Ali Akbar Karimian; Samira Hossein Jafari
Volume 13, Issue 3 , October 2015, , Pages 125-132
Abstract
Habitat is one of the important factors in species protection. Determining the pattern of wildlife species distribution and their habitat selection is so important to manage wildlife and its habitat. So the purpose of this study is to investigate the habitat selection of Gazella subgutrrosa in Kalmand ...
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Habitat is one of the important factors in species protection. Determining the pattern of wildlife species distribution and their habitat selection is so important to manage wildlife and its habitat. So the purpose of this study is to investigate the habitat selection of Gazella subgutrrosa in Kalmand conserved area. Sampling was done using random steady transects with 200 meters long and 2 meters wide and with 2 replications during five field investigation. When dung groups were observed, a 10*10 plot was putted with the center of dung masses and environmental variables were measured. Then, dungs were removed for another monitoring. Transects were investigated every 45 days. The results showed that there is a significant difference among three plant communities in terms of dung groups' density. The most and the least deer utilization were related to Artemisia-lactuca and Artemisia communities, respectively, but there is no significant difference between Artemisia and Artemisia-Salsola communities in terms of habitat use. Artemisia-lactuca community had the least distance to the nearest post and Artemisia-Salsola community had the least distance to the nearest water resources and road. Artemisia community had also the least distance to the nearest farm. There is no significant difference between the two seasons in terms of dung groups' density in plant communities. It seems that Artemisia-lactuca community prepared refuge (because of Astragalus species as a participant in this community), safety (because of being near to the post), and more food and water resources (because of Artemisia and Astragalus species presence) for Gazella subgutrrosa compared to the other communities.
