نشریه تنوع زیستی و رده بندی جانوران
سال یکم شماره 1 (اسفند 1400)

AbstractThe purpose of the present study was to assess the phylogenetic affinity and taxonomic status of a population of Zagrosian lizard (Timon princeps) from Lordegan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, by analyzing a 560 bp fragment of mtDNA Cytochrome b. To this end, a dataset was created using our sequences (five specimens from Lordegan) together with additional 17 sequences (T. princeps, T. kurdistanicus) downloaded from the GenBank. Based on the results, The Lordegan's specimens clustered along with other T. princeps. Sister-group relationships between T. princeps and T. kurdistanicus was recovered with the highest support. Based on the haplotype network analysis, most recovered haplotypes are restricted to a specific geographical region. Due to the fact that the central haplotype is related to the southernmost known distribution record of T. princeps in Iran (Dashte Arjan), a possible scenario could be that older haplotypes of T. princeps belonged to these areas and then after last glacial period spread northward.

. In this survey length-weight relationships, gonadosomatic index (GSI) and histological characters of gonad were investigated in female fish Capoeta damascina. For doing that, sampling was performed monthly from Sezar River in vicinity of Sepiddasht town, lorestan during nine months from October 2012 to June 2013. After sampling the specimens were transferred to a laboratory where biometric measurements were first executed. Later, the gonads were dissected and after measuring dimensions they were processed for histological examinations. Data obtained from biometric assays demonstrated that a negative allometic growth pattern observed in this species. Moreover, the greatest value of GSI is seen in May. In addition, histological surveys showed that the ovary is saccular and six distinct stages can be distinguished during development of oocytes. Results provided here indicated that during the autumn and the winter the oocytes grow and differentiate whereas the spring, specifically May, is the phase of short-time spawning.

Due to the importance of reptiles in life networks and terrestrial ecosystems we planned to investigate about reptilian fauna of eastern Lorestan. To perform this task, several field trips were conduvted to the study area including Dorood, Azna and Aligodarz towns and during these trips the reptile specimens were captured by various tools. Afterwards, in the laboratory the specimens were fixed and identified according to their biometric and morphological characters. In general, in this research 14 species belonging to different groups of reptiles were collected and identified. These species were as follows; from suborder of Sauria we collected five species including Trapelus lessonae, Ophisops elegans, Lacerta media, Cyrtopodion scabrum and Laudakia nupta, from suborder of Ophidia we identified seven species including: Natrix tessellata, Malpolon monspessulanus, Telescopus tessellates, Typhlops vermicularis, Coronella austriaca, Eirenis collaris and Dolichophis jugularis, and from order Chelonia we collected two species of Mauremys caspica and Testudo graeca. Regarding the fact that the study area is mountainous and out of reach, we highly expect that there are also other species which were not identified in this survey.

The Lorestan toad is endemic to Iran and inhabits in the western foothills of the Zagros Mountains. In order to investigate the morphological variation in this toad, 14 morphological characters in more than 22 specimens of three regions, Jahangirkhani, Tafab, Paytakhtgolzar , in the southwest of Iran, were studied. Sexual size dimorphism was computed according to the sexual dimorphism index (SDI). The Shapiro-Wilk’s test showed normality of snout-vent length (SVL) (W = 0.947, P = 0.053). So, we used the t-test to compare the SVL between sexes. Patterns of phenetic relationships between local populations were investigated by One-way ANOVA. The SDI was 0.06, indicating an intersexual difference in body length (Female-biased SSD), and the SVL differs significantly among females and males according to the t- test (P≤ 0.05). In the intraspecific level, based on morphometric characters, our analysis showed that all populations belonged to a single population, because there was no statistically significant difference between them (ANOVA; P≥ 0.05).

Today, the study of changes and consequenty the effects of climate in the past, present and future on the distribution of animals as well as plant species and the correlation of their distributions with climate change in the range of species distribution is increasing. The species Eumeces schneiderii (Daudin 1802) has six known subspecies in its entire range of its distribution and one of which is E.s.princeps (Eichwald 1839) that is distributed mainly in Iran. This subspecies is distributed in Iraq, eastern Turkey, western and northern Iran, the Caucasus republics and Georgia, and to the east to the foothills of Kopet Dagh. In the present study, using MaxEnt software, the distribution of the possible range of this subspecies in the past (120,000 years ago), current and the future (2070 AD) were modeled and determined using climatic data. Six layers including the average temperature of the coldest season, the wettest season, the maximum temperature of the warmest month, the annual temperature range, the seasonality of the temperature and the average temperature of the wettest season were identified as effective parameters in the distribution of this taxon. The results of modeling output maps with an average AUC above 0.85 showed that the range of this taxon will shrink and reduse from the southern parts inthe past to the northern parts in the future and two climatic factors include mean of average temperature of the coldest season and precipitation during the wettest season, showed the most effective parameters in distribution of this taxon.

Psammophis schokari (FORSSKAL, 1775), as one of the euryoecious semi-venomous snakes of the Psammophiidae family, has a wide distribution range and many local populations in the Iranian plateau. This study aimed to evaluate the demographic and morphological diversity of P. schokari in Iran. We measured twenty-one metric, meristic and relative characters of 22 specimens (11 ♀ and 11 ♂) to analyze sexual size dimorphism and compare demographic morphological variation between three different populations in Iran. Except for a significant difference in trunk length, no sexual dimorphism was recorded in our analysis. We observed a significant difference in morphological characters among different populations. Because P. schokari is often distributed at low altitudes and tropical and desert areas; We believe the main cause for the separation of populations is the heights on the Iranian plateau, which acts as a natural barriers for gene flow between populations therefore. These populations are isolated due to the separation effect of the orogenic process.

Water frogs are an important part of the food chain in ecosystems and natural pest control. Khuzestan province, due to climatic diversity, can be a suitable area for biosphere studies. In this regard, in the present study, the karyology of P. bedriagae was studied and the reproductive capacity was compared, along with the amplitude of male voice fluctuations in the breeding season in the northern and southern regions of Khuzestan province. Twenty-one specimens of adult swamp frogs were caught live during the spring and autumn of 1995-96 and transferred to the laboratory. Species karyology, like other reports, was n = 262 and had sex chromosomes, which were divided into two groups: 5 pairs of metacentric type and 8 pairs of sub-metacentric type. Sex x chromosomes were the largest chromosome in the group y were the smallest chromosome in the group, and both types were metacentric. In the section on comparing reproductive capacity, the populations of both sexes in the northern and southern regions had the highest reproductive capacity in spring. In addition, males with higher callus weight and diameter and also females with higher weight had higher reproductive capacity. . The amplitude of the male acoustic sounds also showed that the males of the southern regions have an average intensity and amplitude of more sounds than the males of the northern regions.

The water frog (P. bedriagae) is considered as an important part of the food network balance in most ecosystems, it is affected by many environmental stresses and the distribution of its populations is strongly dependent on ecological factors. In this study, extensive sampling of swamp frog populations in the northern and southern parts of Khuzestan province was performed and the analysis of changes in morphological traits under the influence of geographical separation was performed. The results showed the presence of sexual morphology between morphological traits (T-test, ANOVA). In addition, the results of MANOVA and T2 Hotelling test showed demographic separation between males and the absence of demographic separation in females in the northern and southern regions. To prove such a difference, multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) was performed. According to the results of the test, the male populations were divided into two separate groups, while in the female populations only a few were scattered and the rest formed a single group. Finally, the cluster analysis of the studied populations was divided into two groups based on morphometric traits, the population of Shush region and the population of the southern regions and parts of the northern regions. According to the results, despite the two morphologies and demographic separation in males based on morphological traits, demographic separation was not fully confirmed. Thus, despite the geographical separation of the populations of the two northern and southern regions of Khuzestan province, they still show a single population in terms of morphological traits.

Bats as indicators of environmental changes have provided important ecosystem services such as pollination, seed dispersion, and insect population control that reflect their role and status of them in the ecosystem. Therefore, knowledge of the distribution range, habitat requirements and connections is necessary for the management of bat species. The objective of this study is distribution modeling and identification of the connecting network, including corridors and habitat cores of the small mouse tailed bat in Iran. For habitat modelling, species presence points (74 locality) and bioclimatic, topographic and human variables, as well as soil organic carbon, were used. Modelling was performed using the MaxEnt method, and suitable/unsuitable habitat for the species was determined using the TSS threshold. Habitat cores with an emphasis on continuity and then the pairwise connection paths using the least cost path (LCP) analysis identified. To analysis the connectivity, the density metrics and suitability of the corridor in the landscape were used. According to the results of the modelling, there are numerous potential habitats as patches for the species in the country. Most of the habitat cores with an area of over 250 hectares are in the southern and southeastern regions of the country. The length of the set of paths that connect the habitat cores with the lowest cost was estimated 140,399 km, which the highest amount of connection related to the habitat cores is in the southern and southeastern parts.

Golden Eagle scientifically called Aquila chrysaetos is one of the most glorious birds of prey in Iran and all over the world. It belongs to the Accipitridae family, whose predominant species is found in Zagros Mountains. This study seeks to explore the behaviors of Golden Eagle during a one year period in Lorestan Mountains which are considered a part of Central Zagros Mountains. The area in which Golden Eagle behaviors were recorded include: Oshtoran kuh, Garrin, Sephid kuh, and Hashtad Pahloo Mountain. For ease of exploration, the behaviors are divided into 3 groups which are as follows: daily behaviors: including hunting and feeding, Social behaviors: including social interactions among each and every member of a group which are done through seeing and making sounds and breeding behaviors: including mating, nesting, and caring after birth. Film-taking for this research began in autumn and continued for one year. According to the results, it came into light that Golden Eagle does most of its behaviors in late winter; that is, a time near mating season. These behaviors are: feeding, preying, and nesting, all of which increase in this season. Egg-laying is eventually done in March. And chicks are born after 45 days in this month. They are cared by their parents for approximately 3 months and become enabled of breeding within 4 to 5 years.

In recent years DNA extraction from various organisms is of strategic importance in downstream research such as molecular analysis phylogeny, and more recently new generation sequencing. This process will be even more important in organisms for which there is very limited genomic information.In the present work, genomic and mitochondrial DNA was extracted from almost 0.002 gram tissue of terrestrial isopods of Protracheoniscus species collected from different parts of Iran, based on phenol-chloroform procedure. The quality of extracted DNA was exactly evaluated by electrophoresis and nanodrop methods. Polymerase chain reaction for mitochondrial gene COI and its subsequent successful sequencing were regarded as another confirmation of DNA extraction from the given amount of these creatures tissue.The results of the present study can be used in phylogenetic studies or other genomic analyzes in rare species with very low tissue content due to the abundance of organisms with limited low genomic information.

Some investigations have been performed on scorpions of Iran. No study has been carried out on some area of Iran. Some researchers reported several species of scorpions of Iran(Vachon ,1966,Farzanpay 1988). To obtain the scorpions, we used crower bar and wood to move the heavy materials like stone, clod, and other things. In the present investigation scorpions were collected from different parts of Andimeshk. To identify and study morphological characters specimens, stereo microscope Olympus Lica 2000, was used. In this investigation several scorpions including genera and species belonged to two families Buthidae and Hemiscorpiidae were studied. From family Buthidae,these species, including Compsobuthus matthisseni , Mesobuthus eupeus, Hottentotta saulcyi, Androctonus crassicauda, Razianus zarudnyi, Odentobuths bidentatus, Orthochirus scrobiculosus , and from family Hemiscorpiidae, species Hemiscorpius leptorus were studied.In taxonomy scorpions are order of Arthropoda phylum , belonged to invertebrata animals . Andimeshk district is a warm region and scorpions sting, usually occurs in this area. So we studied the venom species in the mentioned region