Identifying core habitats and connectivity paths for the conservation of mouflon (Ovis gmelini) in Western Iran

Connectivity among conservation areas helps to alleviate the negative impacts of habitat fragmentation. Mouflon (Ovis gmelini) as a near threatened species has an unclear habitat connectivity status among conservation areas in the west of Iran. This study was carried out on mouflon with the aim of modeling the habitat suitability and connectivity among core habitats in the west of Iran. An ensemble of three machine-learning models and a factorial least-cost path were used for identifying core habitats and corridors between them, respectively. Our results revealed that grassland density, elevation, slope and distance to roads were the most influential variables for predicting the occurrence of mouflon in the study area. Five core habitats were identified for mouflon in the study area, about 90% of which was covered by conservation areas. The core habitat in the north of the study area is the highest priority for conservation. Conservation areas in the northern and western parts of the study area had the best connectivity for mouflon. To prevent mouflon poaching, the protection of corridors among conservation areas should be considered. In addition, predicted corridors of connectivity modeling in areas crossed by roads, could be investigated for the conservation of mouflon by wildlife managers.