Seasonal evaluation habitat of Asian Houbara in the Central and East Iran

Abstract

The Asian Houbara is vulnerable species, the population of which is dwindling. Its protection must be prioritized in conservation programs. In this study, maximum entropy models were developed in four seasons to evaluate habitat suitability and factors affecting Asian Houbara in the Center and East Iran. Environmental variables used in modeling and evaluating the niche consisted of 24 environmental and climate variables for Gharetapeh hunting prohibited region and 36 environmental and climate variables for Petregan protected area. Also, seasonal overlap area was obtained using the ENM TOOLS software. The results showed that the most important factors affecting habitat suitability of the Asian Houbara in all seasons included the ratio of distance to the type of Artemisia sieberi–Zygophyllum eurypterum, distance to the slope 2–5%, distance to the type of Seidlitzia rosmarinus in the Gharetapeh hunting prohibited region, distance to the type of Artemisia aucheri, distance to the land passion, and distance to the dry land farming in the Petregan region. In summer and fall–winter, the most suitable habitat is Gharetapeh but is Petergan during fall–winter. There is maximum overlap in fall and winter, and the least overlap in the spring in these areas.