Publication:
Mesocarnivores den site selection in arid ecosystems; a case study of Rüppell's fox and sand cat in central Iran

dc.contributor.coauthorFeizabadi, Hossein Akbari
dc.contributor.coauthorAshrafi, Sohrab
dc.contributor.coauthorHemami, Mahmoud R.
dc.contributor.coauthorAhmadi, Mohsen
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Physics
dc.contributor.kuauthorNaderi, Mortaza
dc.contributor.otherDepartment of Physics
dc.contributor.schoolcollegeinstituteCollege of Sciences
dc.date.accessioned2024-12-29T09:41:24Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractUnderstanding the relationships between species and their pattern of coexistence is essential in conservation planning. Ruppell's fox and sand cat are two poorly known species of desert areas that coexist in most parts of the desert belt of Africa and the Middle East. However, their habitat selection in many parts of their distribution are unknown. In this research, using the data collected from a three-year monitoring plan, we investigated the relationship between the den sites of Ruppell's fox and sand cat and habitat variables based on the generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) method. The results showed that for Ruppell's foxes, only the density of rodent burrows had a significant and positive effect. In the sand cat model, in addition to prey, vegetation density (P-value < 0.05) and vegetation height (P -value < 0.10) had significantly positive effects and elevation had a significantly negative effect (P-value < 0.10). We found that the sand cat is more specialized in habitat selection and depends more on the habitat cover. While the Ruppell's fox chose a more diverse range of soil and vegetation classes, the sand cat selected its den sites exclusively in sandy loam soils with the predominant cover of Haloxylon spp. and Caligonum spp. Acting as a generalist species, Ruppell's fox displayed a more pronounced response to human presence and selected dens with a broader view of their surroundings. These findings enhance our understanding of mesocarnivore coexistence in desert regions and provide valuable insights for the conservation planning of these species.
dc.description.indexedbyWoS
dc.description.indexedbyScopus
dc.description.openaccessGold Open Access
dc.description.publisherscopeInternational
dc.description.sponsorsDepartment of Environment of Isfahan Province; Naein County
dc.description.volume49
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02793
dc.identifier.eissn2351-9894
dc.identifier.quartileQ1
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-85181948630
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02793
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14288/23627
dc.identifier.wos1155589000001
dc.keywordsHabitat selection
dc.keywordsMesocarnivores
dc.keywordsDesert habitats
dc.keywordsGeneralized linear mixed model
dc.keywordsConservation planning
dc.languageen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.sourceGlobal Ecology and Conservation
dc.subjectBiodiversity conservation
dc.subjectEcology
dc.titleMesocarnivores den site selection in arid ecosystems; a case study of Rüppell's fox and sand cat in central Iran
dc.typeJournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
local.contributor.kuauthorNaderi, Mortaza
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublicationc43d21f0-ae67-4f18-a338-bcaedd4b72a4
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryc43d21f0-ae67-4f18-a338-bcaedd4b72a4

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