Predicting suitable habitat of Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Iraq, using Maxent model

Master's Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Biology - Ecology, grade: 53.60, , course: Applied Ecology and Conservation, language: English, abstract: Species distribution modeling to predict and map appropriate habitat for endangered species is critical for monitoring and restoration of their population decline in natural habitat. However, data on distribution of endangered species are limited. Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is one of the endangered species in the world that its population has been declining by 50% in the last three decade. In this study, we have tried to test the predicted distribution of potentially suitable habitat for Egyptian Vulture in Iraq by using Maxent as species distribution model. To achieve these aims, we could be done with species distribution model outputs of Egyptian Vulture from occurrence data assembled from Nature Iraq and made distribution predictions, demonstrating how landscape and environmental variables may affect the species distribution and we determined their importance and compared known habitat of Egyptian Vulture from KBAs with predicted habitat predictions from Maxent. The model performed very well. The AUC value is 0.870, which is better than random prediction. The results indicate that one of the precipitation inputs, bio_13, contributed 54.3% to the final description of potential habitat for the Egyptian Vulture. This provides evidence that precipitation, particularly precipitation of wettest month, is the most significant variable in the model's determination of suitable habitat locations. Several of the highest suitability points predicted by Maxent are associated with known Egyptian Vulture presence and some of them match with KBAs. But, there are a number of locations, which were predicted to have high suitability of habitat for Egyptian Vulture, are located outside KBAs. This study is important to do more fieldwork for predicted high suitable area for Egyptian Vulture in the future and protect them from population decline.

Education 1.Sept. 2013-Sept. 2014: Faculty of Science, School of Biology at University of East Anglia, Norwich City, United Kingdom. Master degree of Science (MSc.) in Applied Ecology and Conservation. 2.Oct.2003-July 2007: Faculty of Science, School of Biology at University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in General Biology. 3.Oct.2001-July 2003 Sulaimani Technical Institute, Iraq. Technical Diploma in Anesthesia. 4.Sept. 2000-2001: Ahmadi Khani High School, Iraq. Bachelor (Scientific-Section). Experience August 2009-present: Environmental Directorate of Sulaimani-Iraq, Biologist. I have been working as biologist with Environmental Protection and Improvement Board (Environmental Directorate of Sulaimaniyah) in microbiological laboratory and testing drinking water microbiologically. April 2009-January 2013: Nature Iraq Organization, Iraq, and Sulaimani. Junior Ornithologist. 1.In June 2012, I have been helped Dr. Joerg-Freyhof in the field to search freshwater fishes in Sirvan, Little Zab and Great Zab rivers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for about eight days. http://joerg-freyhof.de/fieldwork/278-fieldwork-in-iraqi-kurdistan-in-june-2012. 2.I have worked with Nature Iraq for four years in a project called Key Biodiversity Area Inventory; it's a book about the priority sites in Iraq to be a protected area. 3.In Summer 2011 and winter 2012, I have participated a project called Conservation of Wild Goat in Qaradagh and Peramagroon Mountain in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Which is under grant of Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP). 4.I have contributed in the bird survey with Nature Iraq Organization in a project called KBA (Key Biodiversity Area) in 2009 and 2010 then the data was published in www.worldbird.org. September-December 2008: Shahid Jabar Exemplary high School, Iraq-Sulaimani. Teacher. I have worked as teacher and taught biology at Shahid Jabar Exemplary high School. October 2007-March 2009: University of Sulaimani, Iraq-Sulaimani. Assistant Biologist. I have worked as assistant biologist (demonstrator) in the laboratory of biology department at the University of Sulaimani. I have some publications the very new one is Rahim, M. (2016). Influence of Environmental Variables on Distribution of Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus), in Iraq by Maxent. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS), 18(1), 97-107.