Department of Environment, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran, POBox: 741-89195
Abstract
Wild sheep (Ovis Orientalis) is a species of Artiodactyla order and Bovidae family. Dareh Anjir Wildlife refuge is one of the suitable habitats of wildsheep in the center of Iran. This research was aimed to analyze the demographic structure of rams and ewes in different locations of Dareh Anjir Wildlife Refuge from 2012 to 2015 in the spring (laceration period), summer (heat and dehydration), autumn (mating period) and winter seasons (cold season). The results showed that the average number of groups was about 10.87. In this study, 454 herds were observed, which included a total of 4934 wild sheep. The male to female ratio was about 31:69 and the lamb's sex ratio was 35:65. There was no significant difference between seasons and different places in terms of average number of groups (P> 0.05). The most of the species observations were during the summer (n=150), near the water resources which mostly located in Khoshumi area (n=238).
Anderwartha, H.C. and Birch, L.C., 1954. The Distribution and Abundance of Animals. The university of Chicago Press, USA.
Barrette, C., 1991. The size of Axis deer fluid groups in Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. Mammalia. Vol. 55, pp: 207-220.
Blank, D.; Ruckstuhl, K. and Yang, W., 2012. Influence of population density on group sizes in goitered gazelle (Gazellasubgutturosa Guld, 1780). European Journal of Wildlife Reservation. Vol. 58, pp: 981-989.
Bro-Jorgensen, J., 2008. Dense habitat selecting for small body size: A comparative study on bovids. Oikos. Vol. 117, pp: 729-737.
Cunningham, P.L. and Wronski, T., 2011. Seasonal changes in group size and composition of Arabian sand gazelle Gazella subgutturosamarica Thomas, 1897 during a period of drought in central western Saudi Arabia. Current Zoology. Vol. 57, No. 1, pp: 36-42.
Farhadinia, M., 2004. The last stronghold: Cheetah in Iran. Vol. 40, pp: 11-14.
Firouz, E., 1974. Environment of Iran. National Society of the Conservation of Natural Resources and Human Environment, Tehran. 491 p.
Jarman, P.J., 1974. The social organisation of antelopes in relation to their ecology. Journal of Behaviour. Vol. 48, pp: 215-267.
Leuthold, W., 1977. African ungulates, a comparative review of their ethology and behavioural ecology. Springer Verlaj, Berlin.
Rodman, Ρ.S., 1988. Resources and group sizes in primates; in the ecology of social behavior. University of Chicago Press. pp: 83-108.
Tabeni, S. and Ojeda, R.A., 2005. Ecology of the Monte Desert small mammals in disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Journal of Arid Environment. Vol. 63, pp: 244-255.a
Barati, M., Sarhangzadeh, J., & Akbari, H. (2019). Analysis of the social structure of wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) populations in Dareh Anjir Wildlife Refuge. Journal of Animal Environment, 11(1), 21-26.
MLA
Mahbobeh Barati; Jalil Sarhangzadeh; Hasan Akbari. "Analysis of the social structure of wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) populations in Dareh Anjir Wildlife Refuge". Journal of Animal Environment, 11, 1, 2019, 21-26.
HARVARD
Barati, M., Sarhangzadeh, J., Akbari, H. (2019). 'Analysis of the social structure of wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) populations in Dareh Anjir Wildlife Refuge', Journal of Animal Environment, 11(1), pp. 21-26.
VANCOUVER
Barati, M., Sarhangzadeh, J., Akbari, H. Analysis of the social structure of wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) populations in Dareh Anjir Wildlife Refuge. Journal of Animal Environment, 2019; 11(1): 21-26.
)