Progress has been made in the study of the impact of human activities on the habitat and connectivity of Mongolian wild asses

The Mongolian wild ass (Equus hemionus) is a national first-class key protected wildlife
.
After Mongolia, China has the second largest Mongolian wild ass population in the world, of which more than 80% of individuals inhabit the Kalamari Mountain Ungulate Wildlife Nature Reserve (hereinafter referred to as "Kashan Reserve").

However, in recent years, the Kashan Reserve has experienced human disturbances such as mining development and road construction, which may lead to habitat loss and fragmentation
of Mongolian wild asses.
Therefore, understanding whether, and how human activities affect Mongolian wild ass habitats and connectivity, is essential
for the scientific and effective development of conservation measures for Mongolian wild ass populations.

In response to the above problems, the team of researcher Yang Weikang of the State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has carried out field monitoring
in the Kashan Reserve for 15 years.
Using ensemble species distribution models and least-cost paths, the authors analyzed the impact
of human activities such as mining development and road construction on Mongolian wild ass habitats and connectivity over three time periods.

The results show that the habitat size and spatial distribution of wild asses in Inner Mongolia in Kashan Reserve have changed greatly in the three periods studied
.
Before mining was developed (2005), drinking water sources were a key factor affecting the quality of their habitats; When mining development reached its peak (2011), distance from the mining area became the most important factor affecting habitat quality; After ecological restoration and road construction (2019), drinking water sources and straight-line distances from railways became the main factors
affecting the quality of their habitats.
The spatial location of the potential ecological corridor of Mongolian wild ass varies with the spatial distribution of core habitat patches at different times
.
After the completion of the highway and railway (2019), the fragmentation degree of core habitat patches of Mongolian wild asses increased, and the increase in the distance between habitat patches and roads was the most important reason for
the length of potential ecological corridors in this period.
Therefore, an important measure to protect the Mongolian wild ass in the future is to improve the habitat quality around its core habitat patches and potential ecological corridors, and alleviate the degree of
habitat fragmentation.

The results were published in Biological Conservation
under the title "The effect of mining and road development on habitat fragmentation and connectivity of khulan (Equus hemionus) in Northwestern China" 。 The project is supported
by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Special Project for the Operation of the Strategic Biological Resources Science and Technology Support System of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the SCO Science and Technology Partnership Program and the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program.

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Fig.
1 Potential ecological corridors for Mongolian wild asses in Kashan Reserve in 2005, 2011 and 2019
.

The green patches in the figure are the core habitat patches, and the red lines are potential ecological corridors
.

Figure 2 Mongolian wild ass (Equus hemionus)