Asian Primates Journal 7(1), 2018 14 HABITAT SUITABILITY MODEL FOR THE MONTANE SLENDER LORIS IN THE HAKGALA STRICT NATURE RESERVE, SRI LANKA Chamara J. Hettiarachchi 1 , Saman N. Gamage 2 , Faiz M. M.T Marikar 3* , Chaminda A. Mahanayakage 4 , Udaha KGK Padmalal 5 and Sarath W. Kotagama 2 1 Institute of Human Resource Advancement, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2 Department of Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. 3 General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Ratmalana, Sri Lanka. 4 Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. 5 Department of Zoology, Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka. * Corresponding author ABSTRACT Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing are powerful analysis and decision-making tools used in a spectrum of applications in many diferent felds. The Montane Slender Loris Loris tardigradus nycticeboides is an Endangered primate subspecies, found only in the mountain rainforest region of Sri Lanka. This study attempts to validate the applicability of the ‘habitat suitability model’ on the Montane Slender Loris located in the Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve (HSNR), in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, using GIS and remote sensing techniques. The main objectives are to map the habitat suitability factors, along with related topographic data through GIS, and to reveal the possibility of using spatial and geographical features for efective analysis to identify suitable habitats of the Montane Slender Loris in the HSNR. The study reveals available habitat for the species is critically small, accounting for only 4.3% of the protected land area, suggesting improved management may be needed to ensure the future survival of the loris in the HSNR. Keywords: Conservation, Geographic Information Systems, Habitat suitability, Montane Slender Loris INTRODUCTION It is widely recognized that the main threats to species persistence include habitat loss and fragmentation. Conservationists must take into account the species’ living patterns to make educated conservation plans for them. Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) has been developed to include suitable habitat and species range estimates for consideration in conservation (Chefaoui et al., 2005; Gaubert et al., 2006; Guisan et al., 2006). This technique can provide information for protected- area prioritization and protected-area network design (Margules & Austin, 1994; Rondinini et al., 2005; Sánchez-Cordero et al., 2005) and identify the efects of habitat disturbance on species distribution (Banks et al., 2005; Sánchez-Cordero et al., 2005; Rhodes et al., 2006). Interpretation involves understanding the analysis method, types, mechanisms and efects of biotic interactions that afect a species’ distribution (Kearny, 2006; Soberón, 2007). The ecological niche is a set of environmental variables which favours a species’ distribution and maintains a viable population (Grinnell, 1917). The biogeographic distribution of a species is based on abiotic and biotic conditions as well as geographical accessibility (Soberón & Peterson, 2005). ENM-based predictions of suitable living areas for a species (Guisa & Thuiller, 2005; Peterson & Kluza, 2003) can help guide conservation priorities (Loiselle et al., 2003). Ecological studies in Sri Lanka have produced a body of knowledge about the habitat requirements and threats of the Montane Slender Loris Loris tardigradus nycticeboides (Hill, 1942; Mahanayakage, 2013; Gamage et al., 2015). Methods and channels capable of bringing this knowledge into the feld of practical forestry and nature conservation are needed. The Montane Slender Loris, classifed by the IUCN Red List as Endangered (Nekaris, 2008), is a primate inhabiting the mountain region of central Sri Lanka (Gamage et al., 2015). Gamage et al. (2015) highlighted that the Montane Slender Loris is an extreme habitat specialist found only in the montane evergreen forests in the Nuwara-Eliya area (Fig. 1). Furthermore, their