Habitat modeling of white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) habitat in Iran

Migratory species move on their migration path in a wide range of environments, but their dynamic response to the environment and how migratory birds choose their habitat has rarely been considered. Due to the need for studies in this field, the present study was conducted to investigate the distribution and environmental parameters affecting the habitat selection of white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons, Scopoli 1769) as a migratory species in Iran.In this study, four groups of environmental variables including: topographic, climatic and land use / land cover variables were used. Points of presence were obtained using reports from the Environmental Protection Agency. For modeling, 9 algorithms in BIOMOD package under R software were used. The accuracy of modeling was evaluated using ROC and TSS indices. The results showed that parameters such as annual rainfall, distance to rainfed fields, rainfall in the warmest season and distance to wetlands have the greatest impact on the distribution of white-fronted goose. Also, the validation results showed that the models used in this study have high accuracy in modeling the distribution of species. The proposed method in this modeling can increase how researchers understand the distribution and habitat selection to provide management and conservation solutions for species.