Spatial analysis of areas prone to conflict with reptiles in Yazd provinceCase study: Pseudocerastes persicus

Snakebite as a conflict with reptiles is effective on public health.Identifying the range of distribution of poisonous snakes can help to plan to reduce the possibility of snakebite and also to plan to deal with it.This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the distribution of Iranian horned vipers in Yazd province and also the possibility of conflicts and snake bites in the province.In this regard, the presence points of the species were collected from all regions of the province, then the habitat of the species was modeled using Domian and Bioclim presence only methods.The output from these models was used to prepare pseudo-absence points.Finally, by combining the findings of 8 models, the species distribution map in the province was obtained.The effect of habitat variables on the distribution was calculated using the random forest model.To check the vulnerability and area of the habitat in each city, the true skill statistic(TSS)threshold was used on the suitability map, and finally, the number of local communities involved in the conflict was identified.The findings showed that the single models used in modeling were successful.The sensitivity and AUC for the Ensembel model were calculated as0.98 and0.99, respectively.Land use, altitude and Hillshade have the greatest effect on the presence of the species.75.86%of Taft county and 413 human settlements in it are at risk of snakebite.The settlements of Bahabad and Ardakan are also in the next ranks.The prediction map of this study can be considered for the implementation of health and safety programs against snakebite.