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Modeling Habitat Suitability of Sousa plumbea in the Mahshahr Estuarine Area Using MaxEnt Model
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Bahareh Abbasi    , Nasrin Sakhaei , Ahmad Savari , Hossein Mohammad Asgari , Babak Doustshenas |
| Khorramshahr University of marine Science and Technology , sakhaei@kmsu.ac.ir |
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Abstract: (65 Views) |
Background and Objectives: Studying the distribution of marine mammals and identifying the factors influencing their habitat selection are among the crucial aspects for understanding the ecological conditions of these animals and the various threats they face, in order to develop conservation plans for coastal ecosystems. The Persian Gulf, as one of the most important marine areas globally, possesses diverse and highly complex ecology, where many species are endangered due to various human threats. The Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) is one of the key marine seen in coastal areas and shallow waters of Persian Gulf, and its population is declining according to the International :union: for Conservation of Nature s Red List. Mousa Bay in the northwestern Persian Gulf is an important, but highly industrialised habitat for this species. This study aims to model the habitat suitability of the humpback dolphin, identifying not only potential marine habitats but also the most influential physical factors affecting their habitat preferences
Methods: Field studies were conducted in the fall and winter of two consecutive years 1399-1400 Also local communities' reports were utilized to identify the species' presence areas, then marked on the regional map and entered into ArcGIS software. A total of 30 presence points of this species were recorded and then entered into the model along with environmental variables. Environmental factors applied as variables affecting species presence included chlorophyll concentration, sea surface temperature, salinity, water depth, seabed slope, distance from the coast, and distance from the inlet channels of the Mahshahr estuarine area (northwest Persian Gulf). Required variables for modeling were prepared using geographic information system (GIS), and finally, the MaxEnt model was used to generate a habitat suitability map. The MaxEnt method is a widely used tool for modeling habitat suitability and predicting species distribution patterns using presence data and environmental variables.
Finding: The results showed that the MaxEnt model performed well in this study, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.91, indicating high accuracy and efficiency of the model in identifying the most suitable distribution areas. Furthermore, water depth, slope and distance to coast were identified as the most important parameters in identifying suitable areas, and the probability of humpback dolphin presence in the vicinity of the main inlet channel of the Mahshahr estuarine area was higher compared to other areas. According to the findings of this study, only 10% of the area had high suitability for the species habitat, 15.98% of the area (32.30 square kilometers) had moderate suitability, and ultimately, the highest percentage of the area, accounting for 75.95% (140.25 square kilometers), either lacked suitability for species presence or had low suitability.
Conclusion: Since the Monitoring and assessing marine biodiversity relies upon adequate and accurate knowledge of population and distribution patterns of ecologically important species and because of dense maritime activities and accelerated industrialisation together with placement of the coastal cities of Mahshahr and Sarbandar have resulted in extreme disturbances to natural habitats of the area.,This study provides a basis for monitoring humpback dolphin and assessing ecosystem health of northern Persian Gulf
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| Keywords: MaxEnt model, Species distribution modelling, environmental parameters, humpback dolphin, Musa estuary |
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Type of Study: Research/ Original/ Regular Article |
Subject:
Marine Biology
Received: 2024/05/25 | Revised: 2024/11/9 | Accepted: 2024/09/29
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