Combined Effects of Clime, Vegetation, Human-Related Land Use and Livestock on the Distribution of the Three Indigenous Species of Gazelle in Eritrea

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Nanger soemmerringii, Gazella dorcas and Eudorcas tilonura are the three species of gazelle indigenous to Eritrea. Their status, distribution and habitat selection are poorly studied or unknown. This study fills this knowledge gap by providing the first data on environmental preferences and threats arising from human activities (agriculture and livestock) for the Eritrean populations of the three species. The distribution of the three species is mainly driven by climate and human-related disturbance rather than habitat features. Species tend to avoid agricultural areas and, particularly, areas with high density of livestock. To ensure the persistence of the three gazelle species in the country, it is urgent and decisive to establish targeted protected areas, as well as taking actions to reduce the impact of competition with livestock. ABSTRACT: The status and habitat selection of the three species of gazelle indigenous to Eritrea, i.e., Nanger soemmerringii, Gazella dorcas and Eudorcas tilonura, are not well known. In this study, we analyzed the present distribution of the three species in the country in order to identify preferred habitats and assess the effect of human disturbance (land use for agricultural purposes and livestock) on species occurrence. These data represent baseline information for evidence-based strategies for conservation of the three species in Eritrea. Presence/absence data of the three species in each of the 67 administrative subregions (Sub Zoba) composing the country were collected using direct (field surveys) and indirect methods (questionnaires). For each sampling unit, we collected fifteen environmental variables, of which three are associated with climatic features, eight with vegetation structure and four with human disturbance (human-related land use and livestock). The occurrence probability of each species was modeled through Generalized Linear Models (GLM). The analyses showed that Dorcas gazelle occurred more frequently in warmer conditions and in a wide range of natural vegetation types. Heuglin’s gazelle occurred in warmer regions with higher seasonality in both temperature and precipitation with a preference for closed woody and open grassland areas. In the case of Soemmerring’s gazelle, the GLM with climatic variables predicted a preference for warmer conditions but with lower seasonality of temperature and precipitation. The species also seemed to prefer arid and semi-arid open vegetation. Human disturbance is the variable with the strongest, negative, effect on the species occurrence. Indeed, the occurrence probability of each species decreased with increasing livestock density and agricultural land use. Most of these gazelle occurred in unprotected areas, thus the human-related activities are undoubtedly the most important threat for the three species of gazelle in Eritrea. Therefore, the establishment of protected areas that preserve the potential optimal habitats for gazelle and reduce the impact of livestock ranching are essential to ensure a future for these gazelle in Eritrea.