Deduced Conservation Strategy of the Macaques in China from their Evolutionary Development
Haitao Wang,
Huan Zou,
He-Xian Zhang,
Hao Pan,
Jing Wang,
Gaigai Guo,
Rong Hou,
Kang Huang,
Songtao Guo,
Gang He,
Pei Zhang,
He Zhang*,
Baoguo Li*,
Ruliang Pan*
Haitao Wang
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Huan Zou
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
He-Xian Zhang
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Hao Pan
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Jing Wang
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Gaigai Guo
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Rong Hou
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Kang Huang
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Songtao Guo
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Gang He
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Pei Zhang
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
He Zhang
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, China
Baoguo Li
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
College of Life Science, Yanan University, Yanan 710032
Ruliang Pan
Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
International Centre of Biodiversity and Primate Conservation Centre, Dali University, Dali, China
School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009
Communicated by Sheng-Feng Shen
Understanding how climate, ecological and environmental changes, and anthropogenic activities have driven animals’ development and predicting their prospective distribution profiles are essential to making a tangible conservation strategy. Macaques (Macaca) distributed in China provide an ideal research model for such an effort. We reconstruct their geographic distribution profiles from the last inter-glaciation (LIG, 120,000–140,000 years BP), the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 22,000 years BP), and the present (1970–2000), based on which we deduce their distribution perspective in the 2050s. The results show that their suitable habitats during LIG and LGM were mainly in eastern Southwest, Central, and Coastal China. A noticeable distribution reduction started in LIG and persisted until the present (1970–2000). Their distribution centroid would shift northward to mountainous regions, mainly in Southwest China, where more migration corridors would be available for their prospective development. Also, the results indicate that China's Protected Area currently does not cover more than 94.00% of macaques' potential habitats, which is a dismal situation for their conservation. Finally, this study proclaims that the conservation priority of the macaques in the years to come should focus on Southwest China – their future refuge region.
