Habitat selection by East Caucasian tur ( Capra cylindricornis)

Abstract

Habitat selection by East Caucasian tur ( Capra cylindricornis), a species of global conservation concern, was examined in relation to terrain, climate and degree of human disturbance using a Geographical Information System and logistic regression. The study area was in the part of the Greater Caucasus of Georgia, where the species protection was not enforced. Two models of tur habitat requirements were obtained: one model at a scale of 20 × 20 m plots, and the other one at a scale of different habitat fragments made up of 20 × 20 m plots identified by the first model at its optimal cut-off value. The second model refined the first one. The first model suggested that the probability of a 20 × 20 m plot being part of tur habitat was positively correlated with slope, distances to roads and livestock summer camps, and negatively correlated with human population density and annual rainfall. The probability had a bell-shaped correlation with elevation, reaching its maximum at 3008.4 m. The second model suggested that a fragment of a land made up of 20 × 20 m plots with optimal characteristics for tur occurrence was more likely to contain tur if the area of the fragment was larger and its distance to the nearest area where tur occurred was shorter. The results show that the occurrence of East Caucasian tur is affected by climate, terrain, human disturbance and habitat fragmentation, and can be predicted regardless of seasonality in the species movements. These models can be applied to the management of the species and its habitat in the areas of the Caucasus that lie at >1000 m asl and have an annual rainfall >600 mm, and where the species protection is not enforced.