Minimum Area Required for Local Populations of Japanese Macaques Estimated from the Relationship Between Habitat Area and Population Extinction

I estimated the minimum area required (MAR) for local populations of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) from empirical data on habitat area and population viability. I used logistic regression analysis to examine the relationship between habitat area and survival/extinction among 50 populations over 50 yr. Estimated habitat areas satisfying 95–99% probability of a population persisting for 100–1000 yr range from 525 to 975 km2. However, confidence limits of parameters in the logistic regression equation are very large. Moreover, the number of extinct population might be underestimated in the empirical data. Consequently, a much wider habitat area (>1000 km2) should be considered for actual conservation planning for local populations of Japanese macaques. The method involves fewer variables and assumptions than previous methods of MAR estimation, and therefore may be a more useful way to estimate MAR for various species and regions