Large-scaled habitat suitability indices of Tabarestan spirlin, Alburnoides tabarestanensis in the Kelarud River (a tributary of the Babel River)

Understanding of habitat requirements of a fish species is a research priority for its management and conservation. The biological characteristics and habitat requirements of Alburnoides tabarestanensis have not been studied yet. Therefore, this work aimed to study large-scaled i.e. water velocity, depth, river width, and bed type habitat suitability indices of endemic Tabarestan spirlin in the Kela River (a tributary of the Babel River, Caspian Sea Basin). For this purpose, a total of six stations along this River were sampled using an electrofishing device in a 30 m length of river with three replications. Based on the results, the preferred range of environmental variables of Tabarestan spirlin were a water depth of 17-20 cm, river width of 8.8-4.8 m, water current of 5-6 m / s, bed index of 3.5-8.8. The bedrock diameter was 7.5-5 cm. The results also showed that the selected habitat characteristics of Tabarestan spirlin are those with higher depth, boulder substrate type, lower width and lower water current that can be adversely affected by human activities such as sand and water harvestings.