Wyniki wyszukiwania - BazTech

1

Habitat Preferences of Caucasian Rock Agama Paralaudakia caucasia (Sauria: Agamidae) in Urban and Natural Habitats in Northeastern Iran

Hosseinian Yousefkhani S. S., Aliabadian M., Zuffi M. A. L.

Polish Journal of Ecology

|

2018

|

Vol. 66, nr 1

48--56

EN

In this study, we chose 61 plots along three randomly placed transects in urban and natural areas to examine Paralaudakia caucasia habitat preferences. Ten habitat characteristics found to affect the lizard occurrence were recorded in both habitat types. Based on ANOVA, distance to farmland, height of vegetation cover, percentage of cover of human structures, and slope orientation are significantly different between presence and absence plots. Using Principal Component Analysis, we found that the distance to farmland was the main factor predicted species presence in natural habitats. In urban habitats, the percentage of human structures was more important than other factors in predicting P. caucasia presence. The species is more abundant in regions with a low percentage of human-made structures. Other informative factors for species presence were distance from farmland and distance between refuges for urban and natural populations, respectively. Urban populations of P. caucasia appear to prefer areas outside of the city center, far from human structures, whereas natural populations appear to prefer areas away from villages where they may find higher densities of safe refuges. Isolated rocks in both urban and natural areas have an important role in predicting species presence acting because they act as refuges.

2

Factors Affecting Occurrence of Red-Backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) and Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) in Low-Intensify Agriculture Areas from Eastern Europe

Ajder V., Baltag E. S.

Polish Journal of Ecology

|

2017

|

Vol. 65, nr 2

285--294

EN

Shrikes represent an important group of farmland bird species which inhabit open habitats where they prey on invertebrates and small vertebrates. Like the other farmland birds, shrikes are in the decline across their breeding range. During the 2014 breeding season, we conducted point observations in 470 locations in the Republic of Moldova, recording all the shrike individuals that were seen during 5 minutes. The highest density has been recorded for the red-backed shrike Lanius collurio, (0.489–0.652 breeding pairs ha-1) while for lesser grey shrike Lanius minor the density is ten times lower (0.042–0.076 breeding pairs ha-1). These two shrike species select pasture areas for breeding and avoid artificial surfaces, forests and wetlands. Regarding the geomorphological variables, red-backed shrikes and lesser grey shrikes prefer areas of a low, flat ground and aspects with low exposure to the sun radiation. According to the General Linear Model analyses, the red-backed shrike distribution is significantly influenced by percentage of arable land and orchards, while for lesser grey shrike we did not find any significant influence of environmental variables studied.

3

Land Use and Land Cover Change in Protected Areas : Using Remote Sensing to Survey Suitable Habitats of Brown Bear Ursus arctos

Farashi A., Parvian N., Najafabadi M. S.

Polish Journal of Ecology

|

2016

|

Vol. 64, nr 3

420--430

EN

In recent years, brown bear Ursus arctos populations in Iran have experienced a clear trend of reduction and the species is now officially listed as threatened under provincial legislation. Anthropogenic habitat alteration and increasing human access to previously remote landscapes are potential source of stress for this species in Iran. Therefore, land cover changes in the Chelcheli protected area were mapped for 1991–2013 using time sequential Landsat TM and ETM at 30 meters resolution. Moreover, Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling was used to investigate habitat selection of brown bear. The results showed that suitable patches overlapped with forest areas (Hyrcanian forest) and rivers. Our results also indicate that the brown bear habitat suitability is negatively influenced by human disturbance (e.g., roads, settlements). Increased human disturbance in brown bear habitat in recent decades may cause bears to avoid the disturbed areas. Therefore, the management plans should focus on reducing the human infrastructures around brown bear habitat. A suggestion is to place the core secure areas for brown bear inside the suitable habitat close to rivers where the human access is restricted. Promoting awareness of biodiversity conservation among tourism should also be one of the major focuses of management plans.