Canopy structure drives orangutan habitat use in disturbed Bornean forests

Abstract:

Bornean orangutans are critically endangered, and their numbers continue to decline despite decades of conservation effort. Management strategies aimed at protecting primary forest are proving insufficient, and new approaches are required to ensure the species’ survival. Here, we use high-resolution laser remote sensing coupled with visual observations of wild orangutans to map canopy structure and quantify orangutan movement through disturbed forests in Borneo. Our findings provide crucial insights into the types of forest characteristics orangutans use in disturbed forests and are likely required for their continued survival in these fragmented landscapes, where most of the extant population occurs. Management and forest restoration efforts that foster these attributes are more likely to succeed at sustaining orangutan populations over the long term.