Differential response of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys to climate change and human activities

Aim: Determining the mechanisms by which climate change and human activities affect patterns of ecological specialization in different genetic units of the same species is crucial for developing local or regionally-based conservation solutions. This study uses species distribution models and genetic analysis to 1) identify evidence of intraspecific differences in the population size and distribution of the three extant lineages (Sichuan/Gansu (SG), Qinling (QL), and Shennongjia (SNJ)) of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys; and 2) determine why some lineages have lower population numbers, a smaller geographical distribution, and are more threatened with extinction.
Location: China
Methods: We used n-dimensional hypervolume modeling and Genotype–Environment Association (GEA) models to compare the climatic niches of three snub-nosed monkey lineages, SDMs to reconstruct the historical, current, and future distributions of each lineage, and SMC++ to calculate their effective population sizes.
Resul...