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The potential distribution of wintering and breeding populations of Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii in Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2020

DAVOOD PAKNIAT ,
MAHMOUD-REZA HEMAMI Open the ORCID record for MAHMOUD-REZA HEMAMI [Opens in a new window] ,
GILDA SHAHNASERI ,
SAEIDEH MALEKI ,
MOHAMMAD-ALI ADIBI ,
MOHAMMAD REZA BESMELI ,
MOHAMMAD EBRAHIM SEHATISABET ,
HOSSEIN ABBASIAN ,
HOSSEIN AKBARI  and
MAHBOOBEH TOHIDI
DAVOOD PAKNIAT
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.
MAHMOUD-REZA HEMAMI*
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.
GILDA SHAHNASERI
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.
SAEIDEH MALEKI
Affiliation:
Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran.
MOHAMMAD-ALI ADIBI
Affiliation:
Semnan Provincial Office of the Department of the Environment, Semnan, Iran.
MOHAMMAD REZA BESMELI
Affiliation:
South Khorasan Provincial Office of the Department of the Environment, South Khorasan, Iran.
MOHAMMAD EBRAHIM SEHATISABET
Affiliation:
Kerman Provincial Office of the Department of the Environment, Kerman, Iran.
HOSSEIN ABBASIAN
Affiliation:
Yazd Provincial Office of the Department of the Environment, Yazd, Iran.
HOSSEIN AKBARI
Affiliation:
Isfahan Provincial Office of the Department of the Environment, Isfahan, Iran.
MAHBOOBEH TOHIDI
Affiliation:
Technical expert of birds, Department of the Environment, Tehran, Iran.
*
*Author for correspondence; email: mrhemami@cc.iut.ac.ir
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Summary

Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii is a vulnerable flagship species specific to steppe, desert and semi-desert habitats of the Middle East and Central Asia. Iran provides a critical corridor in the middle of Asian Houbara’s migratory route and also hosts a relatively large proportion of wintering and breeding populations. The aim of this study was to assess the distribution and habitat suitability of both wintering and breeding populations of Asian Houbara in Iran and evaluate the effectiveness of the existing protected area network for long-term protection of the species. For this purpose, 644 occurrence points for wintering and 216 points for breeding birds were collected from 17 Iranian provinces during 2015 to 2017. We then used a consensus species distribution modelling (SDM) approach using 11 uncorrelated environmental variables to explore the distribution of Asian Houbara habitats. Results showed that climatic and topographic variations have the most significant influence on the regional-scale distribution of Asian Houbara. Of the suitable habitats recognised for the wintering and breeding populations, 40.6% and 29.6% respectively overlapped with the extent of the protected network. A high level of spatial niche similarity (78%) was observed between wintering and breeding populations. The central, eastern and south-central Iranian semi-arid regions and desert landscapes hosted the majority of both wintering and breeding houbara occurrences. Results of this study could be used for adopting direct management planning and raising the protection level of important no-hunting areas.

Keywords

Species distribution modellingconservation planningprotected areasarid ecosystems
Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 151 - 165
Copyright
© BirdLife International 2020

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