Twenty mid side wool samples of crossbred sheep were collected and their characteristics were determined. Data analyzed by SAS software and Duncan’s multiple range tests was used for comparison of mean wool character...Twenty mid side wool samples of crossbred sheep were collected and their characteristics were determined. Data analyzed by SAS software and Duncan’s multiple range tests was used for comparison of mean wool characteristics. Average fleece weight, yield, wool diameter, Fine fiber and staple length were: 431.59 ± 38.95 gr, 65.14%, 14.24 ± 0.67 μm, 48.67 ± 5.59, and 43.65 ± 4.15 mm respectively. Mean fleece weight was significantly affected (p 1 and F2 generation 11.84 ± 0.58, 16.27 ± 0.72 μm respectively. There were effective differences among ages (12.55 ± 0.74, 14.47 ± 0.58 and 13.11 ± 0.64 μm for 1, 2 and 3 yr old respectively). Wool diameter of younger animals, males and F1 was so fine (12.55, 12.87 and 11.84 μm respectively). Staple length of F2 crosses was significantly longer than F1 crosses (p 1 was significantly finer than F2, but length and down fiber percentage was less than second generation. As wild sheep shed his fiber in winter, the first filial crosses also shed their fibers from the end of winter to early spring. Shedding was seldom observed in F2 generations. It seems likely that wool from crossbred sheep could be used for those applications for which cashmere is suitable. This study indicates that, such crossbred sheep have a superfine wool and could be used in pure or blend for textile industry.展开更多
Global climate change poses a new challenge for species and can even push some species toward an extinction vortex. The most affected organisms are those with narrow tolerance to the climatic factors but many large ma...Global climate change poses a new challenge for species and can even push some species toward an extinction vortex. The most affected organisms are those with narrow tolerance to the climatic factors but many large mammals such as ungulates with a wider ecological niche are also being affected indirectly. Our research mainly used wild sheep in central Iran as a model species to explore how the suitable habitats will change under different climatic scenarios and to determine if current borders of protected areas will adequately protect habitat requirements. To create habitat models we used animal-vehicle collision points as an input for species presence data. We ran habitat models using Max Ent modeling approach under different climatic scenarios of the past, present and future(under the climatic scenarios for minimum(RCP2.6) and maximum(RCP8.5) CO2 concentration trajectories). We tried to estimate the overlap and the width of the ecological niche using relevant metrics. In order to analyze the effectiveness of the protected areas, suitable maps were concerted to binary maps using True Skill Statistic(TSS) threshold and measured the similarity of the binary maps for each scenario using Kappa index. In order to assess the competence of the present protected areas boundary in covering the distribution of species, two different scenarios were employed, which are ensemble scenario 1: an ensemble of the binary maps of the species distribution in Mid-Holocene, present, and RCP2.6;and ensemble scenario 2: an ensemble of binary suitability maps in Mid-Holocene, present, and RCP8.5. Then, the borders of modeled habitats with the boundaries of 23 existing protected areas in two central provinces in Iran were compared. The predicted species distribution under scenario 1(RCP2.6) was mostly similar to its current distribution(Kappa = 0.53) while the output model under scenario 2(RCP8.5) indicated a decline in the species distribution range. Under the first ensemble scenario, current borders of the protected areas in Hamedan pr展开更多
Habitat loss and fragmentation of the wildlife species due to anthropogenic developments have been becoming serious issues in biological conservation. Alborz wild sheep, listed as threatened by IUCN, is distributed in...Habitat loss and fragmentation of the wildlife species due to anthropogenic developments have been becoming serious issues in biological conservation. Alborz wild sheep, listed as threatened by IUCN, is distributed in relatively small and isolated patches in an increasingly human dominated landscape in the north-central Iran and east of Tehran. We used maximum entropy modeling to identify habitat areas of the wild sheep, across Jajrud protected area and its neighbouring protected areas including varjin, lar, koohsefid and the surroundings. Regarding to seasonal variation of the species home range, winter, summer and multi seasonal (annual) habitats were predicted. To estimate habitat connectivity, we used models of connectivity based in electrical circuit theory. Applying core areas of multi season for connectivity analysis, movement pattern of the species was predicted and important connective areas for conservation were identified. Species distribution maps revealed that the summer and winter habitats were approximately occurred in similar areas. Distance to eco-guards’ post was the most important predictor for both habitat models of summer and winter. The annual model, which is a combination of summer and winter, shows that the largest suitable habitat patches are located in the north, south and west of the study area. Maximum current flow map demonstrates that the areas among patch pairs are covered in low current, reflecting low rates of the species dispersal. This map presented bottlenecks to the species movement across major roads and along extending human settlements. Cumulative current flow map displayed that current was highest in Jajrud north of Mamloo extending to the northern Jajrud. Overall, our study demonstrated a prediction of habitat suitability and connectivity for Alborz wild sheep in east of Tehran, which can be used to direct conservation endeavours dealing with maintenance of the wild sheep metapopulation dynamics.展开更多
文摘Twenty mid side wool samples of crossbred sheep were collected and their characteristics were determined. Data analyzed by SAS software and Duncan’s multiple range tests was used for comparison of mean wool characteristics. Average fleece weight, yield, wool diameter, Fine fiber and staple length were: 431.59 ± 38.95 gr, 65.14%, 14.24 ± 0.67 μm, 48.67 ± 5.59, and 43.65 ± 4.15 mm respectively. Mean fleece weight was significantly affected (p 1 and F2 generation 11.84 ± 0.58, 16.27 ± 0.72 μm respectively. There were effective differences among ages (12.55 ± 0.74, 14.47 ± 0.58 and 13.11 ± 0.64 μm for 1, 2 and 3 yr old respectively). Wool diameter of younger animals, males and F1 was so fine (12.55, 12.87 and 11.84 μm respectively). Staple length of F2 crosses was significantly longer than F1 crosses (p 1 was significantly finer than F2, but length and down fiber percentage was less than second generation. As wild sheep shed his fiber in winter, the first filial crosses also shed their fibers from the end of winter to early spring. Shedding was seldom observed in F2 generations. It seems likely that wool from crossbred sheep could be used for those applications for which cashmere is suitable. This study indicates that, such crossbred sheep have a superfine wool and could be used in pure or blend for textile industry.
文摘Global climate change poses a new challenge for species and can even push some species toward an extinction vortex. The most affected organisms are those with narrow tolerance to the climatic factors but many large mammals such as ungulates with a wider ecological niche are also being affected indirectly. Our research mainly used wild sheep in central Iran as a model species to explore how the suitable habitats will change under different climatic scenarios and to determine if current borders of protected areas will adequately protect habitat requirements. To create habitat models we used animal-vehicle collision points as an input for species presence data. We ran habitat models using Max Ent modeling approach under different climatic scenarios of the past, present and future(under the climatic scenarios for minimum(RCP2.6) and maximum(RCP8.5) CO2 concentration trajectories). We tried to estimate the overlap and the width of the ecological niche using relevant metrics. In order to analyze the effectiveness of the protected areas, suitable maps were concerted to binary maps using True Skill Statistic(TSS) threshold and measured the similarity of the binary maps for each scenario using Kappa index. In order to assess the competence of the present protected areas boundary in covering the distribution of species, two different scenarios were employed, which are ensemble scenario 1: an ensemble of the binary maps of the species distribution in Mid-Holocene, present, and RCP2.6;and ensemble scenario 2: an ensemble of binary suitability maps in Mid-Holocene, present, and RCP8.5. Then, the borders of modeled habitats with the boundaries of 23 existing protected areas in two central provinces in Iran were compared. The predicted species distribution under scenario 1(RCP2.6) was mostly similar to its current distribution(Kappa = 0.53) while the output model under scenario 2(RCP8.5) indicated a decline in the species distribution range. Under the first ensemble scenario, current borders of the protected areas in Hamedan pr
文摘Habitat loss and fragmentation of the wildlife species due to anthropogenic developments have been becoming serious issues in biological conservation. Alborz wild sheep, listed as threatened by IUCN, is distributed in relatively small and isolated patches in an increasingly human dominated landscape in the north-central Iran and east of Tehran. We used maximum entropy modeling to identify habitat areas of the wild sheep, across Jajrud protected area and its neighbouring protected areas including varjin, lar, koohsefid and the surroundings. Regarding to seasonal variation of the species home range, winter, summer and multi seasonal (annual) habitats were predicted. To estimate habitat connectivity, we used models of connectivity based in electrical circuit theory. Applying core areas of multi season for connectivity analysis, movement pattern of the species was predicted and important connective areas for conservation were identified. Species distribution maps revealed that the summer and winter habitats were approximately occurred in similar areas. Distance to eco-guards’ post was the most important predictor for both habitat models of summer and winter. The annual model, which is a combination of summer and winter, shows that the largest suitable habitat patches are located in the north, south and west of the study area. Maximum current flow map demonstrates that the areas among patch pairs are covered in low current, reflecting low rates of the species dispersal. This map presented bottlenecks to the species movement across major roads and along extending human settlements. Cumulative current flow map displayed that current was highest in Jajrud north of Mamloo extending to the northern Jajrud. Overall, our study demonstrated a prediction of habitat suitability and connectivity for Alborz wild sheep in east of Tehran, which can be used to direct conservation endeavours dealing with maintenance of the wild sheep metapopulation dynamics.
