Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity
Volume:6 Issue: 1, Winter 2022

Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) havethepotential to contribute to food security. These taxa can donate advantageous traits to counter biotic as well as abiotic stress and improve thequalityof crops. This study aims to provide as many details as possible on distribution patterns and centers of diversity in order to identify and establish modern protectedareasin Iran. In total,539 species of CWR, from258 genera and 75 plant familieshave been studied. Using prioritization criteria (gene pool level, range of distribution,and economicvalue) 17 families, 35 genera,and 94 species of CWRhave beenidentified in Iran.The highest diversitywas found in the central AlborzMountains, the eastern Alborz,and the northern sections of the Zagros Mountains. Several geographic zones can be classified as national genetic reserves. Iranian CWRwere distributed in nineclasses,ranging in elevation from sea levelto more than 4,000 m. Species with a high conservation value includeRosapimpinellifolia, Rosawebbiana, Pyrusturcomanica, Crataegussanguinea, Viciapannonica, Viciagrandiflora, Lathyruspseudo-cicera, Lactucawilhelmsiana, Cornusmas,and,Cornussanguinea. The main achievement of this study has been to identify the distribution patternsandpriorities for the conservation of these valuable taxafor the first time. These prominent taxa of CWRhave the potential not only to improve food and economic security at a national level but can also contribute to global food security.Thus, an urgent and cohesive plan for their management is critical.

The National Zoological Park, New Delhi is one of the prominent zoos housing large numbers of big cats. Zoos with time have been evolved as a prime institution that helps in the conservation of many wild animals but in the captive environment, the conditions are different in comparison to the wild. In the present study, the big cats i.e., Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, and Common leopard housed at the National Zoological Park, New Delhi have been chosen. The captive environment provided to these animals’enclosure attributes, enrichment, upkeep, healthcare, population trend, breeding management, etc. has been reviewed. The data has been collected for every enclosure and analyzed as per the guidelines, norms, and species requirements. Besides, the population trend of these species in the zoo has also been analyzed. The results so obtained indicate that various management efforts are still required for conserving the species in captivity. Further, the population trend also depicts a more death trend than a birth trend in the case of big cats species which may be due to various reasons. The study, therefore, highlights that a more intensive species-specific captive management plan for the conservation of big cats may be formulated so that the main motive of zoos i.e., conservation and welfare of animals in captivity is being achieved successfully.

Habitat suitability modelingand identification of spatiotemporal niches helpin understanding the ecological requirements of faunal guilds. Small and sized-mediumfelids of wild Sri Lanka include three cat species; fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), jungle cat (Felis chaus),and, rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus). These felids are hyper-carnivorous elusive predators that play important ecological roles in a variety of habitats. We conducted this study to identify the habitat associations of sympatric small and sized-mediumfelids and model the habitat suitability of Maduru Oya National Park (MONP), Sri Lanka. Spatiotemporal niche overlapping and partitioning was also investigated. Species occurrence data were obtained based on the camera trap capture events, direct observations,and roadkill records. Modeling was conducted based on the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) using the software package Maxent (version3.4.3). The predictive accuracies(ROC) of the selected models were evaluated to be greater than 0.80(AUC). Distance to water resources (44.9%), Bio1-mean annual temperature (33.6%), andhabitat type (Dense dry-mixed forest; 79.8%) were identified as the most important variables contributing to habitat suitability forfishing cats, jungle cats,and rusty-spotted cat respectively. We further identified that spatial variation in habitat use facilitates these three species to coexist in MONPdespite the significant temporal (activity) overlapping. The outcome of this research will contribute tofuture conservation and management. The findings will be useful incomparative studies in Sri Lanka as well as elsewhere in the world.

Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran are one of the world's precious deciduous broadleaved forest ecosystemsbut are subjected to increasing disturbances mostly of anthropogenic origin.In this context, it is necessary to assessthe existing vegetation and its relation toenvironmental factors in order to establish a scientific reference for conservation measures.The purpose of this research is to evaluate the quality of the modified and classical TWINSPAN (Two-way indicator species analysis) classification based on the environmental factors toidentify the plant communities of Taxus baccataL. forests of Golestan Province (Northern Iran). Fifty400-m2 plots were systematically selected along an elevation gradient in the Taxus baccataforests. In each plot, the soil was sampled usinga compositesample of threereplicates taken to a depth of 20 cm.All vascular species were recorded on each plot according to Braun-Blanquet’s method. In total,56 plant species belongingto 48 genera and 34 families were recordedin spring 2018. The comparison of the results of modified and classicalTWINSPAN showed that the modified TWINSPAN did not change the classification logic, but introduced moreflexibility in the hierarchy of the division.It was also found that the compliance rate of the results provided by the classical TWINSPAN method was lower than the modified method. Usingmodified TWINSPAN, Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and Redundancy analysis (RDA),we determined four floristic groups in the Taxus baccatahabitat.The first(Carpinus betulus) and second (Taxus baccata) groups were located at low altitudes and soil contents in silt and clay were higherthan in the other groups. In contrast, the third (Quercus castaneifolia) and the fourth (Juniperus communis) groups were located next to each otherat higher altitudes and southwestern aspects, on steeper slopesand soils that exhibited a highpH and a high sand content.We foundclose relationshipsbetween the distribution of vegetation groups of Taxus baccatahabitat withedaphic and physiographic factorsusing the RDA method.To conclude, the modified TWINSPAN offers a more efficient and flexible method to identify vegetation communities. This is thefirst step to implementingfuture management and ecological restoration measuresin habitats of high ecological value such as yew forests

The dwarf lizard, Parvilacerta parva, is a characteristic member of the steppe biome in Irano -Anatolian biological hotspot. While this lizard has been included in local faunistic surveys and its morphological variation was addressed, no targeted study has been performed on the ecology and distribution of the species. Here we investigate the range dynamics of dwarf lizardsduring recent glacial and interglacial periods. We looked at the effects of climatic oscillations on species distribution at Present, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and Last Interglacial (LIG) periods using ecological niche modeling (ENM), based onour fieldwork and literature data. The model results suggest that the range of dwarf lizards contracted during the LIGand expanded during the LGM, opposite to the pattern observed in many other temperate reptiles. During the LIG, the distribution of the dwarf lizards had been restricted to the mountainous steppe habitats in Northeastern Anatolia, but during the LGM it expanded to the west by including the new steppe habitats in Sultan, Emir,and Murat mountains and adjacent areas. Climatic factors had a strong influence on shaping the spatiotemporal habitat. The Anatolian Biogeographic Region overlaps with Irano–anatolianbiodiversity hotspot, reflecting remarkable species richness in this area. However, faunal elements of the hotspots are under threat due to not only global climate change, but also anthropogenic pressures, such ashabitat loss and overgrazing. Our results suggest that the dwarf lizards have potential asindicators for tracking the local effects of global climate change as well as human-induced degradation of the steppe habitat.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are one of the most effective tools that determinethefactorsresponsible for shaping the geneticstructure of different taxa. These algorithms integrate the presence points and environmental predictors to estimate the probability of species occurrence across geographical areas. In the present study, we predicted the climate niche of Scorpio kruglovi(Scorpiones: Scorpionidae) in Iranusing eight uncorrelated bioclimatic variables and occurrence localities. This species was long considered a subspecies of S. maurusbutlater in 2015, itwas recognized as a distinct species. The area under curve (AUC) valueof 0.975indicated the excellent discriminative performance of the MaxEnt algorithm. The precipitation seasonality, minimum temperature of the coldest month,and precipitation of the coldest quarter had the highest percentage of contribution (63.3%)in building the model.The response curvessuggestedthatS. krugloviprefers the parts of Iran having 64-79%precipitationseasonality, 110-130 mm precipitation of the coldest quarter, and -7 to -13 0Cminimum temperature of the coldest month. Thesouthern half of the country was predicted as unsuitable habitats for the speciesoccurrence. Our findings confirmedtwo geographically distinctsuitable habitat patches in the northeastand northwest of Iran. Combining the obtained climate niche map withfuture genetic data is an effective approach for determining the boundaries of spatial patterns of intraspecific genetic variation.

Maximum locomotor performance, defined as flight speed in a nine-meterrunway, was measured in the common shrew (Sorex araneusLinnaeus, 1758), pygmy shrew (S. minutusLinnaeus, 1766), European water shrew (Neomys fodiensPennant, 1771), Miller’s water shrew (N. anomalusCabrera, 1907) and lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolensPallas, 1811). Observed maxima ranged from 81 (C. suaveolens) to 181 cm/sec (S. araneus). N. fodiens was significantly slower than N. anomalus.