MAPPING A SUITABLE HABITAT FOR MONTEZUMA QUAIL (Cyrtonyx montezumae) IN CENTRAL MEXICO

Abstract

The Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is a small endemic bird in the southwestern USA and southeastern Oaxaca, Mexico. Populations of this game species are in danger, mainly due to anthropogenic activities that have fragmented their habitat; however, information on its distribution and abundance is scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify a suitable habitat for the Montezuma quail in Estado de Mexico, Mexico, with remote sensing and field records modeled by geographic information systems. Multivariate analysis was applied to identify a suitable habitat for Montezuma quail in northwestern Mexico. Altitude, slope, aspect, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and six spectral bands of Landsat 7 ETM+ 2000 were used in this study. The analysis was based on the Mahalanobis statistical distance combined with a Geographic Information System (GIS) and required information on the species presence within the study area. The study generated a probability map of the suitable habitat for Montezuma quail with p>0.50. The p classes considered were 0.50-0.60, 0.60-0.70, 0.70-0.80, and 0.80-1.0. As the probability increased, the size of the area defined as an adequate habitat for Montezuma quail decreased. The sizes of the areas by probability classes were 601, 228, 62, and 9 km2 , respectively. The model detected 900 km2 of suitable habitat for Montezuma quail in the study area, which was distributed in different locations.