Environment and Interdisciplinary Development

Habitat Selection and Identification of Potential Breeding Habitats of Red Deer Cervus Elaphus Maral in Mazandaran Province

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Bagher Nezami 1
Mohammadreza Rahmani 1
Hanie Faghihi 2
Bahman Shams-Esfandabad 3

1 Research Group of Biodiversity and Biosafety, Research Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD), Department of the Environment, Tehran, Iran

2 M.Sc. Graduated Student of Land Use Planning, College of Environment, Department of Environment, Karaj, Iran

3 Department of Environment, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/envj.2024.450806.1362
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 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.
Materials 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.

Keywords

Maximum Entropy
Ecological Niche Factor Analyses
Habitat Suitability
Alborz Protected Area
Mazandaran Province
Breeding
Conservation
Subjects
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Environment and Interdisciplinary Development
Volume 8, Issue 82
Winter 2024
Pages 108-121

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