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Simple Summary: The study emphasizes the importance of species–habitat dynamic research in shaping effective habitat protection and management strategies. Current, research on Chinese red panda habitats is limited to single-period analysis, thereby hindering the formulation of comprehensive conservation strategies. The study employs habitat suitability simulations across different time scales, quantifying trends in habitat quality changes, and analyzing the reasons for suitability changes. The results show an overall increase in habitat suitability for the Chinese red panda, but a decline in habitat suitability in the central part of Liangshan is observed. The decline in habitat suitability is attributed to climate change and human interference. Additionally, the local extinction of the isolated populations in the Minshan Mountains is identified as the primary cause of the distribution retreat rather than a decrease in habitat quality being identified as such. These findings provide a scientific basis for developing conservation and management strategies for Chinese red pandas at different scales. The study of the dynamics of species habitat is of great significance for maintaining or adjusting the current habitat protection management strategy. However, the current research on the Chinese red panda's habitat is limited to the analysis of a single period, which makes it difficult to quantify the changes in its habitat on a temporal scale and greatly hinders the formulation of the overall protection and management strategies that are to be used for the Chinese red panda. This study simulated habitat suitability at different temporal scales to quantify the trend of changes in habitat quality and analyzed the reasons for the changes in habitat suitability in certain regions. The results showed that the overall suitability of the Chinese red panda's habitat increased and that the area of suitable habitats expanded. Suitable Chinese red panda habitats in the mountains of Qionglai (1662.73 km2), Daxiangling (230.30 km2), Xiaoxiangling (549.47 km2), and Liangshan (50.39 km2) increased by a total of 2452.89 km2. The suitability of habitats in the central part of the Liangshan Mountains has declined significantly, which is positively correlated with changes in temperature seasonality (BIO4, R = 0.18) and negatively correlated with changes in annual average temperature (BIO1, R = −0.03) as well as changes in the proportion of farmland (FARMLAND, R = −0.14). The local extinction of isolated populations of Chinese red pandas in the Minshan Mountains is the main factor leading to their distribution retreat rather than a decrease in habitat quality. The research results help us to provide a scientific basis for the formulation of conservation and management strategies for Chinese red pandas at different scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The female giant panda Zhangxiang (pedigree number 826) was born on August 20, 2011 in Wolong Nature Reserve, China. On November 6, 2013, Zhangxiang was transported into the acclimatization enclosure in the Liziping Nature Reserve. Before Zhangxiang left the enclosure into the wild, we conducted the first study to compare microhabitats and foraging strategies between Zhangxiang in the enclosure and giant pandas in the wild. Compared with the latter, microhabitats of Zhangxiang in the enclosure are characteristic of gentler slope, more trees, higher canopy, smaller tree DBH, and lower density of living bamboos. Diet composition and foraging behaviors significantly differed between Zhangxiang and wild giant pandas, perhaps reflecting the combined consequence of environmental conditions (e.g., bamboo species) and individual status (e.g., age, mastication ability, etc.). The difference in microhabitats and foraging strategies between Zhangxiang and wild giant pandas implied that after being released into the natural habitat in the reserve, Zhangxiang will have to adapt to the environmental conditions once again. For future reintroduction, the enclosure can be extended to the Bashania spanostachya forest in the reserve, and captive giant pandas for release can thus normally transit into the wild without human intervention during acclimatization period. For other acclimatization enclosures to be constructed in the future, ecological environment inside, including topography, forests, and bamboos as well, should as possible as can match the habitat that the giant panda to-be-reinforced populations inhabit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining ecological processes across spatial scales is crucial as animals select and use resources at different scales. We carried out field surveys in September 2005, March-September 2006, and April 2007, and used ecological niche factor analysis to determine habitat preferences for the giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca) across 4 spatial scales: daily movement, core range, home range, and seasonal elevational migration. We found that giant pandas prefer conifer forest and mixed forest at higher than average elevation (2,157 m) of study area in the 4 scale models. However, we also observed significant scale differences in habitat selection. The strength of habitat preference increased with scale for the 2 disturbed forests (sparse forest and fragmented forest), and decreased with scale for 0-30° gentle slope and south- and north-facing aspect. Furthermore, habitat suitability patterns were scale-dependent. These findings highlight the need to determine species-environment associations across multiple scales for habitat management and species conservation. © 2012 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca (David, 1869)), red panda (Ailurus fulgens F.G. Cuvier, 1825), and tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus Milne-Edwards, 1872) are endemic to the Himalayan Hengduan Mountains; the red panda extends into India. Burma. Bhutan, and Nepal, and the tufted deer extends marginally into Burma, while the giant panda is endemic to China. In Sichuan Province, uniquely, all three species occur sympatrically. We investigated microhabitat characteristics at 150 fecal-group sites from November 2002 to March 2003 to improve understanding of microhabitat separation among the three species at the Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve. Baoxing County, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. Density and height of bamboo were greater in the giant and red pandas' microhabitats than in those of the tufted deer. The red panda preferred microhabitats with greater tree-slump density, smaller trees, and shorter fallen log dispersion distance than the other two species. Tufted deer often occurred at sites with greater shrub density and herb cover and more open land with poorer concealment conditions than sites where the two panda species occurred. Both pandas' microhabitats were mostly concentrated on the upper hillside, unlike those of the tufted deer. The giant panda preferred microhabitats with a gentler slope and lower density of fallen logs. Selection of specific microhabitats by each species is an ecological adaptation dependent on behavior linked to its diet, body size, energy metabolism, and other factors. Microhabitat separation among these species reflects the integrated effects of their differences in diet, body size, and energy metabolism, which could facilitate their successful coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) is an escalating humanitarian issue and a conservation concern. In terms of protection and management, areas at high risk of HWC are not necessarily afforded the same resources as areas prioritized for protection. To improve allocation of limited protection resources and HWC mitigation efficiency, we determined management priorities based on HWC risk and people's attitudes toward wildlife around the Giant Panda National Park. We constructed an ensemble species distribution model with 1959 species’ distribution loci and 337 conflict event records. This model was used to simulate the spatial distribution patterns of HWC risk and to evaluate the influence of diverse environmental factors. A survey of people's attitudes toward wildlife was conducted in 155 villages around the Giant Panda National Park. Priority areas for HWC management were concentrated near protected areas, where wildlife habitats and populations were recovering and expanding. We obtained 947 questionnaires, which showed that some residents were highly aware of conservation and had a high tolerance for wildlife, even when they were living in areas at high risk of HWC. However, people who had encountered conflicts with wild boar were more likely to have negative attitudes toward other wildlife, even giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Thus, HWC may lead to the generalization of negative attitudes toward wildlife conservation. In our study area, environmental (e.g., building fences and changing crop types) and social measures (e.g., insurance and ecocompensation) have been implemented to mitigate HWC. Our results can provide an important basis for the allocation of compensation resources and improvement of HWC management in areas of high conservation priority. Future studies should further explore how to develop more personalized HWC management plans based on the characteristics of different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that varying spatial scale through the selection of the total extent of investigation and the grain size of environmental predictor variables has effects on species distribution model (SDM) results and accuracy, but there has been minimal investigation into the interactive effects of extent and grain. To do this, we used a consistently sampled range-wide dataset of giant panda occurrence across southwest China and modeled their habitat and distribution at 4 extents and 7 grain sizes. We found that increasing grain size reduced model accuracy at the smallest extent, but that increasing extent negated this effect. Increasing extent also generally increased model accuracy, but the models built at the second-largest (mountain range) extent were more accurate than those built at the largest, geographic range-wide extent. When predicting habitat suitability in the smallest nested extents (50 km2), we found that the models built at the next-largest extent (500 km2) were more accurate than the smallest-extent models but that further increases in extent resulted in large decreases in accuracy. Overall, this study highlights the impacts of the selection of spatial scale when evaluating species' habitat and distributions, and we suggest more explicit investigations of scale effects in future modeling efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long‐term data on populations, threats, and habitat‐use changes are fundamentally important for conservation policy and management decisions affecting species, but these data are often in short supply. Here, we analyze survey data from 57,087 plots collected in approximately three‐fourths of the giant panda's (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) distributional range during China's national surveys conducted in 1999–2003 and 2011–2014. Pandas associated preferentially with several ecological factors and avoided areas impacted by human activities, such as roads, livestock, mining, and tourism. Promise is shown by dramatic declines in logging rates, but is counterbalanced with recently emerging threats. Pandas have increasingly utilized secondary forest as these forests recovered under protective measures. Pandas have undergone a distributional shift to higher elevations, despite the elevational stability of their bamboo food source, perhaps in response to a similar upward shift in the distribution of livestock. Our findings showcase robust on‐the‐ground data from one of the largest‐scale survey efforts worldwide for an endangered species and highlight how science and policy have contributed to this remarkable success story, and help frame future management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expanding human disturbances on a global scale are encroaching upon wildlife habitat. Management of human–wildlife conflict is an important issue in biodiversity conservation. Conservation decisions are supported by information on how many habitats could be recovered by controlling human disturbances, yet it has rarely been quantitatively studied. Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are still confronted with threats of human disturbance even though populations have been restored in recent decades. In this study, the impact of four types of human disturbance, including livestock, infrastructure, farming and other disturbances were assessed based on a dataset that covers 75% of total giant panda population. Five scenarios where disturbances are controlled were used to evaluate the habitat area that can be restored by controlling disturbance. Results revealed that 2102 km2 of suitable habitat can be restored if all these disturbances were completely controlled. Controlling livestock alone can restore up to 830 km2 of habitat, much more than controlling farming or infrastructure. Controlling infrastructure restored more habitat than the other disturbances in the Daxiangling and Qionglai Mountains. Moreover, in the Minshan Mountains, controlling agriculture resulted in the most habitat restoration. It appears, the reserves system does work in controlling the three types of human disturbance, however, more control is needed over human disturbances in order to restore wildlife habitat outside of the reserves. These results not only calculate how much giant panda habitat can be restored by controlling disturbance, but also provide insights for other species habitat management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]