Modeling and Habitat Variables Affecting the distribution of Iranian cheetah using Ecological Niche Factor Analysis

many large carnivores such as Iranian cheetah are confined within small wildlife refuges in human-dominated landscapes. Appropriate management of these populations may warrant understanding fine-scale use of habitat. Evaluation of habitat suitability indexes is necessary in management and conservation of rare species. Suitable habitats are requisite in managements and conservation also, they increase reproduction and survival rate of species. In this study, to facilitate mapping habitat suitability and to recognize habitat requirements of Iranian Cheetah, field data from Naybandan Wildlife refuge (NWR) were collected from autumn 2009 until autumn 2014. Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) approach was employed to develop habitat suitability model. In this method, Idrisi and Biomapper introduced primary maps of habitat variables such as elevation, slope, aspect, vegetation cover, and distance from water sources as well as environmental monitoring stations. The output scores obtained from the analysis showed that Iranian Cheetah move to plains and hilly areas which contain more topographical features for camouflage and hunting, along with the northern conditions which includes enhanced humidity, dense vegetation cover and more preys. Our findings indicated that the Iranian cheetah has medium niche width and prefer marginal habitats. Iranian cheetah changes their habitats and begins migrating towards mountainous areas. Recent studies show that contrary to common thinking, cheetahs in Iran are now mainly hunting wild sheep and wild goat in NWR.

Keywords:

Biomapper , Habitat suitability Model , Marginal Habitats , ENFA , Iranian Cheetah