Tigers need cover: multi-scale occupancy of Sumatran tigers in forest and plantation

This study used a multi-scale occupancy framework to examine how Sumatran tigers use natural forest versus plantation and degraded landscapes, finding that tigers strongly depend on forest cover and avoid open, converted areas. By surveying tigers and their prey across a gradient of land use, the authors showed that habitat quality, especially canopy cover and prey, governs where tigers persist, and that plantations offer poor substitute habitat. The work is influential for quantifying the cost of forest conversion to a critically endangered subspecies and for demonstrating that retaining forest cover is non-negotiable for Sumatran tiger survival, directly informing the debate over oil palm and pulpwood expansion across the island.