Modeling the Current and Future Habitat Suitability of Boutourlin’s Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis boutourlinii, Giglioli 1887) in Ethiopia

Kefie, Mhretie; Kefie, Mhretie

dc.contributor.author	Kefie, Mhretie
dc.contributor.author	Kefie, Mhretie
dc.date.accessioned	2025-04-11T07:37:25Z
dc.date.available	2025-04-11T07:37:25Z
dc.date.issued	2025-03
dc.identifier.uri	http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/16713
dc.description.abstract	Species distribution models capture partly species’ ecological niches and can be used to make inferences about the distribution of suitable habitats for species of interest. The Boutourlini’s Blue Monkey is suspected to have undergone a population reduction of thirty percent over the last forty years with declining habitat quality, extent of occurrence, and area of occupancy due to various man-made activities. This needs an understanding of the relationship between species response to environmental variations. The objective of this study was to profile the current and future suitable habitats of Boutourlini’s blue monkey using MaxEnt for the conservation of this species in Ethiopia. Sixty one occurrence points prepared between 2023 and 2024 and 10 environmental variables processed in arc geographic information systems and species distribution model tool box softwares. The study found that annual precipitation was the most important bioclimatic variable with 70.3% contribution, followed by precipitation of the driest month with 10.6% contribution. Under current conditions, areas identified as suitable habitats for Boutourlini’s Blue Monkey species accounted for 120148.88 square kilometers cover in Ethiopia. The habitat suitability models indicated that the overall increase in suitable habitats of the species under all future climate scenarios for 2050 and 2070 years. However, the projected suitable habitat distribution shown shifting and fragmentation. In the present study, generated models come up with important information for the conservation and management of Boutourlini’s Blue Monkey. Moreover, this study recommends intensive work on fragmented forests, assessment of population status and conservation challenges and take mitigation measure to climate change.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.subject	Biology	en_US
dc.title	Modeling the Current and Future Habitat Suitability of Boutourlin’s Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis boutourlinii, Giglioli 1887) in Ethiopia	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US