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Abstract
In this study, maximum entropy models were developed in four seasons to evaluate habitat suitability and factors affecting Asian Houbara in Iran. Environmental variables used in modeling consisted of 42 environmental and climate variables for Nayband wildlife refuge and 36 environmental and climate variables for Petregan protected area. Also, seasonal overlap area were 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 hill, the type of Artemisia−Gymnocarpus, distance to the slope (8–12%) in the Nayband wildlife refuge, 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, the most suitable habitat is Nayband but is Petergan during fall-winter. there is maximum overlap in summer, and the least overlap in the spring these areas. The results of this study can be used as a valuable tool in implementing conservation and management strategies, in order to increase desirable habitats in the eastern part of Iran.
Highlights
Asian Houbara (Chamydotis macqueenii Gray, 1832) belongs to the family Otididae and the Order Gruiformes
Based on the excellent performance of models in predicting the distribution of Houbara based on the attended points (Fig. 1), the continuous map was produced based on logistics model in the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) software
The curve of response of types indicates that increase in distance from variable N3 has resulted in decrease in desirability of Houbara habitat and increase in distance from P15 type has resulted in an increase in desirability of habitat (Fig. 4)
Summary
Asian Houbara (Chamydotis macqueenii Gray, 1832) belongs to the family Otididae and the Order Gruiformes This bird is among the rare desert birds that makes nest in sandy areas and sabulous hills, wilderness, and deserts with scattered bushes or short grass around the fields it is often seen as a migrant in East and Central Iran (Azafzaf et al, 2005). Asian Houbara has been faced with rapid decline over the past few decades These species were classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN, 2015). Habitat loss is the main reason for species endangerment, species extinction and biodiversity loss (Tilman et al, 2011). In the last few decades, species distribution models (SDMs) became an imperative tool for estimating the likely impact of Environmental and Climate change on Species distribution (Bakkenes et al (2006); Lavergne et al, 2010)
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