Influence of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities on Niche Shift Across Global Terrestrial Protected Areas

Keywords: Wildlife, Protected areas, Niche, MODIS, Climate change
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Protected areas are regions dedicated to conserving biodiversity, ecology, environment, and wildlife habitat. Anthropogenic activities, along with climate change, can influence the effectiveness of these regions throughout the world. Many wildlife protected areas have been established since the early 2000s and were drawn based on the climate conditions and needs at the time. However, the changing climate and human driven land-use/land-cover changes may have shifted niches outside their originally intended boundaries and thus reduced their effectiveness. The goal of this research is to analyze climate profiles and anthropogenic activities from 2000 to 2024 and evaluate how former global wildlife protected area climates compare to today's conditions. Long-term MODIS biophysical data will be utilized to build climate profiles of protected areas, both at the time of establishment and at present. The study will also focus on how niche shift has migrated into agricultural and urban areas, which may increase human wildlife conflict. The results from this research will be useful to wildlife protection agencies, government services, and NGOs to revise the boundaries of the protected areas and implement necessary measures to maintain the utility of protected areas now and into the future.