Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the Distribution of the Annamite Striped Rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi)

The Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi) is an endangered lagomorph, formally described in the early 2000s and found only in Vietnam and Laos. Although it is a recently discovered mammal, its populations have already been significantly reduced across most of its key habitats due to illegal hunting and habitat destruction. Climate change impacts, which have been considered an emerging threat to threatened mammals in Vietnam, on the Annamite striped rabbit have not been fully assessed. In this study, we employed MaxEnt, a widely used species distribution modeling method, to predict changes in the distribution range of N. timminsi in the future using a range of different climate change scenarios. Our prediction results showed that in most climate change scenarios and timeframes, the rabbits may face significant habitat loss, up to 68.73%, and fragmentation in its currently important distribution ranges. In such cases, the climatically stable regions that distribute along the border between Vietnam and Laos can serve as the “refugia” for the species. We suggest those regions being the focus of the rabbits’ conservation effort in the future, and cooperation between Vietnam and Laos’ government agencies and conservation organizations will be crucial in securing the remaining habitat of this endangered small mammal.