Determination of habitat suitability for common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) in Golestan Province, using ecological niche modeling

Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is one of the protected birds occupying a wide range of habitats in northern parts of Iran. Successful management of this species demands information on its habitat requirements. In this study, habitat suitability for pheasant was assessed using ecological niche modeling across Golestan Province. For this purpose, 15 environmental variables presumably participating in constraining the large-scale niche dimensions of pheasant were used to model the ecological niche and distribution of the species using a maximum entropy algorithm. Results indicated that model predictions were statistically significantly better than random expectations. Model predictions identified three separate regions of potential pheasant distribution, in the western, central, and eastern parts of the province, and as well a small area in the northwest, but pheasant distribution is largely limited to the southern part of the province in forested areas and their surrounding habitats. Generally, 8.6%, 28.1%, and 63.3% of the province were categorized as potentially suitability at high, moderate, and low levels, respectively. The variables “distance to forest” and “precipitation seasonality” as most relevant determinants of pheasant distribution.