Integrating Gap Analysis and Corridor Design with Less Used Species Distribution Models to Improve Conservation Network for Two Rare Mammal Species (Gazella bennettii and Vulpes cana) in Central Iran

Torabian, Shiva; Ranaie, Mehrdad; Feizabadi, Hossein Akbari; Chisholm, Laurie

doi:10.1134/s1995425521050103

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Attempts have been made to identify key populations of Mahogany Gliders and map corridors between them (Jackson et al, 2019). The results gained herein could be used to refine landscape assessments (Tarabon et al, 2019) and perform connectivity analyses (Esselman & Allan, 2011;Torabian et al, 2021) based on the modelled moderate and high suitability patches and corridors (e.g. using the weighted average mapping).…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species distribution modelling of the endangered Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) reveals key areas for targeted survey and conservation

2022

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The Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) is one of the most endangered marsupials in Australia. Its known distribution is an approximately 120 km strip of fragmented coastal woodland in north-east Queensland, from north of Townsville to the Tully area. Records are clustered in a number of well-surveyed areas, with significant areas of lowland habitat unsurveyed. Around 30% of historic records fall in areas that were subsequently cleared for farmland, and ongoing clearing and fragmentation of lowland sclerophyll forest continues within the potential distribution. Resolving the distribution is an urgent requirement to guide conservation but Mahogany Gliders are difficult to detect in the field. Species distribution modelling offers a technique for estimating the fine-scale distribution and for targeting further field survey and conservation efforts. We used known occurrence records (N = 481) to predict the distribution of Mahogany Gliders across the Wet Tropics bioregion. We used climatic, topographic and other environmental predictors to generate distribution models using Maxent and Random Forest algorithms, each with two bias correction methods. The predictions revealed that many unknown populations may exist within the currently defined distribution and in important areas beyond this (e.g. Hinchinbrook Island). There was reasonable congruence between models, and we include syntheses of the models to present the most likely current distribution. The most important predictor variables across the models were precipitation seasonality (high seasonality), elevation (generally <100 m), soil type (hydrosols) and vegetation type (including Eucalyptus and Melaleuca woodlands). Our results identify core habitat and reveal key areas that require targeted field surveys. Importantly, the predicted suitable habitat is highly fragmented and ongoing conservation efforts need to improve habitat connectivity and limit further fragmentation.

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Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species distribution modelling of the endangered Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) reveals key areas for targeted survey and conservation

2022

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“…IUCN Red List categorizes the global conservation status of goitered gazelle as vulnerable (VU) and jebeer gazelle as least concern (LC) (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, 2017a, 2017b). Because of severe population declines in these two species (Karami et al, 2016), especially for jebeer gazelle (Akbari et al, 2014(Akbari et al, , 2015Torabian et al, 2021), Yusefi et al (2019) categorize these two gazelles as endangered (EN) at the national scale. According to IUCN Red List, currently, about 2.6% and 5.9% of distribution ranges of goitered gazelle and jebeer gazelle in Iran are protected, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing landscape suitability and connectivity for effective conservation of two semi‐desert ungulates in Iran

Almasieh,

Mohammadi

2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Conservation outside conservation areas (CAs) is more challenging due to increased exposure to human‐induced disturbances. Therefore, it is important to identify and designate new CAs that can protect core wildlife habitat patches, as well as key linkages to promote connectivity. We performed this study to identify and prioritize core habitat patches and corridors for two semi‐desert sympatric gazelles in Iran (i.e., goitered gazelle Gazella subgutturosa and jebeer gazelle G. bennettii) in order to propose the expansion of existing CAs. We used an ensemble distribution modeling approach based on three algorithms (random forest, maximum entropy, and generalized boosting models) for habitat suitability assessment and a combination of resistant kernel and factorial least‐cost path analysis for connectivity modeling. Our results revealed that distance to CAs, elevation, and annual mean temperature were the most influential variables for predicting the distribution of the two gazelle species. We identified 12 and six core habitat patches for goitered gazelle and jebeer gazelle, respectively with a minimum area of 210 km2. Core habitat patches were mainly occurred in the north of the central basin of Iran with a high priority for the conservation of both species. CAs protected up to half of core habitat patches for goitered gazelle and one‐third of core habitat patches for jebeer gazelle. Due to human‐induced disturbances (e.g., vehicle collisions and poaching) outside CAs, it is necessary to increase regular monitoring and establish new CAs based on the identified core habitat patches for the two gazelles. Our findings highlight opportunities of designating new CAs for wildlife habitat and corridors conservation and for promoting connectivity by limiting road impacts.

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Soundscape analysis using eco-acoustic indices for the birds biodiversity assessment in urban parks (case study: Isfahan City, Iran)

Latifi

Fakheran

Moshtaghie

et al. 2023

Environ Monit Assess

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Integrating Gap Analysis and Corridor Design with Less Used Species Distribution Models to Improve Conservation Network for Two Rare Mammal Species (Gazella bennettii and Vulpes cana) in Central Iran

Cited by 5 publications

References 43 publications

Species distribution modelling of the endangered Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) reveals key areas for targeted survey and conservation

Species distribution modelling of the endangered Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) reveals key areas for targeted survey and conservation

Assessing landscape suitability and connectivity for effective conservation of two semi‐desert ungulates in Iran

Soundscape analysis using eco-acoustic indices for the birds biodiversity assessment in urban parks (case study: Isfahan City, Iran)

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