Introduction
Location Map
Base Map
Database Schema
Conventions
GIS Analyses
Flowchart
GIS Concepts
Results
Conclusion
References

Ethiopian Wolf Habitat Suitability

Introduction

Ethiopian Wolf and Habitat
The Ethiopian wolf is a species endemic to Ethiopia and approximately 500 wolves are estimated to remain (Hemson, 2009).  Their numbers have decreased for various reasons including destruction of their habitat as well as the habitat of their main food sources (mainly various species of rats and mice), encounters with humans that perceive the wolves to be threats to their livestock, and, most recently, rabies (Marino 2003b).  The wolves are currently found in several areas in Ethiopia and only above 3000 meters; however, these areas are separated from one another, i.e. fragmented (Marino 2003b).  In some areas the numbers of wolves are less than 25 individuals and, due to their habitats being fragmented, these wolves are facing additional risks from future inbreeding as access to packs in other areas currently is not feasible due to human presence between each "island" (Marino, 2003b). 

The Bale Mountains contain the largest populations of wolves in Ethiopia and Bale Mountain National Park (BMNP) envelops much of the mountain range (Marino, 2003b).  Within BMNP, the wolf has been extensively studied along with the habitat selection of the wolves’ favored prey in Bale, the giant molerat.  What has been observed is that the wolf diet is very specialized to rodents with the giant molerat being the single species that most comprises their diet (47% by volume) (Marino 2003a).  With the wolf diet being so specific, rodent habitats can serve as predictors for wolf habitats (Marino 2003a).  However, outside of the Bale Mountains giant molerats are not known to exist and wolves subsequently depend on other types of rodents that exist, both within and outside Bale, as their food source (Sillero-Zubiri, 1995).  Marino has compiled a table categorizing some land types along with an assessment of the frequency that rodents were noted to exist within each land type and this table is shown below (Marino, 2003a).  In addition to the land cover suitability criteria extracted from this table, rodents are also assumed to not exist on crop lands (Sillero-Zubiri, 1995).   

 

As such, based on research of rodent habitats within Bale, favored habitats of various types of rodents have been categorized and can hypothetically be used to predict rodent and, subsequently, wolf habitats outside of the Bale Mountains.  However, this assumes that land cover types outside of the Bale Mountains have been assessed and categorized.

Land Cover
A land cover vector file was generated from the Globcover project carried out by the European Space Agency and various partners, such as the United Nations FAO.  Global satellite imagery at a resolution of 300 meters was used to create a vector file in 2005 and susbsequently published in 2008.  The land cover categories within the file have been classified in conformance with the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) developed by the FAO and published in 2000 (http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x0596e/x0596e00.htm).  As a result of the application of the LCCS to the vector file, 46 classes of land cover were assigned to the country of Ethiopia. The Ethiopia land cover vector file along with the land cover classification definitions can be downloaded at http://www.fao.org/geonetwork/srv/en/main.home  by searching for “Ethiopia” and then scrolling to the “Land Cover of Ethiopia – Globcover Regional”

Goal of the Project
Marino notes that “Habitat protection to prevent or reduce further habitat loss would reduce the risk of extinction, in particular for those populations in small areas and at lower altitudes”  even if implemented at the local level (Marino, 2003b). The goal of this GIS project is to, using the remote sensing derived land cover vector file covering Ethiopia and the Ethiopian wolf literature, spatially show potentially suitable habitat for the wolf that could be subsequently used for conservation planning.  Specifically, knowing that wolves are only found above 3000 meters in elevation, these areas can be identified and the varying land covers within these areas can further be shown.  By matching implicitly most preferred/least preferred rodent habitats obtained from the literature to existing land cover types we will attempt to predict and graphically show suitable and unsuitable wolf habitats.  The Arsi Mountains are one such area containing land above 3000 m in elevation and will therefore be the subject area used for predicting wolf habitat suitability.   With the Bale and Arsi mountain ranges being separated by approximately 40 kilometers, a case can be made for providing protected corridors linking the two areas containing suitable habitat for the wolves.