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Ecological variables determining the presence of lizards in the Sistan region, Eastern Iran

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Climate condition is an important key affecting species presence, especially for reptiles. Precipitation and temperature are especially important environmental factors to consider. In the present study, I collected as many presence records as possible for seven lizard species from the Sistan region and analyzed them in relation to environmental variables using the maximum entropy algorithm. According to the analysis, temperature seasonality affected the distributions of three species (Eremias fasciata, Ophiomorus tridactylus, Teratoscincus bedriagai) and precipitation affected the presence of four species (Ablepharus pannonicus, Bunopus tuberculatus, Cyrtopodion scabrum, Trapelus agilis). The most important variable affecting E. fasciata and O.tridactylus (23% of contribution) is isothermality. For T. bedriagai, temperature seasonality was more important (32% contribution). Annual precipitation was the most highly contributed variable for A. pannonicus. Precipitation of the wettest month has a high contribution for the other species, representing 49, 48, and 54% for B. tuberculatus, C. scabrum and T. agilis, respectively.

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Acknowledgement

I thank Dr. Ann Paterson from Arkansas University who edited the early draft of manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

    Nasser Sanchooli

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  1. Nasser Sanchooli
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Correspondence to Nasser Sanchooli.

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Sanchooli, N. Ecological variables determining the presence of lizards in the Sistan region, Eastern Iran. Ecol Res 32, 995–999 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-017-1514-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-017-1514-8

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