Modeling the habitat distribution of Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus) using MaxEnt algorithm in Sistan region

Document Type : (original research)

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

Abstract

There is not hidden from anyone, that the effects of climate change and droughts in the Sistan region on the degradation of wildlife habitat. Meanwhile, species that live close to residential areas are under increasing pressure due to human threats. Francolinus francolinus is one of these types that in this research applied MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy) algorithm to model its possible habitat distribution. Modeling considered nine environmental variables. Before implementing the algorithm, it was ensured that there was no correlation between the variables. The results of the model evaluation based on the following level of the ROC curve showed that the model has an excellent prediction than the random state. Among the studied environmental variables, the highest percentage of share, distance from agricultural fields, and the most important is the grass cover type variable. Eastern Sistan regions were the most preferred areas for this species, where most agricultural lands are located there. There are no protected areas in these areas, and due to the widespread distribution of urban and rural uses in these areas, it is not possible to allocate land for conservation use, so only with management measures and public participation is it possible to survive.

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References

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Journal of Animal Environment
Volume 13, Issue 1
May 2021
Pages 139-146

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