TITLE:
Ecological Niche Modeling of Zebra Species within Laikipia County, Kenya
AUTHORS:
Teddy Simon Mwangi, Hunja Waithaka, Mark Boitt
KEYWORDS:
Grevy’s Zebra, Maxent, Niche Similarity
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.6 No.4,
April
16,
2018
ABSTRACT: Wildlife conservation is essential, especially for countries like Kenya which rely on tourism as a major earner of foreign exchange. Conservation of species with minimal ecological information such as Grevy’s zebra, though a challenge, is critical to enable the future survival of such species. Grevy’s and Plains zebra have been classified as endangered and near-threatened by International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) respectively, with Grevy’s zebra found mostly in Northern Kenya and Ethiopia. This has been due to habitat degradation from livestock grazing, local hunting and development of resorts. Six prediction variables i.e. rainfall, temperature, land use, population, NDVI and cattle occurrence were used in Maxent algorithm to produce a habitat prediction map for both species. Both prediction maps had an AUC > 0.75, which is adequate for conservation planning. Niche similarity based on Warren’s I index (I = 0.78) indicates that both zebra species are identical based on their occupied niche environments, suggesting that similar conversation strategies can be adopted for both species.