Modeling of the Gaur (Bos gaurus H. Smith) Habitat in Phukhieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Chaiyaphum Province

Abstract

A study on modeling gaur (Bos gaurus H. Smith) habitat was conducted in the Phukhieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Chaiyaphum province. The aim of the study was to predict the distribution of gaur and threats to its existence in the sanctuary. Raw data were obtained from April 2006 to October 2007 by patrolling and natural resource monitoring covering 968 km, in which 562 presence-only points of gaur and 816 presence-only points of threat were found. The distribution of gaur was analyzed using the Biomapper program, with nine ecological niche factors. The accuracy of the ecological niche factor model and model quality were assessed using the area under curve (AUC) of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve based on a test point dataset. The habitat utilization rate of gaur between the dry season and rainy season was compared. The results indicated there was around 260 km² (16.56% of the total area) that was highly suitable for gaur, with 221 km² and 214 km² in the dry season and rainy season, respectively. High threat area covered approximately 317 km² (20.23% of the total area). The AUC values for gaur distribution, in the dry season and rainy season were 0.68 and 0.72, respectively, which were acceptable for the prediction of the distribution of gaur in the Phukhieo Wildlife Sanctuary. The outcome of this research was useful for strengthening gaur conservation in the Phukhieo Wildlife Sanctuary and in other protected areas in Thailand.

Keywords:  gaur (Bos gaurus H. Smith), habitat model, ecological niche factor analysis, presence-only data