TY - JOUR AU - Paudel, Prakash Kumar AU - Hais, Martin AU - Kindlmann, Pavel PY - 2015 DA - 2015/04/25 TI - Habitat suitability models of mountain ungulates: identifying potential areas for conservation JO - Zoological Studies SP - 37 VL - 54 IS - 1 AB - Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental part of conservation planning. We used slope and ruggedness of the terrain, forest type and distance to the nearest village to construct habitat suitability maps for three mountain ungulates (barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) and Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar)) in the midhills of western Nepal. We used locations of sightings and signs of presence of these mountain ungulates collected during surveys along transect to derive a suitability value for each variable using Jacob’s index. A multiplication approach was used to combine environmental variables and produce a habitat suitability map for each of the three species. An independent dataset was used to evaluate the maps using Boyce’s index. This approach provides an overview of the probable distributions of the species in question. SN - 1810-522X UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40555-015-0116-9 DO - 10.1186/s40555-015-0116-9 ID - Paudel2015 ER -