The challenge of wildlife conservation from its biogeographical distribution, with implications for integrated management in Peru

Biodiversity is an indispensable resource and contributes to the balance of ecosystems, being of great importance for the development of a society and its culture through good management and management of natural spaces. However, the reduction and fragmentation of habitats, trafficking, and illegal trade in wild animals affect the great diversity of wild flora and fauna that characterizes Peru. Considering this problem, we modeled the biogeographic distribution of 5 species of wildlife categorized as threatened by Peruvian legislation and included in the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), critically endangered (CR) Lagothrix flavicauda, endangered (EN) Aotus miconax, in vulnerable status (VU) Tremarctos ornatus, Lagothrix cana and in near threatened category (NT) Panthera onca. Our study aimed to identify its current potential distribution in the Peruvian territory is legally protected by the conservation areas of national, regional, or private administration. In this regard, we used a maximum entropy approach (MaxEnt), integrating 14 variables (7 bioclimatic variables, 3 topographic, 3 variables of vegetation cover, and relative humidity). It was observed that 3.6% (46,225.50 km²) of the Peruvian territory presents a high probability (>0.6) of distribution of the evaluated species and 10.7% (13,6918.28 km²⁾ of moderate distribution (0.4-0.6). Based on this, our study allowed us to identify geographical spaces for threatened species in which conservation actions should focus, through the formulation of strategies, plans, policies, and participatory management in the Peruvian territory.