Abstract

BECERRA-LOPEZ, Jorge Luis; ROMERO-MENDEZ, Ulises; ANADON-HERRERA, José Daniel  and  GARCIA-DE LA PENA, Cristina. Potential niche model of Gopherus flavomarginatus burrows in the Reserva de la Biosfera de Mapimí. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2014, vol.85, n.2, pp.523-531. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.33287.

Bolsón tortoises, Gopherus flavomarginatus, spend much of their lives in burrows. Understanding the habitat characteristics where they construct their burrow shelters is necessary to develop potential niche models identifying constraints that may influence the distribution of this species. We analyzed dispersion pattern, density, elevation, soil, vegetation, slope, and the aspect of 151 registered G. flavomarginatus burrows at the Reserva de la Biosfera de Mapimí. Potential burrow niche models were developed with Maxent and ArcMap software. There were 2 large areas of high probability for burrows, 1 located west and the other to the east of the reserve. The models developed in this study showed that G. flavomarginatus populations tended to build their burrows in areas bordering the large pluvial deposition extents and have a clustered distribution along the Reserve. Models generated in this study should work to identify critical habitat areas required for G. flavomarginatus to construct burrows. The proper management and conservation of these areas will directly benefit the conservation of this species.

Keywords : habitat; dispersion; density; Maxent; ArcMap; conservation.