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Determination of Dispersal Corridors Used by Large Mammals Between Close Habitats     
Yazarlar (2)
Göktuğ Uzun
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Özkan EVCİN Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Özkan EVCİN
Kastamonu Üniversitesi, Türkiye
Devamını Göster
Özet
In recent years, due to the expansion of cities, the transformation of agricultural areas, the forestry activities carried out solely for wood production, and the spread of transportation networks, natural habitats have become increasingly fragmented, and suitable habitats for wildlife are rapidly decreasing. As a result, natural areas are being divided, connections are being cut off, species’ living spaces are shrinking, and species and habitats are being isolated. This fragmentation significantly hinders the natural movements of large mammals (Ursus arctos, Sus scrofa, and Canis lupus), leading to reduced genetic diversity and threatening the long-term viability of their populations. This research, conducted in the Ballıdağ and Kurtgirmez regions of the Western Black Sea Region of Türkiye, aimed to determine the movement corridors of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), wild boar (Sus scrofa), and wolf (Canis lupus) in the area and to evaluate the habitat connections for these species. This study relied on data obtained through field studies and the previous literature. Ecological modeling was used with the Maximum Entropy Method (MaxEnt) to understand the relationships between these species and environmental variables, and the barriers posed by the latter. Ecological corridor maps were created to evaluate the effects of habitat fragmentation in the region and species’ potential to maintain critical connection points despite this fragmentation using Circuitscape software based on the Circuit Theory approach. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the AUC values were between 0.75 and 0.8; the most important variables in the models were road density, vegetation, and elevation; focal points and resistance surface areas were determined for three large mammal species; and important ecological corridors were defined between the Ballıdağ and Kurtgirmez regions. This study revealed that preserving habitat connections and reducing fragmentation is critical for the long-term existence of predator species and ecosystem health.
Anahtar Kelimeler
brown bear | circuit theory | dispersal | ecological corridor | large mammals | wild boar | wolf
Makale Türü Özgün Makale
Makale Alt Türü SSCI, AHCI, SCI, SCI-Exp dergilerinde yayımlanan tam makale
Dergi Adı Diversity
Dergi ISSN 1424-2818 Wos Dergi Scopus Dergi
Dergi Tarandığı Indeksler SCI-Expanded
Dergi Grubu Q2
Makale Dili Türkçe
Basım Tarihi 02-2025
Cilt No 17
Sayı 3
Sayfalar 1 / 24
Doi Numarası 10.3390/d17030165
Makale Linki https://doi.org/10.3390/d17030165
BM Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Amaçları
Atıf Sayıları
Determination of Dispersal Corridors Used by Large Mammals Between Close Habitats

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