Home Range of Pleske's Ground Jay Podoces pleskei in a Breeding Season in Touran Biosphere Reserve, North-Central Iran

Pleske’s Ground Jay Podoces pleskei whose range extends throughout arid and semi-arid open plains of the Iranian plateau, is the only Iranian endemic passerine. This study analyzes home range size and overlap among three pairs using radio-tracking data during the breeding season in Touran Biosphere Reserve. We collected data of coordinates from nine captured individuals (three males, three females and three juveniles) in three nesting sites from early April to late June 2010. All individuals were equipped with tail-mount and backpack radio transmitters. A Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) was then generated and a Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) analysis was performed to delineate home range boundaries. Home ranges varied from minimum 34.8 to maximum 73.6 (MCP), minimum 283.5 to maximum 307.1 ha (KDE 95%), and minimum 82.9 to maximum 103.3 ha (KDE 50%) for males, females and juveniles. No significant difference was found between home range sizes of males and females. No core-area overlap was recorded among nonpairs. However, no breeding pairs exhibited territorial aggression at the edge of their home ranges, which seems to indicate non-territoriality of the species. We found that the core areas of males and females, as well as juveniles, were centred on the nests and on food resources availability.