenced by human activity less, but a certain extent fragmentation had appeared. The suitable habitat area was 308212.44 hm2,18.86% of the total landscape area, and its fragmentation degree was relative low. But it was still essential to control the arisen fragmentation, and protect the habitat of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys through habitat restoring and corridor rebuilding. (2) Among the five subpopulations, only monkey groups in S3 were connected better, the landscape connectivity of the others was rather low. The landscape connectivity among subpopulations was worse compared to connectivity in the monkey subpopulation. And the subpopulations north to S3 were affected by anthropogenic barriers less than the subpopulations south to S3. (3) The potential dispersal corridor between populations was protracted and the important area to restore was located. The sensitive areas were concentrated in subpopulations of central and south. Three sensitive areas were located between S3 and S4; two sensitive areas were located between G11 and G13; three sensitive areas were located between G12 and G13; one sensitive area was located between G14 and G15. These sensitive areas should be protect and restore preferential.