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Conservation of habitat corridors is important in order to reduce the impacts of habitat fragmentation on wildlife. The present study aimed to identify the potential habitat corridors between habitat patches of this family using factorial least-cost path analysis and UNICOR software. By overlaying the habitat corridors of the mustelidae family, the study examined the coverage of the habitat corridor hotspots with the conservation areas designated by the Department of Environment of Iran, as well as the road density within these hotspots. The results revealed that the largest habitat corridors were associated with weasel, stone marten, and marbled polecat species. Habitat corridor hotspots of the mustelid species are mainly located in the Zagros and Alborz mountains. The coverage of habitat corridor hotspots with conservation areas was less than 25%, and the road density was about 50 m/km². It is necessary to consider the habitat corridor hotspots of the mustelids when creating new conservation areas and implementing measures to minimize road-related losses in these hotspots. The conservation of the mustelidae family as mesocarnivorous species ensures the survival of wildlife food webs and contributes to the sustainability of Iran's biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat degradation is one the important reasons of plant species extinction. Modeling techniques are widely used for identifying the potential habitats of different plant species. Thus, the purpose of current study was to determine potential habitats of Zalzalak in Lorestan Province. Species presence data and 23 environmental variables were collected in Lorestan Province. Correlation analysis was then applied to reduce the environmental variables into nine effective ones and potential habitat of the species was determined using five models including Maximum Entropy (MAXENT),Generalized Linear Models (GLM), Generalized Additive Models (GAM), Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and Generalized Boosting Model (GBM). Models were evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plots, true skill statistic (TSS) and Kappa coefficients. Results showed that ROC and Kappa coefficients were excellent for all models and TSS values were excellent for GBM and MAXENT, good for MARS and GAM and medium for GLM model. According to the combined model, 40% of the province was classified as suitable and 60% as unsuitable. The precipitation of the three coldest months of the year, annual rainfall and elevation were the most effective environmental variables in Zalzalak habitat mapping. The maximum presence of the species occurred at the rainfall and elevation range of 160-220 mm and 1300-1850 m, respectively. Due to the high accuracy of the Zalzalak suitable habitat map, it can be used by related organizations, as an appropriate tool for reclamation of degraded regions and conservation of current habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife is an important biological indicator of viability of ecosystems, therefore, understanding habitat requirements of species is essential for biodiversity conservation. Determining the suitability of habitats for wildlife is important for effective management and conservation of species. The brown bear (Ursus arctos), as the largest carnivorous mammal in Iran, is distributed in most forest and mountain ecosystems and has a high conservation value. In the current study, brown bear habitat suitability modelling, in Kurdistan Province, was performed using maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt). After collecting the presence data and environmental variables, and examining the correlation between the variables, the obtained data were entered into the MaxEnt model. Results showed that temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, topography and vegetation are the most important variables in predicting habitat suitability of the brown bear in Kurdistan province. From the total area of Kurdistan Province, 1, 5 and 11% were respectively accounted for habitats of high, moderate and low suitability, and 83% of the area was clssifed as unsuitable habitats. Based on the results, Chehel Cheshmeh, Shaho and Kosalan protected areas are suitable habitats for the brown bear. Zagros forests are considered as one of the main habitats of brown bear in Iran, consequently, the conservation of these habitats is essential to protect populations of this valuable carnivorous species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]