HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELING FOR EXPLORATION OF THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF KASHMIR MUSK DEER IN DACHIGAM NATIONAL PARK, KASHMIR

Musk deer are highly important as a medicinal species that are severely exploited throughout their range of occurrence due to the medicinal value of the musk produced only by the male individuals. Methods used for studying the populations and distributions of other ungulates do not work well with mu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of environmental sciences 2014-08, Vol.10 (5), p.446-457
Main Author: Ali, Mudasir
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Musk deer are highly important as a medicinal species that are severely exploited throughout their range of occurrence due to the medicinal value of the musk produced only by the male individuals. Methods used for studying the populations and distributions of other ungulates do not work well with musk deer and the presence of a unified methodology for studying musk deer appear to be lacking worldwide. Therefore, the development of a simple predictive model for studying the distribution of the musk deer habitats stands as an important task to be accomplished. Two kinds of research questions were pursued during the present study-examining through field research what kind of habitat musk deer used and mapping the habitat in the park using a GIS and remote sensing environment. The parameters which were found to have a profound influence in predicting the species's spatial distribution have been used in the modeling of the current habitat suitability for the Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus).
ISSN:1553-345X
1558-3910
DOI:10.3844/ajessp.2014.446.457