Using GIS for carnivores distribution mapping in fragmented landscape Habitat requirements should be the most important factors influence the abundance of species distribution in study areas. Except for the small Asian mongoose, all rare species also had very restricted distribution among the study area (Fig. 1). The small Asian mongoose can be considered as wider-distributed rare species because it had been recorded from the north (Pat Sin Leng Country Park) to the south (the Shing Mun Country Park) of the New Territories (Fig. 1e). Small Indian civet (Fig. 1d), masked palm civet (Fig. 1c), and leopard cat (Fig. 1g) were recorded only in the New Territories region and the Hong Kong Island. The reason for the locally extinction of Lantau Island’s population for these species requires further investigation, however, isolation of the Island, competition exclusion by species already existed, and the dispersal behavior of these species might be more important factors than the habitat suitability in this respect. Lastly, the interesting distribution pattern of the feral cat, i.e., common only in Lantau Island and the western part of the Hong Kong Island (Fig. 1h), seemed to be negatively correlated with the distribution of the leopard cat (Fig. 1g). The necessary of additional investigating on the possible competition status between these two species is indicated.  (a)  (b)  (c) |