Rulers of the Open Sky at Risk: Climate-Driven Habitat Shifts of Three Conservation-Priority Raptors in the Eastern Himalayas

Raptors, being at top of the food chain, serve as important models to study the impact of changing climate, as they are more vulnerable due to their unique ecology. They are vulnerable to extinction, with 52% species declining population and 18% are threatened globally. The effect of climate change on raptors is poorly studied in the Eastern Himalayan region. The present study offers a complete investigation of climate change effects on the raptors in the northeast region of the Eastern Himalayas, employing ensemble species distribution modeling. The future predictions were employed to model the climate change across two socioeconomic pathways (SSP) i.e. SSP245 and SSP585 for the periods 2041-2060 and 2061-2080. Specifically, five algorithms were employed for the ensemble model, viz. boosted regression tree (BRT), generalized linear model (GLM), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and random forest (RF). The study highlights worrying results, as only 10.5% area of the NE region is presently suitable for <i>Falco severus</i>, 11.4% for the critically endangered <i>Gyps tenuirostris</i>, and a mere 6.9% area is presently suitable for the endangered <i>Haliaeetus leucoryphus</i>. The most influential covariates were precipitation of the driest quarter, precipitation of the wettest month, and temperature seasonality. Future projection revealed reduction of 33-41% in suitable habitats for <i>F. severus</i>, <i>G. tenuirostris</i> is expected to lose 53-96% of its suitable habitats, and <i>H. leucoryphus</i> has lost nearly 94-99% of its suitable habitats. Such decline indicates apparent habitat fragmentation, with shrinking habitat patches.