Projects per year
Abstract / Description of output
Aim
We use ecological niche models and environmental stratification of palaeoclimate to reconstruct the changing range of the lion (Panthera leo) during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.
Location
The modern (early 21st century) range of the lion extends from southern Africa to the western Indian Subcontinent, yet through the 20th century this range has been drastically reduced in extent and become increasingly fragmented as a result of human impacts.
Methods
We use Global Environmental Stratification with MaxEnt ecological niche models to map environmental suitability of the lion under current and palaeoclimatic scenarios. By examining modelled lion range in terms of categorical environmental strata, we characterise suitable bioclimatic conditions for the lion in a descriptive manner.
Results
We find that lion habitat suitability has reduced throughout the Holocene, controlled by pluvial/interpluvial cycles. The aridification of the Sahara 6ka dramatically reduced lion range throughout North Africa. The association of Saharan aridification with the development of pastoralism and the growth of sedentary communities, who practised animal husbandry, would have placed additional and lasting anthropogenic pressures on the lion.
We use ecological niche models and environmental stratification of palaeoclimate to reconstruct the changing range of the lion (Panthera leo) during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.
Location
The modern (early 21st century) range of the lion extends from southern Africa to the western Indian Subcontinent, yet through the 20th century this range has been drastically reduced in extent and become increasingly fragmented as a result of human impacts.
Methods
We use Global Environmental Stratification with MaxEnt ecological niche models to map environmental suitability of the lion under current and palaeoclimatic scenarios. By examining modelled lion range in terms of categorical environmental strata, we characterise suitable bioclimatic conditions for the lion in a descriptive manner.
Results
We find that lion habitat suitability has reduced throughout the Holocene, controlled by pluvial/interpluvial cycles. The aridification of the Sahara 6ka dramatically reduced lion range throughout North Africa. The association of Saharan aridification with the development of pastoralism and the growth of sedentary communities, who practised animal husbandry, would have placed additional and lasting anthropogenic pressures on the lion.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e10504 |
| Journal | PeerJ – the Journal of Life & Environmental Sciences |
| Volume | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Feb 2021 |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'A kingdom in decline. Holocene range contraction of the lion (Panthera leo) modelled with Global Environmental Stratification'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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NERC DTP: U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (Grant NE/L002558/1) University of Edinburgh's E3 Doctoral Training Partnership
Hajduk, G.
1/10/14 → 31/03/18
Project: Other (Non-Funded/Miscellaneous)
Datasets
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Lion range changes through the late Quaternary, modelled using Global Environmental Stratification
Cooper, D. (Creator), Kitchener, A. (Creator), Metzger, M. J. (Creator), Dugmore, A. (Creator) & Trabucco, A. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 1 May 2019
DOI: 10.7488/ds/2509
Dataset