摘要
The Western tragopan(Tragopan melanocephalus)is recorded in the IUCN Red List of 2017 as a vulnerable bird species in Pakistan.This study provides valuable information for the conservation of Western tragopan,which is a globally threatened avian flagship species in Pakistan.This study was conducted to investigate and resolve the conservation challenges surrounding the species in two major habitat zones-Salkhala Game Reserve and Machiara National Park.The study was implemented in May-June 2020 for population density using call count data.Also,questionnaire was used for local residents’perceptions and habitat suitability modeling map was generated using the MaxEnt model based on previously recorded occurrence points as well as recorded in the survey.A total of 26 western Tragopans were identified by call count during the sampling period.Moreover,about 77.3%cited Western Tragopan they more likely to hunt while the remaining 22.6%locals recorded other pheasant.About 45.3%of this hunting for fun but only 22%for economic values and only 3%of people consider hunting as a part of their culture.Results of modeling habitat suitability of the Western tragopan showed that the species suitable habitats are small and patchy in Pakistan.We found that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)with 40.6 percent contribution was the most important variable in shaping the species distribution.Our model identified some new suitable patches which can be the target of future field monitoring for finding new populations of the species and future conservation planning.
