مجله پژوهشهای جانوری (زیست شناسی ایران)
سال سی و پنجم شماره 3 (پاییز 1401)

The terrestrial tortoise, Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758, belongs to the family Testudinidae. A comparative osteological assessment can reveal the adaptive traits of this species. The aim of this study is to evaluate the postcranial osteology of the spur-thighed tortoise. In this study, two specimens of this species collected from their natural habitat in Dinvar and Chaharzebar regions in Kermanshah Province were used. Using common protocols for bone cleansing, the bones were removed and cleaned, and photographed using a Stereomicroscope model Olympus DP12 Germany equipped with digital camera. Postcranially, the vertebra column in T. graeca consists of a total of 55 vertebrae. Cervical ribs are not present in adults. The thoracic girdle is made up of three parts, the scapula and the coracoid. The pelvic girdle is large and has three parts and is composed of ilium, ischium and pubis. The humerus is thick and distinctly sigmoid. The bones of the radius and ulna are tightly connected in the near and far parts. The tibia and fibula are about the same length, and the near and far ends of both are widely transverse. It can be concluded from present study that the shape and number of bones that make up the postcranium, manus, thoracic girdle, pes and pelvic girdle, and the articular surfaces of the bones are specific to the species that can be the result of adaptation to different habitats.

The human threats have had many negative effects on the population of Iranian ungulates in recent decades. However, climate change can increase the vulnerability of these species by doubling the current habitat conditions. The purpose of this study, investigate of the effect of climate change on the favorable habitats for the wild goat (Capra aegagrus), the current species displacement rate and, How the future distribution of this species under two climate scenarios, optimistic and pessimistic (RCP126 and RCP585) in time efficiency of 2061 to 2080 throughout Iran using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) method. In this study, we use 32 habitat variables in four groups of topographic maps, climate, land use, and land cover. The results of this study show that the favorable habitats of this species in Iran now comprise 30% of the total habitats of the country. However, this amount of habitat will be reduced to 26% in the future, and in optimistic and pessimistic scenarios, 10.26% and 9.73% of the present habitats will be destroyed in the future, respectively, Also the results show that factors of altitude, slope, and latitude have a significant effect on the rate of reduction or conservation of desirable habitats of this species so that the results of modeling show the distribution of this species in the western and northwestern parts of Iran.

The Persian panther(Panthera pardus saxicolor)is the largest species feline family in Iran with the widest distribution among large feline cats that is distributed in most habitats of the country.The aim of this study was to identify habitat spots and connection pathways between known spots for Persian panthers.In order to model the species presence points and 11 habitat variables were used including topographic moisture, altitude,altitude roughness, distance from main roads,distance from residential areas, peak density,vegetation density index, vegetation density roughness, Normal water difference index, sky visibility coefficient and valley depth along with presence and quasi-absence methods of classification and regression tree(CART),random forest(RF),TreeNET and MARS. All possible models were combined by the AUC method, and from the inverse of that map,the cost map was obtained, and the threshold maps were collected together,and in the algebraic sum,4different dimensions of home area of the habitat spots were determined.Corridors between habitat spots were identified using the least cost analysis(LCP)method.Connection the protected areas of the province to each other was also done from the theory electrical circuit. According to the agreement between the results of Kalmand and Bafgh protected areas,Shirkuh no-hunting area has the largest area, Siahkuh protected areas and national park the lowest area of the species habitat, respectively.In combination with the results of the analysis of the lowest cost based on habitat spots,it should be noted that the connection of habitat spots in the Bafgh Protected Area to the Kalmand Protected Area can guarantee the spread of the species in Shirkuh and Marvar areas

The Geometric morphometric method is a novel method in the studying of Amphipoda morphological characters, especially for the discrimination and separation of the different Gammarus species. Hence, this research was conducted to study the different populations related to G. lordeganensis in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province using geometric morphometric method. For this purpose, the third epimeron were used to investigate the separation of populations from five different localities, including Barm, Gerdebishe, Sileh and Sardabe Rostamabad springs in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province. For better conclusion, G. parthicus from Sarab Abbasabad spring in Markazi province was added to this study. Photographs were taken from the third epidermal plate (Ep3) to extract morphological data. Then, two landmarks and 10 semi-landmarks were digitized on the posterior, anterior and inferior margins of the Ep3 using the TpsDig2 software. After generalized procrustes analysis, landmark data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) and Cluster Analysis by PAST software. The results showed significant differences among the studied populations in terms of the shape of the third epidermal plate (P<0.001). They were completely separated from each other. The shape of the third epimeral plate is a useful discriminating character for the identification of morphologically similar Gammarus species. According to the results of this study, it could be stated that the other examined populations attributed to G. lordeganensis in this study are not belong to this species, and there are clearly different Gammarus species.

A patch is a unit of the structure of the land or almost homogeneous part of the land that has a hierarchical structure and is considered as a homogeneous and recognizable ecosystem that is completely different from its surroundings. Two parameters of size and shape of habitat patchs affect the types and number of animals in it. These two parameters are important components in the design and planning of areas for species protection. Therefore, this study has studied the relationship between two parameters of size and shape of habitat patchs in Adoroshk watershed. During the spring and summer seasons of 2019, Adoroshk animals were identified. A total of 14 species of mammals and 26 species of birds were identified in Adoroshk. The highest amount of richness, diversity and uniformity of species was observed in shrub patch and the lowest amount was observed in high density shrub and grassland spots. FRAGSTATS 4.2 software was used to calculate the metrics used in the research. Data analysis using Spearman correlation and values of species diversity from Shannon-Wiener, Simpson, Hill, Brillouin and McArthur indices, species richness with Margalf and Mann-Henick indices Calculated. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between Simpson and Brillouin diversity index and Margalf and Mann-Henick richness indices with AREA and PARA criteria. Also, a significant relationship was observed between biodiversity indicators and physical parameters of patchs at the level of one percent, and small patchs are preferred in habitat design and management for animals.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between environmental parameters and the distribution of Kermanshah stone loach (Sasanidus kermanshahensis) in Dinor River from Tigris drainage in Kermanshah Province. sampling was performed in April 2017 at 7 stations along the river. Characteristics of each station including altitude, water flow velocity, river width, water depth, characteristics of bed components including bedrock percentage and average diameter bedrock was measured immediately after fish sampling. The Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was used to investigate the effect of environmental parameters on the distribution of S. kermanshahensis. Among the studied variables, the altitude, flow velocity, river width and bed index were significant,. Based on four significant factors, the distribution model algorithm and the presence of Kermanshah stone loach were obtained.With the increase of bed index from 4 to 6, and with the increase of altitude from 840 to 1050 m above sea level (MASL), the abundance of S. kermanshahensis decreased. In addition, with increasing the width of the river from 2 to 15 m, the abundance of fish increased. The results showed that with increasing the water flow velocity from 0.4 to 0.9 m/s, the frequency of S. kermanshahensis increased, but after that, with increasing the flow velocity up to 2 m/s, the fish abundance decreased sharply. Overall, downstream areas of the river, especially stations 6 and 7 (towards Bisotun in Harsin County), which have a river bed with fine particles and low flow velocity, can be a suitable habitat for Kermanshah stone loach.