استفاده از زيستگاه آهوي ايراني ﴿Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa در پارك ملي كلاه قاضي﴾

چكيده انگليسي :

Habitat Use by Persian Gazelle Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa in Kolah Qazi National Park Saeideh Esmaeili Saeideh 1983@yahoo com 31 01 2011 Department of Natural Resources Isfahan University of Technology Isfahan 84156 83111 Iran Degree M Sc Language Farsi M R Hemami Assist Prof mrhemami@cc iut ac ir Abstract Persian gazelle has been declining over recent decades due to illegal hunting and habitat degradation The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has considered Goitered gazelle as a vulnerable species since 2006 Information on habitat associations of a species is central to its conservation programs We studied habitat use by Persian gazelle in Kolah Qazi National Park one of its typical habitats in central Iran Different habitat types were defined based on dominant plant species vegetation communities and slope of the ground Defined habitats were included Scariola orientalis Artemisia sieberi A Sieberi A sieberi Anabasis aphylla Pteropyrum aucheri and slope terrain Belt transects were established in replicated habitat types and gazelle habitat use was quantified by counting and clearing pellet groups within the established transects in two month intervals from September 2009 to September 2010 To compare gazelle habitat use between the defined habitat types and time periods one way analysis of variance was used Gazelles used P aucheri community significantly less than other defined habitat The spatial pattern of habitat use was more or less similar between the time periods However gazelles used P aucheri community significantly less than S orientalis A sieberi A sieberi and A aphylla A sieberi in February March period Jacob s selectivity index demonstrated that the S orientalis A sieberi community has been used more and A sieberi A aphylla has been used less than the available habitats throughout the year In addition A sieberi and P aucheri communities has been used differently by gazelles in different time prriods Linear regression showed that distance to permanent water sources and percentage of gravels in substrate were the most important habitat variables predicting Persian gazelle s distribution in the study area The effects of vegetation cover were significant only in November December and April May periods Habitat use was not depended on water sources in February March and April May time periods We found that a high percentage of gazelle resting sites were located on ant nests therefore we hypothesized that gazelles used ant nest sites selectiviely as their bed sites To monitor gazelle use of the ant nest sites over a complete year fifty six 5 5 meter plots were placed on ant nest sites in S orientalis A sieberi A sieberi and A sieberi A aphylla vegetation commiunities For each presence plot a control paired plots was also established 100 meter apart Pair wised comparisons confirmed significantly higher use of ant nest sites by gazelles compared to the adjacent sites in all time periods throughout the year Percent soil organic matter percent cover of gravel and annual vegetation significantly differed between presence plots ant nest sites gazelle bed sites and paired control plots in each vegetation community Principal component anlysis also showed that these factors were the most important factors discriminating nests from paired plots We suggest that alternation composed by ants in substrates makes ant nest sites attractive to gazelles as bed sites More studies are required to explore the ecological interactions between ants and gazelles Key words Persian gazelle Habitat use Kolah Qazi National Park Bed site Relationship between gazelles and ants

اسمعيلي، سعيده

استفاده از زيستگاه آهوي ايراني ﴿Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa در پارك ملي كلاه قاضي﴾

استراحتگاه , ارتباط ميان آهو و مورچه