Identifying habitat corridors for Armenian wild sheep (Ovis orientalis gmelini) in Khangroms and Almoblagh Protected Areas in Hamadan Province

Habitat fragmentation is the most important dynamic process that changes the habitat pattern in landscape. Today, the greatest threat to biodiversity worldwide is the destruction of parts of the habitat. The creation of corridors for communication between landscapes of fragmented lands for animal movement is emphasized that is important to prevent biodiversity loss. In this study, the Maxent methods was used to create a habitat suitability map and The least cost path analysis was used to identify and design the corridors. Eight habitat factors were selected based on studies, as well as behavioral and ecological characteristics of the species and study area, to investigate the impact of biological and non-biological variables on Armenian wild sheep habitat. Including slope, elevation, distance from main road, distance from wolf, distance from village, distance from water sources and aspect. According to MaxEnt analysis and the results of the Jack-Knife test 4 variables of distance from wolf, altitude, distance from village and distance from water sources have the most influence or role and direction variable has the least role. Finally, according to the surveys on the maps and field studies, three output routes were selected. The first route is not suitable because of the long distance and being in the middle of the village and having less height and being close to the main roads. The second and third paths are suitable because they eventually lead to one path and can be considered as the main corridor.