Ying Chen

• The University of Hong Kong

Whether populations adapt to similar selection pressures using the same underlying genetic variants depends on population history and the distribution of standing genetic variation at the metapopulation level. Studies of sticklebacks provide a case in point: when colonising and adapting to freshwater habitats, three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteu...

Many endangered species live in fragmented and isolated populations with low genetic variability, signs of inbreeding, and small effective population sizes - all features elevating their extinction risk. The flat-headed loach ( Oreonectes platycephalus) , a small noemacheilid fish, is widely across southern China, but only in the headwaters of hill...

Maintenance of sufficient habitat for large terrestrial mammals in increasingly human-dominated landscapes is challenging. Wild Asian elephants in China were historically widespread, but now comprise 293 individuals confined to three prefectures in southwestern Yunnan Province. Effective legal protection has permitted population growth of Chinese e...

Intraspecific phenotypic differentiation is of common place occurrence, but the degree to which it reflects phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation remains often unclear. To be considered as adaptive, the differentiation must be genetically based and exceed what could be expected by neutral processes only. Using laboratory reared full-sib family...

Whether populations adapt to similar selection pressures using the same underlying genetic variants depends on population history and the distribution of standing genetic variation at the metapopulation level. Studies of sticklebacks provide a case in point: when colonising and adapting to freshwater habitats, three-spined sticklebacks ( Gasteroste...

Balancing development and conservation is one of the major challenges for modern societies. Negative human–wildlife interactions, especially crop raiding by wildlife, greatly undermine this objective. Jilin Province in Northeast China encompasses ecosystems of high biodiversity value but endures serious losses in crop yields due to wild boars ( Sus...

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) negatively impacts both humans and wildlife. Attitudes of local residents have been critical in promoting wildlife conservation. It is therefore necessary to understand the characteristics of HWC and identify influential factors on attitudes towards conservation to implement conservation strategies efficiently. This re...

Forest losses can lead to severe damage to ecosystem services (ESs), especially in the tropics. Tropical forests are widespread in southwestern China, and they experience continual effects of human activities (e.g., rubber boom). However, forest simulations of land planning have not yet been systematically conducted. Based on a future land-use simu...

A herd of 15 Chinese elephants attracted international attention during their 2021 northward trek, motivating the government to propose establishment of an Asian elephant national park. However, planning is hampered by a lack of genetic information on the remaining populations in China. We collected DNA from 497 dung samples from all five populatio...

Conservation interventions for threatened species must be based on accurate assessments of the effects of anthropogenic pressures on habitat suitability. We used multiscale multivariable species-distribution modeling to evaluate habitat suitability for an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) population in Shangyong Reserve, Yunnan Province, southwester...

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) population in Nangunhe National Nature Reserve in China represents a unique evolutionary branch that has been isolated for more than twenty years from neighboring populations in Myanmar. The scarcity of information on population structure, sex ratio, and body condition makes it difficult to develop effective con...

Identification of the effect of anthropogenic threats on ecosystem is crucial. We used molecular tools and remote sensing to evaluate the population status of an isolated Asian elephant population in southwestern China in response to changes in habitat suitability between 1989 and 2019. A total of 22 unique genotypes were identified from 117 dung s...

China is home to a small but expanding population of wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Both research interest and conservation efforts have increased in recent years, but these have been fragmented. Here we present the results from a collaborative, multi-sectorial, multi-stakeholder exercise to identify priorities for Chinese elephant researc...

Research on the spatial patterns of human-wildlife conflict is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms underlying it and to identifying opportunities for mitigation. In the state of Xishuangbanna, containing China's largest tropical forest, an imbalance between nature conservation and economic development has led to increasing conflicts between...

Description of the environmental variables postulated as predictors of human-elephant conflict in XSBN. (DOCX)

Descriptive statistics (variance and mean) of the response variables: number of conflict events and number of settlements affected. (DOCX)

AIC top models and averaged weights for each model group, along with Log Likelihood delta AIC values. (DOCX)

Correlation of Environmental Predictor Variables. (DOCX)

Number of settlements affected by elephant according to conflict type and their combinations (damage to crops, rubbers, property and attack on human in short ?Crop? ?Rubber? ?Property? and ?Human?). (DOCX)

Models? performance measured as AUC scores and Nagelkerke R-squared. (DOCX)

a) Coefficients of averaged model variables influencing the probability of a settlement suffering damage by elephant with 95% CI and indices of significance. b) Coefficients of averaged model variables influencing number of event occurrences in a settlement suffering damage by elephants with 95% CI and indices of significance. (DOCX)