Habitat Suitability Modeling for Wild Goat Capra aegagrus in Kolah Ghazi National Park, Esfahan Province
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Abstract
Kolah Ghazi National Park is one of the most important habitats for wild goat in Iran with a population of around 2000 heads. In order to model the habitat for this species, a presence only layer was used as input to ENFA method in Biomapper software. Ecogeographic factors were also used as independent variables including plant community, distribution of predators, geomorphologic features, main roads, permanent springs, slope, and elevation. The habitat suitability map indicated that suitable habitat for the species in the area occurs between 1900 to 2300 meters above see level with slopes higher than 30 percent and mainly in rocky mountain sites with Convolvulus leiocalycinus, Ebenus stellata, and Stipa spp. as dominant plants. The results showed this species has a narrow niche and a tendency to occupy marginal habitats.
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