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Predicting seasonal habitat suitability for the critically endangered A frican wild ass in the D anakil, E thiopia
Author(s) -
Kebede Fanuel,
Moehlman Patricia D.,
Bekele Afework,
Evangelista Paul H.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
african journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1365-2028
pISSN - 0141-6707
DOI - 10.1111/aje.12159
Subject(s) - iucn red list , critically endangered , geography , endangered species , dry season , habitat , equus , wet season , ecology , wildlife , population , wildlife refuge , forestry , biology , demography , sociology
The A frican wild ass ( E quus africanus ) is the most endangered wild equid in the world and is listed as a Critically Endangered ( CR ) on the IUCN Red list. Today, only relict populations remain in E thiopia and E ritrea. The current Ethiopian population persists in the D anakil D esert at a very low density. Wildlife managers need to identify the extent of the remaining suitable habitat and understand human–wildlife interactions for appropriate conservation strategies. This study employed the maximum entropy model ( M axent) to determine suitable habitat and seasonal distribution of African wild ass in the D anakil D esert of E thiopia. Field surveys were conducted four times annually, twice during the wet season and twice during the dry season, for 2 years. Field data and predictor variables were separated into the dry and wet seasons, and models were generated for each season independently. Distance from water, distance from settlements, herbaceous cover and slope were the best predictors of suitable habitat for both dry and wet seasons. Evaluations of model performances were high with area under the curve ( AUC ) values of 0.94 and 0.95 for the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Our results will be critical for identifying the available suitable habitat that should be conserved to safeguard this species from extinction.