Biodiversity hotspots and conservation gaps in Iran

Farashi, Azita; Shariati, Mitra

doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2017.06.003

Cited by 51 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Iran is a country with a wide spatial variability in climate and biology. The high diversity of species has made the country one of the most important countries in Southwest Asia and the Middle East in terms of biodiversity [74]. The results obtained in this study can be useful to understand how climate change may affect different thermal bioclimatic factors in different climatic zones.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Spatial Pattern of the Unidirectional Trends in Thermal Bioclimatic Indicators in Iran

et al. 2019

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Changes in bioclimatic indicators can provide valuable information on how global warming induced climate change can affect humans, ecology and the environment. Trends in thermal bioclimatic indicators over the diverse climate of Iran were assessed in this study to comprehend their spatio-temporal changes in different climates. The gridded temperature data of Princeton Global Meteorological Forcing with a spatial resolution of 0.25° and temporal extent of 1948–2010 was used for this purpose. Autocorrelation and wavelets analyses were conducted to assess the presence of self-similarity and cycles in the data series. The modified version of the Mann–Kendall (MMK) test was employed to estimate unidirectional trends in 11 thermal bioclimatic indicators through removing the influence of natural cycles on trend significance. A large decrease in the number of grid points showing significant trends was noticed for the MMK in respect to the classical Mann–Kendall (MK) test which indicates that the natural variability of the climate should be taken into consideration in bioclimatic trend analyses in Iran. The unidirectional trends obtained using the MMK test revealed changes in almost all of the bioclimatic indicators in different parts of Iran, which indicates rising temperature have significantly affected the bioclimate of the country. The semi-dry region along the Persian Gulf in the south and mountainous region in the northeast were found to be more affected in terms of the changes in a number of bioclimatic indicators.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Spatial Pattern of the Unidirectional Trends in Thermal Bioclimatic Indicators in Iran

et al. 2019

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“…Although preference of males and juveniles was not supported at fine scales, loss of a single male or juvenile by a household can undermine the family income relying on breeding and replenishment of less productive cattle. As the Hyrcanian forest is a biodiversity hotspot and a key area for leopard conservation (Ebrahimi et al., ; Farashi & Shariati, ; Farashi et al., ) which needs better protection (Mehri et al., ), we hope that this practice will reduce conflicts and improve conservation status of this region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study is novel in terms of research findings and practical applications, in Iran and beyond. Also, this study is timely and important because Iran is the stronghold country for the globally endangered leopard subspecies in the Middle East, the Persian leopard ( Panthera pardus saxicolor ) (Figure ; Ebrahimi, Farashi, & Rashki, ; Khorozyan, ), the Hyrcanian forest represents the most continuous and most suitable habitat for leopard (Ebrahimi et al., ; Farashi & Shariati, ; Farashi, Shariati, & Hosseini, ), and retaliatory anthropogenic mortality from depredation is among the main threats to leopard survival in Iran and the region (Ghoddousi et al., ; Soofi et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cattle selectivity by leopards suggests ways to mitigate human–leopard conflict

Khorozyan

Ghoddousi²,

Soufi

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Addressing widespread livestock losses to carnivores requires information on which livestock categories are preferentially selected. We analyzed an individual‐based database of cattle grazing in forest (n = 932) and having been killed (n = 70) by leopards (Panthera pardus) in the Hyrcanian forest, Iran. We calculated Jacobs’ selectivity index for cattle age, sex, and coloration across four scales: the study area as a whole, three sites, nine villages, and 60 cattle owners. Naturally colored cattle were significantly preferred by leopards at all scales in comparison with black and black‐and‐white cattle, and there was also a preference for males and juveniles at the study area level. More research is needed to see whether cattle losses would decrease if the share of naturally colored individuals in local holdings was reduced and males and juveniles had limited access to forest. We conclude that phenotypic and biologic characteristics of livestock can affect depredation and appeal for more research in this direction, particularly within the predator–prey framework.

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“…We began by selecting uncorrelated landscape metrics to ensure the validity of the predictions (Barbet‐Massin & Jetz, ) using the method described by Leroy et al (), resulting in nine uncorrelated explanatory variables for the dataset with 5‐year moving windows (Supporting Information Table ); however, the rape density was excluded for modeling the dataset aggregated over the whole period (Supporting Information Appendix ). Secondly, to select the modeling technique (Elith, Ferrier, Huettmann, & Leathwick, ), we used version 2.0 BIOMOD multimodel platform (Thuiller, Lafourcade, Engler, & Araújo, ) implemented in R. This can (a) use heterogeneous data from different counting methods (Farashi & Shariati, ; Jackson, Gergel, & Martin, ) and (b) compare the most frequently used modeling techniques (Barbet‐Massin et al, ; Monnet, Hingrat, & Jiguet, ; see Supporting Information Appendix ). As these modeling techniques require presence and absence data but as our dataset did not contain true absences (the absence of a sighting does not imply the absence of partridges), we generated 100 replicates of 1,000 random pseudo‐absences to obtain reliable confidence intervals (Barbet‐Massin et al, ; Supporting Information Appendix gives the methods and numbers of pseudo‐absences).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in habitat selection patterns of the gray partridgePerdix perdixin relation to agricultural landscape dynamics over the past two decades

Harmange

Bretagnolle

Sarasa

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Changes in agricultural practices have reshaped agricultural landscapes and triggered a drastic decline in spatial and temporal heterogeneity leading to changes in habitat quality and food resources for birds. However, the precise relationships between landscape changes, spatial and temporal heterogeneity, and habitat preferences in response to those changes remain poorly known. We investigated patterns of habitat selection and causes for changes over the years 1997–2017 for the gray partridge Perdix perdix , an iconic farmland species which has experienced a severe decline since the 1950s. Using a long‐term (1997–2017) dataset collected over 435 km 2 , we modeled relationships between annual land‐cover maps and partridge sightings over 17 5‐year moving windows, assessing the effects of landscape metrics, the strength of the relationships, and the dynamics of habitat suitability. We detected a shift in gray partridge habitat preferences over time, toward more risky habitats. Avoidance of predator reservoirs (woodlands and buildings) has weakened, and selection of human infrastructure, such as roads and tracks, has increased. Since 1997, the mean size of suitable patches has also decreased by about 26%. We have interpreted these changes in habitat selection as being the result of decreasing habitat quality and the increasing prevalence of captive‐reared birds, currently released in their thousands in the study site. Synthesis and applications . The gray partridge has not adjusted well to changes in farming practices, and the low, still decreasing, population density suggests that it is not sustainable, despite local initiatives and the investment in captive‐bird releases. We emphasize that efforts must be redirected toward habitat improvement to restore the density of refuge cover, insects, and seeds in the landscape, hunting management to ensure self‐sustainable populations and massive releases of high‐quality birds. Only integrated local management, involving hunters, farmers, gamekeepers, and scientists can ensure the recovery of this species.

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Biodiversity hotspots and conservation gaps in Iran

Cited by 51 publications

References 65 publications

Spatial Pattern of the Unidirectional Trends in Thermal Bioclimatic Indicators in Iran

Spatial Pattern of the Unidirectional Trends in Thermal Bioclimatic Indicators in Iran

Cattle selectivity by leopards suggests ways to mitigate human–leopard conflict

Changes in habitat selection patterns of the gray partridgePerdix perdixin relation to agricultural landscape dynamics over the past two decades

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