Evaluation of habitat suitability and overlap of Larestan ram (Ovis orientalis laristanica) ecological nest in Hermoud protected area using Maxent model

Larestan ram is the smallest species of ram (Ovis) in the world, with small and isolated populations scattered in the south of the country, especially in Fars province. Planning any conservation measures for Larestan rams in the first place requires identifying the desired areas for the species and awareness of the habitat relationship between populations and conservation areas in the region. In the present study, species habitat suitability was investigated using species distribution modeling (SDM) based on MaxEnt method. For this purpose, 8 independent environmental variables including factors related to human presence, land cover type and topography in ArcGIS software environment were prepared and along with the file of presence points in Maxent software were used to prepare the species habitat utility model. Then, the obtained layer was used as a tool to study habitat connections and identify corridors between protected areas of the region by two theory-based methods and the least cost method. The results of Maxent model showed that a combination of covered rangeland types of herbaceous plants and shrubs with medium to good density in uneven areas with adequate provision of shelters and away from human development are the most important factors affecting the habitat suitability of the species. Also, the level below the chart (AUC) equal to 0.963 for training points and 0.953 for test points shows very good predictability of the model.