The endangered Asir Magpie Pica asirensis formerly occurred in alpine habitat across Saudi Arabia’s Asir Mountains but is now restricted to small patches of remnant forest within a 37-km strip of highlands. Perhaps only 100 pairs remain and this tiny population appears to be declining, though the causes of its decline are unknown. We mined published presence/absence data to develop a fuzzy logic habitat model. The model considered six variables that correlate with Asir Magpie presence: elevation, aspect, forested areas, drainage systems, and major urban areas. Our model reveals that only 80 km2 of prime quality habitat remains across 11 fragmented patches. We tested the model using 38 GPS locations of Asir Magpies from independent birdwatchers. In total, 35/38 magpies were located within the modelled habitat. We suggest that the Asir Magpie may be suffering from limited dispersal between isolated high quality habitat fragments, which could be leading to genetically depauperate subpopulations, thereby enabling an extinction vortex. It may also be suffering from habitat loss through development and construction, habitat degradation through climate change, unregulated grazing, overharvesting of wood, and over-consumption of food scraps. Corrective actions are urgently needed to save this rare and nationally endemic species.

中文翻译：

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栖息地模型揭示了濒临灭绝和衰退的阿西尔喜鹊（Pica asirensis）是沙特阿拉伯唯一的特有鸟类（鸟类：雀形目）的极端栖息地破碎化

濒临灭绝的 Asir Magpie Pica asirensis 以前栖息在沙特阿拉伯阿西尔山脉的高山栖息地，但现在仅限于 37 公里高地地带内的小块残余森林。也许只剩下 100 对，而且这个极小的种群似乎正在减少，尽管其减少的原因尚不清楚。我们挖掘已发布的存在/不存在数据来开发模糊逻辑栖息地模型。该模型考虑了与 Asir Magpie 存在相关的六个变量：海拔、坡向、森林地区、排水系统和主要城市地区。我们的模型显示，只有 80 平方公里的优质栖息地仍然存在于 11 个分散的斑块中。我们使用来自独立观鸟者的 Asir Magpies 的 38 个 GPS 位置对模型进行了测试。总共有 35/38 只喜鹊位于模拟栖息地内。我们认为 Asir Magpie 可能在孤立的高质量栖息地碎片之间存在有限的扩散，这可能导致基因上的枯竭亚群，从而导致灭绝漩涡。它也可能因开发和建设而遭受栖息地丧失、气候变化导致栖息地退化、放牧不受管制、木材过度采伐和食物残渣的过度消费。迫切需要采取纠正措施来拯救这种稀有的国家​​特有物种。过度采伐木材和过度消费食物残渣。迫切需要采取纠正措施来拯救这种稀有的国家​​特有物种。过度采伐木材和过度消费食物残渣。迫切需要采取纠正措施来拯救这种稀有的国家​​特有物种。