CHANGING POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION OF GRAY WOLF UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE IN LAKE DISTRICT, TURKEY

• Published in: Applied Ecology and Environmental Research
• Main Authors: Suel, H., Yalcinkaya, B., Mert, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Canis lupus; gray wolf
• Online Access: http://acikerisim.sdu.edu.tr/xmlui/handle/123456789/90523; https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1605_71297137; https://avesis.sdu.edu.tr/publication/details/27baa69b-f328-48d7-ac27-5ed4a0da859a/oai

The increase of human activities in recent years has led to many adverse effects and accelerated climate change at an important level. Therefore, it is very important to know how species will be affected by climate change. This study aimed to determine how the distribution of Gray wolf (Canis lupus), one of the most important predator species in the ecosystem, will be affected by climate change. The study was carried out using presence data of this species in the Lake District and the changes in the habitats and distribution of Gray wolf according to the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 (HADGEM2-ES) climate scenarios. We conducted mapping and modelling of the current habitat preferences of Gray wolf using MaxEnt method based on the bioclimatic features derived from the Worldclim. 4 bioclimatic variables (BIO12, BIO13, BIO16 and BIO19), and 3 environmental variables (slope, ruggedness, topographic position index) were used in the study. The model and maps of the Gray wolf were compared with the future climate scenarios. In conclusion, it is projected that habitats which are determined as suitable for Gray Wolf will decline significantly due to climate change.