Introduction Algae, which are one of the most relevant biological components in identification of environmental habitats in aquatic environments, are also used as bio-monitors in water quality detection. Diatoms, which are quite sensitive to changes in water chemistry, form a wide variety of niches in lotic environments. Most of them live on the rocks (epilithic), on the plants (epiphytic), on mud and silt (epiphelic), or on the sand (episammic). These are important feeding and resting grounds for angiosperms, waterfowls, fishes and other organisms (Palmer, 1980)....

The consequence of climate change in the natural habitats of arid and semi-arid regions is the reduction of species diversity which highlights the necessity of domestication and cultivation of wild species in agricultural systems. The medicinal plant caper (Capparis spinosa L. ) is one of the valuable native plants in the natural arena that can be cultivated by recognizing patterns and stages of its growth in natural habitats and copying it. For this purpose, in order to study the ecological needs, phenological stages and growth habits of the valuable medicinal plant caper, the natural habitat of this plant in Mazdavand section of Sarakhs was selected and studies were conducted during 2016. The time interval for each phenological stage was calculated based on the number of days and growth degree day. Growth characteristics (canopy area, large and small canopy diameter and number of branches) were measured and the trend of changes was compared with sigmoid, quadratic, power and linear models. The results of ecological study showed that the habitat studied was affected by drought most of the year. Also, soil analysis showed that soil texture was silty loam, and soil acidity was in the alkaline range, and high amounts of EC at different soil depths also indicated high levels of salts in the soil. The habitat soil was poor in terms of macroelements (N, P and K) and organic carbon, and the amount of these elements were much lower than the optimum level in agricultural soils. Results showed that caper needs 211 days and 2745. 3 degree days to complete its growth stages. Investigating the trend of growth changes in the habitat showed that the plant had a relatively high growth rate for canopy expansion in the first three months and after that growth rate decreased over time. Its growth pattern was best predicted by the sigmoid model. According to the results of the study on the growth habits of caper in the natural habitat and considering how it is spread on the land surface and its perennial life, it is recommended that the planting arrangement for caper in agricultural systems be designed so that the plants have enough space for canopy expansion.

Wolf (Canis lupus) of main predator for artiodactyla and its impact on the use of artiodactyla habitats will be determined while this species actual and potential habitats are determined. In order to achieve this goal, habitat modeling tools can be appropriate. In this study, Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) method was used to determine habitat suitability and Ecological Niche of wolf in Kola Ghazi Natural Park. Kola Ghazi Natural Park is located 26 kilometers southeast of Isfahan. ENFA is used species presence and habitat variables. In this study, Biomapper software was used to perform habitat modeling and FRAGSTATS, IDRISI15 and ARC view3.2 software was used to prepare of habitat variables. The results showed that wolves in kola ghazi Natural Park has a high tolerance to environmental variables and in other words this species tolerate wide range of environmental variables and they exist in intermediate of habitat variables. Wild goat distribution, slop, mountainous areas, water resource and wild sheep are important effective parameters on the distribution of wolf.

The purpose of this study is to investigate one of the supporting services of the ecosystem, called habitat quality, and to assess the spatial vulnerability of natural landscapes in the city of Khorramabad using the InVEST habitat quality module. To achieve this objective, it is essential to identify the sources of threats, the relative weight of each threat, the maximum distance of its effect in space, the types of habitats, and the sensitivity of each to the source of the threat. In addition, one of the most important inputs of InVEST is the land use/land cover (LULC) of the study area. The Local Climate Zone classification method has been used for the creation of this map. Finally, the model generates spatial distribution maps of habitat quality and degradation across the landscape by combining LULC and different threat sources. The findings indicated that the city, airport, and highway factors are the most destructive threat factors to all habitats with an average score of 0.51, 0.345, and 0.33, respectively. Compared to other LULC, water, dense trees, and scattered trees suffered the most destruction, with sensitivity ratings of 0.47, 0.39, and 0.36, respectively. The results also revealed that habitat quality in Khorramabad is at a medium to low level, and the habitat quality is in very good condition in only 3% of the landscape area.

Background & Aim: The Lamiaceae family is one of the largest and most distinctive families of flowering plants, with about 220 genera and almost 4000 species worldwide. The genus Stachys is one of the largest representative genera of the Lamiaceae family and includes about 300 species, in the subtropical and tropical regions of both hemispheres. In Iran this genus is represented by 34 species. Isfahan province has different medical plants such as species Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl. This study was aimed at investigating of phytochemical of S. lavandulifolia in the west of Isfahan province.Experimental: The aerial parts of S. lavandulifolia were air-dried. The essential oil of the plant was isolated by hydro-distillation with a yield of 0.25% (v/w). The chemical composition of volatile oil was analyzed by capillary GC and GC/ MS.Results & Discussion: Result indicated that main components were germacrene-D (15.96%), thymol (14.64%), g-cadinene (13.33%), a-pinene (7.80%), and trans -caryophyllene (6.91%).Industrial and practical recommendations: Stachy lavandulifolia Vahl is a medical plant that can be a potential source of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes.

BACKGROUND: Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) have been recognized as important ectoparasites of livestock worldwide, including in Iran. From the point of the pathogen agents’ transmission, detection of the distribution of hard ticks in different parts of the country could be useful.OBJECTIVES: This study reports the frequency and diversity of ticks in all age groups of both sexes in the natural habitat of domestic ruminants in Kermanshah province, Iran.METHODS:A total of 600 ruminants (203 cattle, 215 sheep, and 182 goats) from 150 flocks (90 in the east and 60 in the west part of the region) of 31 villages (15 in the east and 16 in the western part of the region) were randomly selected and examined from May to September 2012.RESULTS: Of all examined animals, 24.63% cattle, 25.12% sheep, and 25.27% goats were infested with a total number of 1031 unfed ixodid ticks. The highest numbers of the hard ticks were collected from 3- 4 year-old female cattle and 1-2 year -old female sheep and goats in the region. There was significant difference between age groups and sex of infested animals and prevalence of ixodid ticks. The ixodid tick indices were 4.6, 7.9, and 7.1 for cattle, sheep, and goats, respectively. Geographical distribution of ixodid ticks infestations in different parts of Kermanshah province revealed that 12 cattle flocks (8%) and 12 goat flocks (8%) in the Miandarband region of eastern Kermanshah and 20 sheep flocks (13.33%) of Meidandam in western Kermanshah had the highest prevalence. Prevalence of ixodid tick infestation was statistically different between both parts of the region. The highest tick aggregation was found for inner thighs in cattle (46%) and ears in sheep (54%) and goats (43%). There was significant difference between predilection body sites of collected hard ticks from infested animals. Of all examined ticks (1031), three genera including Hyalomma, Rhipicephalus, and Boophilus with eight, nine, and seven species in cattle, sheep, and goats were respectively identified. The predominant infesting ticks were R. sanguinus (26.2% in cattle) and R. turanicus (53.1% in sheep and 40.55% in goats) from the western part of Kermanshah province, which was significantly different.CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study showed that ixodid ticks infestation was widespread and prevalent in ruminants of the region.

Smirnovia iranica(Sabeti) synonym: Smirnovia turkestana (Bunge) is a deciduous perennial bushy species of the Fabaceae (Papilionaceae) family. The species grow on sand dunes of desert areas, having a deep vertical root and very long horizontal or lateral roots. They have an important role in natural vegetation of desert and sand dune stabilization. Limited growing areas, grazing due to good palatability, and foliage quality of the plant have put this species under threat. Seed preservation under cryogenic conditions at -196ºC is an important approach to conserve seeds for a long period. In this study, seeds of theS. iranica were collected from natural habitats of the plants and three pre-cryopreservation treatments including PVS2, Desiccation, and 30%Glycerol were applied before transferring the seeds into liquid nitrogen (LN) at -196ºC for 1 week, 1 month, and 1 year (in 2015). Subsequently, the seeds were removed from the liquid nitrogen, imposed to heat shock and evaluated under laboratory, greenhouse and natural habitat conditions. The cryopreserved seeds of various cryopreservation periods germinated normally under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. In laboratory conditions, there were no significant differences between periods of seed storage in cryogenic conditions for seed germination trait. The highest seed germination percent (84%) was observed in the desiccation pre-cryopreservation treatment. In pre-cryopreservation treatments as well as cryogenic storage periods under greenhouse conditions, seed germination and seedling establishment were significantly different. In natural habitat, the cryopreserved seeds germinate and grow to normal seedlings and plants. The results showed thatS. iranica seeds can be successfully stored in cryogenic conditions for a long period.

Cytochrome CYP1A is one of the main involved enzymes in the metabolism ofthe xenobiotic. Identifying the cytochrome P450 (CYP1A), responsible for themajor metabolic pathways, can lead to understanding the metabolism pathwayof organic materials and PAHs adaptation of sea fish. Results from cloning andidentifying CYP1A gene in Periophthalmus waltoni showed CYP1A contained1035 nucleotide from open reading frame sequenced. CYP1A basal geneexpression was varied from 23, 22, 19, 17, 11, 11% for gill, kidney, heart, intestine, brain respectively. According to the results, liver organ showed the highest response of CYP1A gene expression like other fish species. But, the basic gene expression of CYP1A in other organs in comparison with liver organ was higher. Although basal expression pattern of genes depending on the species, high basal expression of gene CYP1A due to P. waltoni was exposure to PAH in natural conditions. Different CYP1A gene expression pattern indifferent organs showed eco physiological condition of mudskipper.So, P. waltoni has the potential to be used as an exact biomarker for evaluation of organic pollutant of ecosystems especially PAHs.