Ali Turk Qashqaei

Shiraz University

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Mahmood Soofi

University of Göttingen

Matthias Waltert

University of Göttingen

Niko Balkenhol

University of Göttingen

Bahram H. Kiabi

Shahid Beheshti University

Mobin Soufi

Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

Taher Ghadirian

Iran Meteorological Organization

Mohsen Ahmadpour

University of Mazandaran

Chris R. Pavey

CSIRO Land and Water

Shirko Shokri

University of Tehran

Arash Ghoddousi

Wageningen University & Research

Cooperative Institutions

University of Łódź

Madeira Tecnopolo

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

University of Göttingen

University of Lisbon

University of Tehran

Shahid Beheshti University

National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

University of Santo Tomas

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Iran’s roads: mitigating the most serious threat to the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2017)

Jamshid Parchizadeh Maria Gatta Roberta Bencini Ali Turk Qashqaei Mohammad Ali Adibi

Abstract Wildlife-vehicle collisions are an important cause of mortality for many species, and the number of collisions is expected to grow rapidly as the global road network quickly expands over the next few decades. Wildlife-vehicle collisions also have the potential to be extremely detrimental to small wildlife populations, such as the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus venaticus ), with only 43 individuals remaining in the wild. We assessed the spatial distribution of road mortalities between 2004 and 2016 to identify roadkill hotspots involving Asiatic cheetahs in Iran using network kernel density estimation. A total of sixteen cheetah fatalities due to wildlife-vehicle collisions were recorded, and we identified six road fragments as roadkill hotspots. Efforts to reduce wildlife-cheetah collisions should be targeted in the densest hotspots. We review the options available to achieve this, and we recommend a strategic shift away from the ineffective warning signage currently used, and instead suggest adopting an evidence-based approach focusing on installing wildlife crossing structures in conjunction with fencing in roadkill hotspots. These measures will help to enhance the conservation status of the Asiatic cheetah, as the current high level of mortality of Asiatic cheetahs on Iran’s roads could have potentially dramatic impacts on this critically endangered subspecies.

Acinonyx jubatus

Signage

10.1101/230581

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Citations (2)

Distribution, behavior and diet of the Asiatic black bear in human modified landscapes

Basic and Applied Ecology (2024)

Hadi Fahimi Mahmood Soofi Nahid Ahmadi Ali Turk Qashqaei Hamidreza Heidari

The broad negative effects of land-use conversion for agriculture on wildlife species are well known, but few studies have evaluated how different land-use types impact spatiotemporal patterns and trophic strategy of large carnivores. We conducted sign surveys for the Asiatic black bear, a critically endangered subspecies in southeastern Iran. We applied Bayesian occupancy modelling and quantified spatiotemporal determinants of black bear occurrence as a function of date palms, distance to agriculture, elevation, precipitation, and protected area (PA) size. We also investigated its diet composition based on scat (n = 150) analyses. Date palm area size (β = 2.07; 95% Credible Interval = 0.67 to 3.89) and distance to croplands had a strong and significant (β = –1.06, 95% CrI = –2.10 to –0.20) influence on the occupancy. Elevation, precipitation, village density, and PA size did not substantially influence occupancy. Black bear detection probability became 100% only above 14 km survey effort, indicating its overall rarity, and bears were much more easily detected during and after rainfall. Bears mainly relied on date palms (41%) followed by herbaceous plants (24.6%), insects (15%), wild mammals (6.4%), wild fruits (5.6%), livestock (4.9%) and other vertebrates (2.5%, e.g., birds). Most of the predicted bear occupancy was outside PAs and thus suggests a high likelihood of human-bear conflicts. Presumably, resource density is insufficient to support bears inside PAs, but information concerning resource density is currently lacking. Our results showed that the agricultural landscape provided an important feeding (46%) area for bears. Consequently, effective conservation programs such as the protection of abandoned date palm groves as a conflict-free food source are necessary. Practical training such as protective measures against crop-raiding behavior of bears would be essential to foster the tolerance of people toward bears and thus can help facilitate coexistence.

Occupancy

Carnivore

Subspecies

Agricultural land

10.1016/j.baae.2024.07.003

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Seasonal human-brown bear conflicts in northern Iran: implications for conservation

Zoology and Ecology (2017)

Mahmoud Marashi Ali Turk Qashqaei Mahyar Marashi Farshad Nejat

We documented a number of brown bear Ursus arctos kills in rail and road accidents, for property protection and for control of bear-inflicted damage. The data were collected by interviewing local people and from the field surveys conducted in the Savadkuh County located in the north of Iran during the spring of 2015. Three bears were killed, i.e. were shot dead or killed in rail and road accidents. During the first commercial harvesting in the area, the financial loss through bear-inflicted damage to orchard trees, fences, and drip irrigation network was estimated at over 17600 €. The bear is listed as a protected species by the Iranian Department of the Environment and this critical state is a great challenge to bear conservation in the area.

Orchard

10.1080/21658005.2017.1331786

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Citations (5)

First record of the Truly Aquatic Spider,Argyroneta aquatica(Clerck, 1757) in Iran (Araneae: Cybaeidae)

Zoology in the Middle East (2013)

Mahmoud Soufi Hiva Nasserzadeh Haji Gholi Kami Zehzad Bahram Bahram Hasan Zadeh Kiabi

First record of the Truly Aquatic Spider, Argyroneta aquatica (Clerck, 1757) in Iran (Araneae: Cybaeidae) Mahmoud Soufi a , Hiva Nasserzadeh b , Haji Gholi Kami c , Bahram Zehzad d , Bahram Hasan Zadeh Kiabi e & Ali Turk Qashqaei a f a Department of Environment and Energy Science and Research Branch , Islamic Azad University , Tehran , Iran b Insect Taxonomy Research Department , Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection , Iran c Faculty of Biological Sciences , University of Golestan , Gorgan , Iran d Faculty of Environment , University of Tehran e Faculty of Biological Sciences , Shahid Beheshti University , Tehran , Iran f Plan for the Land Society , Tehran , Iran

10.1080/09397140.2013.810889

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Maternal habitat use of Juniperus excelsa woodland by Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul in Iran

Zoology and Ecology (2018)

Parham Dibadj Behrouz Jafari Farshad Nejat Ali Turk Qashqaei Steve W. Ross

Pallas's cat is a rare felid that has a wide but patchy distribution across Eurasia's cold steppes. The species is known to prefer rocky, mountain and shrub steppe habitats, and strongly selects habitats with good cover from sympatric predators, particularly when raising young. This is the first report of the species using Juniperus excelsa woodland habitat for foraging and breeding in Iran. We observed the use of two aged juniper tree cavities as breeding dens for a litter of four kittens. The record extends our capacity to assess the range of habitats that are used and suitable for Pallas's cat populations.

Steppe

Home range

10.1080/21658005.2018.1520722

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Autumn food habits of the brown bear Ursus arctos in the Golestan National Park: a pilot study in Iran

Mammalia (2017)

Mahmood Soofi Ali Turk Qashqaei Achyut Aryal Sean C. P. Coogan

Abstract Food consumed by brown bears in the Golestan National Park in Iran was analyzed during autumn 2011. We identified 22 food items in 61 scats, with the most important food items being hawthorn fruit, cherry plum fruit and chestnut-leaved oak hard mast, based on importance value (IV) estimates of 26.4%, 18.1% and 12.9%, respectively. The overall bear diet (percent digestible dry matter) was composed of 77.9% soft mast (i.e. fruit), 21.3% hard mast and small proportions of other vegetation (0.3%) or animal matter (0.4%). One anthropogenic food was identified (vine grape) and was of minor importance (IV=0.2%).

Mast (botany)

Vine

10.1515/mammalia-2016-0051

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Citations (11)

Roads threaten Asiatic cheetahs in Iran

Current Biology (2018)

Jamshid Parchizadeh Fraser Shilling Maria Gatta Roberta Bencini Ali Turk Qashqaei

Wildlife-vehicle collisions are an important cause of mortality for many animal species. They also prove extremely detrimental to the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) [1,2]. One to two Asiatic cheetahs are killed by vehicles on Iran's roads annually [3,4]. As such, the Asiatic cheetah could be the next charismatic felid subspecies to go extinct in the near future [5]. We identified one statistically-significant cluster of cheetah-vehicle collisions on the Shahroud-Sabzevar Highway (SSH), in Semnan Province. Because of the extremely small population of cheetahs and the corresponding difficulty of finding statistically-significant clusters, we propose that every single cheetah-vehicle collision should be considered important. We further recommend that wildlife underpasses and associated fencing be constructed in areas of previous cheetah-vehicle collisions.

Acinonyx jubatus

Subspecies

Fencing

Lutra

10.1016/j.cub.2018.09.005

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Citations (22)

Wildlife conflicts between humans and Brown Bears,Ursus arctos, in the Central Zagros, Iran

Zoology in the Middle East (2014)

Ali Turk Qashqaei Mahmoud Karami Vahid Etemad

We collected information on human-bear conflicts in the Central Zagros Mountains through questionnaires and field surveys during which we recorded scats, tracks and broken branches in orchards. Persecution, poaching, and trading of bear body parts to cure some diseases are the most important threats to the Brown Bear, Ursus arctos. Financial losses due to bears attacking livestock, cattle and beehives in the region were calculated to be more than € 18,400 during 2006-2011. Also three villagers were killed by bears between 2005 and 2010 and 18 Brown Bears were killed by local people and nomads within nine years.

Poaching

Human–wildlife conflict

Carnivore

Grizzly Bears

10.1080/09397140.2014.914711

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Citations (13)

Quantifying the relationship between prey density, livestock and illegal killing of leopards

Journal of Applied Ecology (2022)

Mahmood Soofi Ali Turk Qashqaei M. Mousavi Ehsan Hadipour Marc Filla

Abstract Many large mammalian carnivores are facing population declines due to illegal killing (e.g. shooting) and habitat modification (e.g. livestock farming). Illegal killing occurs cryptically and hence is difficult to detect. However, reducing illegal killing requires a solid understanding of its magnitude and underlying drivers, while accounting for the imperfect detection of illegal killing events. Despite the importance of illegal killing of large carnivores in comparison with other causes of mortality, its relationship with potential drivers such as livestock density and wild prey abundance is rarely described. Using ranger‐collected data (2007–2019) of leopard killing events and data on covariates (livestock density, wild prey abundance, road length, protected area size, elevation) across Iran, we applied a single‐visit N‐mixture model to jointly model variation in detection probability and expected annualized number of leopard killing events. Over the study period, we estimated 428 leopard mortalities (95% CI 184 to 1,014), which was 45% larger than the observed number. Expected intensity of leopard killing was positively related to protected area size, livestock density and wild prey abundance. Detection of leopard killing was higher in areas with more developed road networks. Synthesis and applications . Ranger‐based monitoring data on poaching of carnivores are cost effective, but traditional analysis does not take into account imperfect detection. We show that innovative statistics (single‐visit N‐mixture modelling) can reliably quantify poaching events and address their drivers, at large geographical scales. We used the example of the Persian leopard across Iran, but our approach is also applicable to understand killing dynamics of other species. Results suggest that a high frequency of leopard killing is likely to occur in areas with >100 livestock per km 2 and >450 individuals of wild prey per km 2 . This highlights the need for improved management of livestock grazing and effective measures around high‐risk protected areas to mitigate human–leopard conflict and reduce killing of leopards.

Poaching

Leopard

Population density

Carnivore

10.1111/1365-2664.14163

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Citations (18)

First confirmed records of the trapping and killing of lizards due to the beekeeper-lizard conflict and a global overview of the issue

Authorea (Authorea) (2023)

Ali Turk Qashqaei Elnaz Najafi-Majd

Recently, the human-wildlife conflict has become one of the most important challenges for humans in dealing with nature. In some cases, conflicts have happened with species that have not occurred previously or at least have not been reported. The current study provides unprecedented evidence of the beekeeper-lizard conflict that has never happened before. This study was conducted using three methods: field survey, interviewing beekeepers, and review of published materials. In the field survey, the presence and absence of lizard species around the apiaries were identified. Evidence that the bees were being preyed upon by lizards was then examined and the beekeeper was questioned about the damage caused by the lizards. The last method was to review articles, book chapters, and reports to ensure that the serious beekeeper-lizard conflict had not occurred or at least been reported in other countries. In the field surveys, between May and July 2018, three records of trapping, persecution and killing of the Golden Grass Skink, Heremites auratus by beekeepers were found in Tehran and Zanjan provinces of Iran. In addition, narrative evidence of honey bees’ predation by the skinks in Alborz and Qazvin provinces was obtained on a “Beekeeping WhatsApp group”. Most studies on honey bees’ predation by lizards have been conducted in Ethiopia. Also, the largest numbers of honey bee predator lizard species have been reported from Asia (e.g. India, Pakistan) and Africa (e.g. Nigeria, Sudan). Among the recorded lizard species, the Tokay Gecko, Gekko gecko and Common House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus are introduced and invasive species. Inoffensive remedy techniques, raising public awareness, various types of low-interest loans and honey bee hives insurance to reduce the conflict, should be used in Asian and African countries; otherwise they will face major challenges in beekeeper-lizard conflict control and management of the issue.

Gecko

10.22541/au.169830424.41252251/v1

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