محمدرضا اشرف زاده

Carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems is an important part of global carbon storage and plays a vital role in mitigating climate change. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of different types of land uses/land covers (dense rangelands, semi-dense rangelands, low density rangelands, barren lands and agricultural lands) on the amount of soil carbon and plant biomass sequestration as an important ecosystem service in Sefiddasht watershed in in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province. Sampling of soil and vegetation was done randomly and systematically. For this purpose, 60 plots of 4 square meters were used for collecting soil, plant material and litter. Plant biomass was sampled by direct measurement method. Soil samples were also collected from the depth of 0-30 cm and 20 samples in each area. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the investigated regions in terms of total carbon storage. The total carbon storage from the highest to the lowest in order includes dense rangelands (46.42 tons/ha), semi-dense rangelands (38.49 tons/ha), agricultural lands (31.62 tons/ha), low-density rangelands (26.12 tons) per hectare) and barren lands (17.21 tons per hectare). The economic value of the total carbon storage per hectare of the examined uses, including dense rangelands, semi-dense rangelands, agricultural lands, low-dense rangelands, and barren lands, was determined to be $5446, $4516, $3710, $3065, and $2019, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that the implementation of appropriate policies to prevent or minimize the conversion of land uses with a higher carbon storage capacity to land uses with a lower carbon storage capacity is of particular importance.

Understanding the patterns of spatial presence of species and their environmental dependence is one of the basic goals in ecology and evolution. Currently, there are several software packages for ecological niche modeling of species. The Wallace software package is designed as an accessible tool for researchers and conservation professionals and it has been introduced as an ideal resource for education. In the current study, a dataset comprising 262 records on the occurrence of Caspian snowcock, along with 12 environmental and human predictors, was used. Within the context of a comparative analysis using three models—Bioclim, MaxNet, and MaxEnt—under the Wallace software package, we conducted a modeling exercise to depict the geographical distribution of the Caspian snowcock in Iran. In all three models, the high AUC values (>0.96) suggesting excellent model fit with data. Based on the results of three models, about 4.6 to 5.5 % of the study area can be considered as the suitable habitat of the Caspian snowcock. Accordingly, Alborz, Zagros Koppeh Dagh, Azerbaijan and Caucasus Mountains are of great importance as suitable habitats for the Caspian snowcock. The variables of topographical roughness (36.8 %), elevation (20.9 %), isothermality (18.6 %) and annual precipitation (9.1 %) showed the most participation in modeling. The present study emphasizes the necessity of using different algorithms in species distribution modeling and the importance of using different variables including topography, vegetation, food resources, climate, coexist species, competition and human factors in modeling the distribution of the Caspian snowcock.

Specialized species living in high mountain areas face more threats compared to species living in low altitudes, primarily due to habitat destruction or fragmentation and climate change.The Caspian snowcock is a  species with a specialized ecological niche and serves as an indicator of mountain ecosystems. Despite the high sensitivity of this species to habitat changes and its role as an umbrella or flagship species in mountainous areas, there is a scarcity of data on the ecology of this species. In the current study, we predicted the geographical range of this bird using 262 presence localities and 10 environmental and anthropogenic variables within an ensemble framework, resulting from five modeling algorithms. Based on the ensemble model, about 96527.4 km2 (5.8%) of the country was identified as a suitable habitat for the Caspian snowcock. Potential habitats of the species appeared to be strongly influenced by topographical roughness (30.02), average annual temperature (29.61), altitude (18.57), and isothermality (14.14). About 16.04% and 23.13% of the predicted suitable range overlapped with no-hunting  and protected areas. It is suggested that effective conservation measures should be taken by focusing on the possible threats caused by human activities, including the development of tourism infrastructure, road networks, overgrazing, and poaching.

The overlapping of the vital needs of wildlife and humans on the one hand and the increasing human population have led to the intensification of conflicts between local communities and wildlife. Because brown bear has an omnivorous diet and large body size, they often require expansive habitats. These food requirements and wide-ranging behavior often bring them into conflict with humans and livestock. In order to identify the factors affecting the intensity of the brown bear's conflict with local communities, a questionnaire was prepared and interviews were conducted with 332 local communities in and around the brown bear's habitat in Kohgilouye va Boyer-Ahmad province. Using logical regression, social predictive factors on the level of acceptance of the brown bear's right to life were investigated. Also, using the social network analysis approach, the most important reasons for bear attacks on humans and human assets and the most important solutions for conflict management from the perspective of local communities were investigated. Results show that age, gender, education, the level of fear, the amount of people's property, the dangerousness of the bear, and the level of acceptance of the bear among the local communities have a great impact on the intensity of conflicts. On the other hand, social network analysis shows that from the point of view of local communities, the most important reason for brown bear attacks on humans is the annual drought and the sudden encounters between themes. The most important solution to reduce the risk of bear attacks on humans and human resources is to use deterrents and fencing around human resources. Finally, increasing the level of awareness of local communities in the region and securing fences around human resources and damage compensation schemes can help mitigate conflicts and, in some cases, improve the acceptance of bears.

Lorestan province, as a predominantly mountainous region, covers important part of critical habitats of Persian leopard (Panthera pardus) in west of Iran. However, there is little information on geographical distribution of the leopard in this province. This study aims to identify suitable habitats of the Persian leopard in Lorestan province, using an ensemble model consisting of seven species distribution models. The ensemble model identified 6,185 km2 (21.85%) of the study area as suitable habitat for the Persian leopard. Distance to conservation areas (30%), distance to village (29%), distance to farmlands (11%), annual precipitation (8%) and distance to forest (7%) made the highest contribution to the model performance. About 49% of the identified suitable habitat covered by conservation areas. Establishing more conservation areas in suitable habitats and re-evaluation of the network of conservation areas are crucial strategies to conserve endangered populations of the leopard. Many large carnivores, due to their large home ranges, depend on habitat patches outside protected areas and corridors between them. Thus, conserving the habitat patches and connectivity between them are crucial. Monitoring and surveillance of habitats, using effective conservation strategies, and promoting local community involvement are other important issues.

Human fear of large carnivores can affect human willingness to share the landscape with these species. Also, fear has the potential to influence decision-making processes and the implementation of management interventions. People who fear of large carnivores show more opposition to protect these carnivores and are more likely to support killing them. This study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the fear of local communities toward brown bears in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. In order to find out the attitude of the local communities towards the bear, a specialized questionnaire was designed and the sample size was estimated at 332, using Cochran's formula. Social network analysis was used to assess the vulnerability of local communities towards brown bears. Based on the results, inadequate knowledge of local communities about bears leads to fear and behavioral changes, when facing this species. Efforts to reduce the human fear of bears should be focused on communication with local people. In order to reduce the conflict between human and bears, it is recommended to increase knowledge and awareness of local communities about the brown bear behavior along with other management measures.

Although turtles are the most threatened taxonomic group within the reptile class, we have a very limited understanding of how turtles respond to climate change. Here, we evaluated the effects of climate changes on the geographical distribution of Caspian pond turtle (Mauremys caspica). We used an ensemble approach by combining six species distribution models including artificial neural network, generalized boosted model, generalized linear model, flexible discriminant analysis, random forest and multivariate adaptive regression splines. To predict the future distribution, modelling projection of MRI-CGCM3 was used for the year 2070 under four scenarios of representative concentration pathways (RCP). Based on the findings, the suitable habitat of Caspian pond turtle was estimated to be about 835941 km2 (about 8.73%) of the study area. Our model projections showed that about 26 to 33% of the current suitable habitats will be unsuitable by 2070 due to climate change. The annual precipitation (24.56%), precipitation of wettest quarter (24.28%), precipitation seasonality (16.93%) and temperature seasonality (14.64%) had the highest contribution to model performance of Caspian pond turtles. Overall, our findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive understanding of the complex effects of climate change on the species, specially turtles.

The aim of this study was to model suitable habitats and suggest conservation implications for Dice snake (Natrix tessellata) in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province. In this research, the maximum entropy algorithm was used to predict distribution of suitable habitats of the species across the province. The AUC value for modeling of distribution of suitable habitats obtained 0.90. Based on the results, less than three percent of the province (about 400 km2) was estimated as the highly suitable habitat (<0.6). While it seems that most of the distribution range of the species was located in the central regions of the province, but its desirable habitats can be seen in all of the counties of province. Also, about 7.60% (30.33 km2) of highly suitable habitats (<0.6) of this species is covered by the conservation network (including protected areas and no-hunting areas). The variables of distance to river (38.8%), altitude (17.1%), distance to agricultural lands (14.2%), and distance to forest areas (8.9%) had the highest contribution (79%) in the modeling of distribution of suitable habitats of Dice snake. Finally, conservation implications for management and conservation of Dice snake was presented.

Climate change may make challenges to the conservation of plant species such as the Fritillaria imperialis that have narrow geographical distribution. In this study, the modeling suitable habitats of F. imperialis in Iran was done in the current condition and under climate change (2050). In so doing, 78 species presence data along with 12 environmental variables including bioclimatic, physiographic and land cover/land use variables were used. The ensemble modelling consisting of seven Species Distribution Models (SDMs) was coupled with three general circulation models and four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenario. Our findings showed that estimated potential habitats of the species cover about 7.69% of the study area while approximately 9.08% of these suitable areas were covered by conservation areas. Due to climate change, the least and most decline of suitable habitats 46.1% to 77.37% might occur in 2050 respectively. Minimum temperature of the coldest month, elevation, and annual precipitation, had the greatest effects on the species’ distribution in the study area. In keeping with the results, F. imperialis was predicted to shift toward higher elevation under climate change. The accuracy of the maps was assessed and functioning of all models was acceptable (AUC> 0.87 and TSS> 0.75). The suitable habitat identified could be considered for the adoption of management and conservation approaches, including re-introduction and the establishment of new protected areas in order to protect F. imperialis against the expected climate change impacts.

Stipa hohenackeriana in terms of forage production and soil protection is especially important. In this study, was predicted the potential effects of climate change on the future geography distribution of this species in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province located in Central Zagros region. To do this, 122 species presence point of this species is collected by GPS, along with 9 environmental variables including bioclimatic, physiographic and land cover/land use variables were used. Ensemble methods were used to predict S. hohenackeriana distribution including the Generalized Linear Model (GLM), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Generalized Boosting Method (GBM), Flexible Discriminant Analysis (FDA), Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS), Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) and Random Forest (RF). The future projections were made for both year 2050 and 2070 with four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenario (2.6, 4.5, 6 and 8.5) and general circulation model MRI-CGCM3. Our findings show that estimated suitable habitats of the species covers about 22.37% of the study area for the S. hohenackeriana. The mean temperature of the wettest quarter, Precipitation Seasonality and Isothermality had the greatest effects on the species’ distribution in the study area. Due to climate change, the least and most decline of suitable habitats of 18.72% (RCP2.6) to 42.87% (RCP8.5) may occur by 2050 and 2070, respectively. Based on the assessments, Random Forest was determined to be the most reliable model among the seven models studied. The region mapped in the study as suitable habitats’ for the species could be effective for the re-establishment and re-introduction of S. hohenackeriana species.

Habitat loss is the main threat to the endangered populations of wildlife and anthropogenic climate change is expected to exacerbate this. Here, we identify suitable habitats of wild sheep in Lorestan Province and how these habitats are affected by the climate change scenarios, in order to address conservation and management efforts. The ensemble modeling based on six species distribution models (SDMs) was used to predict current and future distributions, in response to the changing climate. Our models predicted that 7.4% of the 28,294 km2 study area is currently suitable habitat for the species. Land cover, temperature seasonality (bio4), distance to spring, human footprint and distance to escape terrain made the highest contribution (80%) to the distribution model performance. Findings show that about 62.14 (RCP4.5) to 76.97% (RCP8.5) of present suitable habitat would be lost by 2050 due to climate change under four future representative concentration pathways within BCC-CSM1-1 general circulation model. In contrast, habitat gains observed for models were 5.89 (RCP8.5) to 17.01% (RCP4.5). Our findings could provide useful information for conservation planning to protect and restore wild sheep populations.

Climate, soil characteristics, topography, land use, and biological relationships at various scales are the most important influencing factors on distribution and ecological niches of species. The climate is one of the most important determinants of plant distribution. Therefore throughout the past ecological history, climate change has had profound consequences on the current conditions of the world's ecosystems, including the existing distribution of species. Changes in the distribution of one species in a given geographical area due to the climate change can lead to shifting the presence regions of that species toward higher elevation that leads up to vegetative restriction or even extinction of the species. Shifting, or changing the geographical distribution of species is a strategy to be resistant to the climate change. Therefore, in order to protect the key ecological and valuable plant species, it is necessary to determine suitable habitats via identifying the most important environmental and human factors affecting the species presence in the current and future conditions. Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) is a genus widely distributed throughout the temperate regions. The Astragalus verus Olivier is a small, valuable shrub with many branches. In addition to its protective role from the point of view of the soil, this species has medicinal and industrial values. In recent decades, the geographical range of the A. verus variety has been significantly declined due to factors such as land degradation and over utilization. Despite the national importance of the Astragalus genus, so far little research has been done on the consequences of the climate change on the distribution of species of this genus. The present study was conducted to accomplish the following objectives; 1) To identify suitable habitats and determin the geographical distribution of A. verus in Central Zagros in the current situation; 2) to predict of the consequences of climate change by 2050 and 2070 under different scenarios on geographical distribution of A. verus; 3) to determin the most important factors affecting the distribution of this species. distribution of A. verus; 3) to determin the most important factors affecting the distribution of this species.

 This study was carried out in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in an area about 1.65 million hectare thai is totally located in Central Zagros region. Extensive field studies were integrated to collect geographical coordinates of the presence point (112 points) of this species by using Global Positioning System (GPS) throughout Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Bioclimatic (bio1–bio19), Physiographic variables (elevation, aspect, and slope) and land cover/land variables were used for modeling. Before modeling, two methods of Pearson correlation analysis and Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) were used to check out the correlation between the various environmental variables. In order to model, 19 environmental variables including bioclimatic variables, physiography and land cover / land use were applied to model the distribution based on correlation analysis. Variables with Pearson’s correlation coefficient, r2<±0.8, VIF<3) were selected. Finally and after the omission of the layers having high correlation, nine variables were used for modeling. In order to predict the distribution of the suitable habitats of the Astragalus verus Olivier, Biomad2 software package in R environment (3.1.2 version) was used. In this study, ensemble methods including Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Generalized Boosting Method (GBM), the Generalized Linear Model (GLM), Flexible Discriminant Analysis (FDA), Random Forest (RF) and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) were used to estimate the suitable habitats. We used 80% of the occurrence points as training data for model calibration and 20% of the rest of the data set to evaluate the predition of the models. Prediction of the geographical distribution of the Astragalus verus Olivier in the future (years 2050 and 2070) was made based on four scenarios of the increase in the greenhouse gases (Representative Concentration Pathways; RCPs) RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6, RCP8.5 in general circulation model MRI-CGCM3. Model performance was assessed by using the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) and the true skill statistic (TSS).

 Our results revealed that the most effective variables in desirability of the study species habitat were the isothermality, mean temperature of the wettest season of the year and seasonal precipitation variables respectively. In keeping with the findings, the Astragalus verus Olivier mostly exists in habitats with Isothermality (bio3) from + 36.8 to + 39.7 °C, Mean Temperature of the Wettest season of the year (bio8) from - 2 to + 3.5 °C, and seasonal precipitation variables (bio15) from 100 to 112 mm and the Annual Precipitation of 280 mm to 490 mm. Based on the results of modeling of current conditions, in comparison to the other regions, northeast and east of the province had the most habitat importance for the Astragalus verus Olivier. Our findings show that about 27.43% of the study area was identified as suitable habitats for the Astragalus verus Olivier. Prediction of the geographical distribution of the Astragalus verus Olivier in the future (years 2050 and 2070) was made based on four scenarios of the increase in the greenhouse gases (Representative Concentration Pathways; RCPs) RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6, RCP8.5 in general circulation model MRI-CGCM3. Based on the future projections were made for the year 2050 and 2070 with four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenario (2.6, 4.5, 6 and 8.5) and general circulation model MRI-CGCM3. In keeping with our findings, climate change can have significant consequences for the Astragalus verus Olivier suitable habitats in the study area. Based on various senarios, about 45.70 percent (year 2050, RCP2.6) to 89.88 percent (year 2070, RCP8.5) of the current habitats for the Astragalus verus Olivier will be unsuitable due to the climate change by 2050 and 2070. While in the same period of time, about 1.58 (RCP8.5, 2050) to 13.19 percent (RCP2.6, 2070) may be added to the suitable habitats of this species in areas with higher elevation. According to all scenarios, the suitable habitats of this species will decrease in all habitats, especially in areas with lower elevation. The climate change consequences especially the probability of decling and shifting the geographical range of the plant species in various habitats of Iran especially in the central Zagros and also in Central Iran range are predicted. Assessments showed that the models had acceptable accuracy and Random Forest model was determined as the most reliable model to predict the distribution of this species.

 Generally, this study indicated that ensemble model might predict the potential distribution of the Astragalus verus Olivier with a relatively high accuracy (AUC= 0.92 and TSS= 0.79). The scenarios used in this study predict the probability of the shift of the geographical range of the studied species under climate change scenarios of 2050 and 2070. According to the results, it seems that the suitable habitat extent of the Astragalus verus Olivier in the study area has been decreased and will shit toward the higher elevation. Although land degradation and over utilization may be considered as two important factors in habitat degradation of this species but this study highlights the importance the effects of climate change on the distribution of the Astragalus verus Olivier. As a result of the severe and inappropriate harvest of the Astragalus verus Olivier, the range of its distribution and density has decreased in some areas, which has increased the intensity of phenomena such as soil erosion. This issue requires a double attention of the managers and experts of natural resources to the Astragalus verus Olivier and the other species with similar performance in ecosystems having importance from the view point of economic productivity as well as their ability to conserve the soil.

The Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus, as a globally endangered species, is significantly affected by conflicts with human, leading to the decline of this species population. Availability of food resources is known as one of the most important factors affecting the distribution of the Egyptian vulture. In this study, we employed an ensemble modelling approach to predict the  suitability of the  foraging habitat for the Egyptian vulture based on seven distribution modelling algorithms. According to our results, suitable foraging habitats for this bird accounted for about 4.19% (1021.40 km2) of the study area, of which only approximately 31.92% (326 km2) was covered by the conservation areas. Livestock density (31.82%), the presence of wild ungulates (15.36%), distance to dump sites (14.77%), landcover (12.46%) and elevation (11.85%) made the highest contribution to the ensemble model of this species. Our results indicated that Egyptian vultures mainly rely on dump sites, nomadic areas and livestock farming sites, thereby reflecting the vulture's tendency to livestock carcasses. Thus, it is important to develop effective strategies for proper monitoring and managing human activities in these areas.

The earliest known turtles are from around 215 million years ago, making turtles one of the oldest reptile groups. So far, about 351 turtle species have been reported worldwide, of which about 40% have been introduced as threatened species in the IUCN Red List. Caspian pond turtle (Mauremys caspica) has a relatively wide distribution in the northern and western Iran. Survival of this species has been severely threatened due to habitat destruction, pollution, and water resource mismanagement in Iran. Here, we investigated the genetic diversity and phylogeny of M. caspica in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province. A 1040-bp fragment of the cytochrome b gene was sequenced in 12 individuals across the province. A dataset was created using our sequences together with an additional 23 sequences downloaded from GenBank. Based on phylogenetic trees (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference), the sequences of M. caspica and M. rivulata were separated with the highest bootstrap and posterior probability. All Caspian pond turtle's sequences fell into two clades: Eastern and Western. The findings revealed that turtles from Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari belong to only one haplotype (MCE2) within the eastern clade. The AMOVA analysis, based on Caspian pond turtle's sequences, show that 82.12% of the overall variation is estimated among the identified clades (Eastern and Western). None of the neutrality indices (Fu’s FS، Tajima’s D and Ramos-Onsins and Rozas’ R2) revealed negative and significant values, and thus, the sudden demographic expansion was rejected in the clades of M. caspica. Caspian pond turtle population, based on cytochrome b, in the study area can be regarded to an evolutionarily significant unit.

Due to drought during the recent years, the Hamoon wetland has become unstable and hence Chah-nimeh water reservoirs of Zabol (Sistan, Iran) have become increasingly important for aquatic life. Hence, it is necessary to identify biodiversity of fish in Chah-nimeh reservoirs to provide baseline data for management and conservation purposes. In order to identify and DNA barcode fish species in Chah-nimeh reservoirs, fish specimens were collected during 2017. Totally, 29 specimens belonging to Schizothorax zarudnyi, Carassius sp., Paracobitis rhadianaeus, Ctenopharingodon idella, Gonorhynchus adiscus, Cyprinus carpio, Schizocypris altidorsalis were collected. To perform phylogenetic analyzes 5’ end sequence of gene COI were produced. For phylogenetic analysis Neighbor-Joining and Maximum likelihood methods were used. The results resolved six phylogenetic groups among the analyzed specimens. Accordingly, the maximum genetic divergence was 27.1% between P. rhadinaeus and C. idella and the minimum genetic divergence was 10.8% between C. carpio and S. zarudnyi.

Currently, there is little information on the high mountain species' response to the climate change in Iran, and it seems that these species are significantly affected by the climate change. In the current research, the spatial vulnerability of Caspian snowcock (Tetraogallus caspius) to the climate change in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province was predicted using the ensemble modelling approach, based on seven species distribution models. According to the findings, about 19.43% of the province was estimated to be the suitable habitat of Caspian snowcock. The variables of annual precipitation (23.23%), annual temperature range (21.82%), human footprints (15.77%) and slope (14.46%) had the highest contributions to the model. Findings also showed that about 12.9- 32.28% of the suitable habitats might be lost by 2050 due to the climate change, based on the two scenarios of increased greenhouse gases (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and the HadGEM2-CC model. At the same period, it is expected that the suitable habitats of the Caspian snowcock in the low altitude areas would be lost. Additionally, due to the climate change, some populations, especially in the far southern regions of the province, will undergo local extinction or may be completely isolated. Findings of this research can be, therefore, useful for adopting more appropriate approaches in order to manage and protect the Caspian snowcock populations in the country.

Wildlife management and conservation requires a comprehensive picture of genetic variation and variability in geographic structures. The purpose of the present study was to assess the genetic relationship and diversity of Iranian wild boar populations by analyzing a 572 bp fragment of mtDNA control region. To this end, a dataset was created using our sequences (29 wild boar) together with additional 75 sequences (from the south of Iran) downloaded from GenBank. Our analyses identified four distinct maternal clades within Iranian wild boars including Near East 1 (NE1), Near East 2 (NE2), Asiatic, and European. The European and NE1 clades have the smallest and largest geographical ranges in Iran, respectively. Furthermore, all of the clades are sympatrically distributed in the northwest of the country that this area could be considered as the contact zone of the four clades. According to the results, a total of 20 haplotypes were identified among the 104 sequences belonging to wild boars from Iran. The haplotype and nucleotide diversities were estimated as about 0.882 (±0.014) and 0.0145 (±0.00047), respectively. The AMOVA results of the Iranian clades demonstrated that the proportion of variation among clades (82.84%) was higher than the variation within them (17.16%). Also, the fixation index (FST) confirmed a significant genetic structure among the boar clades. Our findings revealed no evidence for a recent demographic expansion in the Iranian wild boars.

Understanding phylogeography and genetic variation is a crucial to enhance conservation planning of species. Due to high level of fragmentation affecting many endangered species, unveiling their genetic status is prioritized to promote long-term persistence. Accordingly, the current investigation was carried out on a wide-ranging predator, the Persian leopard. We examined sequence variation in the mitochondrial NADH-5 gene with 550 base pairs for 38 leopards from different parts of Iran. Three closely related haplotypes were identified for the entire country. Apart from one commonly found haplotype throughout Iran, south Caucasus and Turkmenistan, two localized haplotypes were sequenced from southern Zagros and eastern Alborz. Our data supported that leopards do now show spatially differentiated genetic variation based on investigated gene in Iran as well as neighboring countries and possess lower genetic diversity comparing to other leopard subspecies or larger carnivores. It is essential to enhance conservation of the Persian leopard within southern Zagros where a specific haplotype occurs.

Illegal and heavy hunting of small and isolated populations of wildlife, particularly threatened species, can result in local extinctions. Thus, access to accurate and comprehensive statistics of hunting in each area is essential for seeking to develop appropriate strategies. This study is based on a survey of hunting status of in Chehelpa protected area (Khuzestan province) through considering the perspective of local communities. Surveys using questionnaires and discussions with hunters (50 respondents) and other local communities (450 respondents) were carried out to understand the hunting patterns and frequency of hunting. A majority (70%) of respondants said that hunting is carried out mainly for recreation, commonly for obtaining a trophy specimen. Overall, 85% of the hunters reported that animal species were hunted illegally. Most hunters (75%) interested in hunting within team group. They often go in groups of two or three persons. Fifty percent of the hunters estimated population size of wild goat (Capra aegagrus) about 200-300 individuals. The following suggestions will assist in minimizing illegal hunting in this region: collaborating key stakeholders in law enforcement and wildlife management planning; strengthening reliance between local communities and environmental organisations; developing approachs to reduce human-wildlife conflicts; to discourage local unfounded beliefs about medicinal and traditional uses of wildlife products; development of appropraite and acceptable alternatives for income generation (such as eco-tourism) and to encourage patronage of locally made products.

Monitoring and managing the wildlife populations and habitats required to model the species distribution and habitat suitability. So, Gazella subgutturosa potential distribution in Mishdagh Protected Area was modeled using fuzzy (based on ecological knowledge of local communities) and MaxEnt (based on species occurrence records) approaches; thus, in addition to model the species distribution using maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt approach) and fuzzy inference system (fuzzy approach), we can also assess and compare the performance of each approach. In addition, the accuracy of predictive models was tested using jackknife test. Also, we applied threshold of 10%. Based on results of fuzzy and MaxEnt approaches, the most important variables for species potential distribution modelling were land use, distance to farms and distance to water sources. Also, 47.45% and 14.08% of study area predicted as species potential presence area in fuzzy and MaxEnt approaches, respectively. According to results of jackknife test, success rates of fuzzy and MaxEnt approaches were 80.95% and 66.66%, respectively (p

As a sedentary bird, the Caspian Snowcock is a typical high-mountain and alpine species. The bird is distributed in the mountainous regions of north, northwest and western parts of Iran. In this respect, in recent years, the populations of this species are declining due to habitat destruction, unregulated hunting, overgrazing, etc. Therefore, conserving the relatively large patches of habitat is very important in order to support the species’ vital requirements. In this study, the habitat suitability of Caspean Snowcock in Charmahal and Bakhtiari Province (as a region containing mountainous landscapes) has been investigated. According to the results, elevation (44.3%), annual precipitation (19%), slope (17.2%) and human footprint (8.5%) contributed the largest percents to the habitat suitability model. Potentially, the Caspian Snowcock can occurs in habitats with elevation of 1700 to 4150 m above sea level. However, only 0.81% of suitable habitats fell within elevation of 1700 to 2000 m. The estimated suitable habitats of the species cover approximately 19.4% of this province, but only about 15.8% of these areas are officially protected. On the other hand, human disturbances such as residential locations, roads, overgrazing and collecting of medicinal and aromatic plants could lead to accelerating the habitat degradation and fragmentation. To further assess the impacts of habitat fragmentation on the Caspian Snowcock, it is suggested to survey the dispersal capacity of this species as well. In addition, considering ecological niches, the Caspian Snowcock can be regarded as an umbrella or flagship species in the high altitude mountains of this area.

In an age that we live, human with his insatiable greed areas of ecology and natural resources to spend your short-term goals and profit unaware that is the future ahead. Human environment overshadowed by tremendous progress of technology and every part of it is attacked. Now the national parks are as a valuable genetic reserves diverse animal and plant species in each country and is only basic support to revive again the nature. In this research that is descriptive and field research and was conducted in Shiraz, and has been done to assess knowledge and understanding of people of Shiraz about the national park Bamou. For this purpose, 384 questionnaires were distributed to systematically random between people of Shiraz based on their place of residence in the Ennead areas of municipalities. Descriptive statistics were obtained for all data and for investigating the relationship between the elements has been used of the chi-square test (Chi-square test). Softwares that were used are Excel and SPSS. In this study it was found that between the gender factor and the level of knowledge of national park Bamou there is a significant relationship. Also factors such as level of education and place of residence on the knowledge of persons of the national park Bamou is not effective, and familiarity with the National Park Bamou by friends and acquaintances is the highest percentage of How acquaintance with park, that Shows the advertising and activities of the Environmental Protection Agency of city of Shiraz and Fars Province in introduction of this national parkis not very effective and this organization as responsible of conservation of protected areas should be have more attention to these issues.

The brown bear populations, contrary to other mobile carnivores, exhibit a worldwide genetic structure in several mitochondrial lineages. Populations of the Middle Eastern brown bear, including Iran, are at risk of local extinction. Genetic relationships between the Iranian brown bear and others in the world are still unclear. We sequenced a 614 base pair fragment of the mtDNA control region for 50 brown bears from Iran. The Iranian brown bear presents considerable haplotype diversity (50 individuals, 22 new haplotypes). Mitochondrial sequence analyses revealed one new major mtDNA lineage within Iranian brown bears, comprising 2–3 subclades: (i) Alborz, which includes bears from the Alborz and the Arasbaran Mountains; (ii) Zagros, including individuals from south of East Azerbaijan province to the Southern Zagros Mountains (Kazeroun, Fars province); and (iii) Fars, which comprises bears living in the Southeastern Zagros Mountains (Marvdasht-Eqlid, Fars province). The results of fixation index (FST) and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) demonstrate significant genetic structure among the Iranian subclades. Overall, the Iranian brown bears show significant geographic structuring, in addition to the remarkable haplotype diversity.

Nowadays, dispersal of Persian fallow dear (Dama mesopotamica) is restricted to the forests and woodlands near Dez and Karkheh rivers in southwestern Iran. However, there are no reliable data for the species from these regions in recent years. The present study aims to assess the knowledge of local communities and the importance of the endangered species from the perspective of the human communities. A total of 500 respondents belong to 27 localities (situated in Dezful, Shush and Andimeshk counties) surrounding the study area were interviewed representing different local communities. The respondents were selected randomly to avoid serious bias. The findings showed that more than 56% of the respondents did not even know that the fallow deer is one of the wildlife species in the study area. About 16.4 percent of people (mainly older people) claimed to have seen the species in natural habitats of Dez and Karkhe protected areas. Moreover, roughly 73 percent of respondents claimed that they have a high willingness to observe the Persian fallow deer in natural habitats of the study area. In this respect, more than half of participants are willing to pay from one to 1.5 dollars per one to observe deer in the protected areas. The majority of respondents (86.4%) believed that poaching and habitat destruction are the most important factors threatening the Persian fallow deer in the study area. Gaurenteed sustainable conservation is of high importance for most people (67.8%). The willingness to pay in order to establish a fund for conservation of Persian fallow deer was estimated between one to seven dollars annually. Raising community awareness of Persian fallow deer biology and its national and global importance, introducing the species as a flagship and using community-based management were recommended as suitable conservation strategies for the Persian fallow deer.

This study has considered morphologyand morphometry of wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations in Khabr and Golestan National Parks and Minoo Island, Iran. 29 body and cranial characters were measured. The normality of data was analyzed by Kolmogorov- Smironov test. Independent sample T-Test was used to test the statistical significance between different sexes in these regions. Significance of differences among of different populations was tested using one-way ANOVA followed by a Duncan test. Also, Discriminant Analysis was usedto classifying different populations. Results indicated that there are significant differences between male and female sexes in the Minoo Island (p