Biodiversity & Biosafety
Mohammadreza Rahmani; Hanie Faghihi; Bahman Shams-Esfandabad
Abstract
Introduction: The population of Red Deer has decreased significantly, and the species distribution is restricted to only some core zones of protected areas of the country. The most important threatening factors in decline the population of the species are destruction and fragmentation of habitats and ...
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Introduction: The population of Red Deer has decreased significantly, and the species distribution is restricted to only some core zones of protected areas of the country. The most important threatening factors in decline the population of the species are destruction and fragmentation of habitats and poaching of the species, which are strongly affected by human presence and human activities. Therefore, using habitat suitability modeling of the species as an effective tool in identifying, managing, and protecting the remaining habitats, can help managers in conserving the species more effectively.Material and Methods: Hyrcanian forests or Caspian forests consist of 15% of the total forests of Iran and are the last surviving temperate broadleaf forests in the world. Mazandaran province includes a significant part of the Hyrcanian forests. The core zone of the Central Alborz Protected Area is the most important area and the safest breeding habitat of Maral in Mazandaran province and has the largest populations of this species in the country. In this study, by use of the Maximum Entropy method and Ecological Niche Factor Analyses, using the species presence points in the Central Alborz Protected Area, we investigated the suitable breeding habitats of the Maral population in Mazandaran province. These models are launched by predictive environmental layers and species presence points, and express the suitability of each cell in the habitat as a function of biological variables.Results: The results of the ENFA method showed that the Central Alborz Protected Area Core Zone is the most important area and the safest breeding habitat of the Maral in Mazandaran Province. The results with values of 1.3 marginalities and specialty 5.5 indicate habitat areas with higher slopes and elevation models than the average which has low tolerability, are selected by the species. The results of the MaxEnt revealed that among the human-related variables, the most effective parameter is the distance to the village. According to the Jackknife test, this variable is the most important in the habitat selection of Maral. As the distance from the village increases, the habitat suitability increases exponentially, and then it decreases due to the proximity to other villages and the density of human presence in the region. By increasing the vegetation density, the suitability of the habitat increases, but in the high density of vegetation, suitability decreases. The output response curve of the results shows that the habitat suitability of the species increases with the increase in elevation because, during the breeding season, the Maral species is dependent on high-elevation safe habitats. Among the ecological variables, the slope variable was identified as the least effective factor. Discussion: During the breeding season, the Maral is present only in the Alborz Protected Area Core Zone, and in the non-breeding season, it is dispersed in a wider area of protected areas. Mazandaran province is potentially one of the hotspots of biodiversity in the country, but since the central Alborz core area is currently highly conserved by the Department of the Environment, it is the most important and most populated breeding habitat of Marals in Mazandaran and one of the two main breeding habitats of the country. The lack of protection of suitable habitats is the most important factor in reducing the population of Maral in the province. One of the other important challenges for the protection of this species in the province is the fragmented habitats and their dispersion. Many of the habitats in the species corridors probably have high habitat suitability, but these habitats may have low survival rates for the species due to weak protection, they are sinks of local populations or ecological traps.
Farhad Hosseini Tayefeh; Bagher Nezami Baloochi; Mona Izadian
Abstract
Introduction: The Persian Wild Ass Equus hemionus onager is the only odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla) and largest wild herbivore in Iran, with a population of about 1300 individuals, distributed in the Bahram-e Gur conservation complex and Touran Biosphere Reserve. From the semi-captive reproduction ...
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Introduction: The Persian Wild Ass Equus hemionus onager is the only odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla) and largest wild herbivore in Iran, with a population of about 1300 individuals, distributed in the Bahram-e Gur conservation complex and Touran Biosphere Reserve. From the semi-captive reproduction and reintroduction centers, they had population growth in the centers of Yazd province and Kavir National Park. In other centers were not successful due to not considering demographic factors such as the age and sex composition of the founder population, intra- and inter-species competition, lack of information on genetic status and inbreeding and management factors such as hard release. In this study, the threats of the Persian Wild Ass in natural habitats, the state of reproduction and reintroduction centers, and management and conservation strategies have been discussed.Materials and Methods: Scientific sources, reports and documents available in the Semnan, Yazd, Fars and Kerman Provincial Office and the Wildlife conservation and Management bureau of the Department of the Environmental were studied regarding the threats, past and present population and fatalities of the Persian Wild Ass. Data collection was done by interviewing environmentalists, experts and completing species information forms including population, threats and expert suggestions of the respective provinces. Based on the field visits and investigation of natural habitats and reproduction and reintroduction centers in Fars and Semnan provinces, information was verified.Results: Over the past two decades, the population of the species has been growing in the Bahram-e Gur conservation complex, due to habitat management and the reduction of threats. While the species' population status in the Touran biosphere reserve has experienced a sharp decline since the 1970s and 1980s, and this trend has been almost stable for the past 20 years. The most important threats to the Persian Wild Ass due to human activities include destruction and fragmentation of habitats, poaching for meat, inbreeding, the occurrence of diseases in natural populations, seasonal use of vegetation, road kills, development of mines, drought, and climate change. Overgrazing by livestock reduces food availability, and also reduces the availability of water at springs. In semi-captive breeding and re-introduction centers, the lack of knowledge of the genetic status of populations, the very low growth rate, and infanticide are among the threats to the species. Management problems such as non-continuity of providing financial resources and equipment, lack of sustainable management with the passage of time, hard release due to lack of funds, equipment, and also non-observance of the gender ratio of the founding population can be effective in the failure of these centers.Discussion: The important strategies for conserving the Persian Wild Ass in the short- and long-term include identifying the threats and introducing methods to reduce the effect of the threat, developing a comprehensive plan for reproduction and reintroduction of the species, and implementing the action plan for the conservation of the population in the habitats. The implementation of participatory conservation programs with the key stakeholders can be effective in the conservation programs.
Wild Life
Maryam Mahmoudiasl; Farhad Hosseini Tayefeh; Bagher Nezami
Abstract
Cheetah is the only species from the Acinonyx subfamily and genus whose global population trend has been declining. This species is known as a species with a low genetic variation that has resulted from bottlenecks about 10,000 and 12,000 years ago. All populations of the Asiatic cheetah subspecies are ...
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Cheetah is the only species from the Acinonyx subfamily and genus whose global population trend has been declining. This species is known as a species with a low genetic variation that has resulted from bottlenecks about 10,000 and 12,000 years ago. All populations of the Asiatic cheetah subspecies are extinct in the Middle East and Southwest of Asia and Iran. Asiatic cheetah subspecies listed in the Critically Endangered because of severe decline in the gene diversity level which has resulted from habitat degradation, geographical separation of populations, and increasing inbreeding, there are only a few of the species remained in the wild of Iran. In this review study, the genetic variation reduction at different levels of Allozymes molecular markers, microsatellites, mitochondrial DNA, and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the entire cheetah genome was investigated and validated. Studies based on restriction fragment length polymorphism, indicate severe genomic reductions in the occurrence of Single Nucleotide Variant, the density of Single Nucleotide Variant, Single Nucleotide Variants protein-coding genes, Major Histocompatibility Complex genes, and mitochondrial DNA Single Nucleotide Variant compared with other species. Significant reductions in overall genetic variation by multiple genomic markers lead to increased cubs’ mortality, severe abnormalities in sperm growth, problems with captive reproduction programs, and increased vulnerability to the spread of infectious diseases. Since conservation genetics plays a key role in the conservation and management of species, the results of this study can be used in genetic conservation, reproduction in captivity, and the management of the remaining populations of Asian cheetahs.