Geographic distribution of Bee-eaters (Genus Merops) ‎‎(Coraciiformes: Meropidae) in Fars province, southern Iran ‎based on ecoregions

The Bee-eaters, include a group of 31 species of birds with bright colors that lives across the Palaeotropical and southern Eurasia regions. Of these, three species are distributed in Iran. Considering the role of bee-eaters in nature, presence of three species of Bee-eaters in Fars province and the conflict between Bee-keepers and Bee-eaters, it is important to study the distribution of these species in the province. In order to investigate the distribution range of Bee-eaters in ecoregions of Fars province, fieldwork was carried out during 2017 and 2018. In total, 294 points were recorded for the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), 58 points for the Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) and 13 points for the Persian Bee-eater (Merops persicus). Results showed that the European Bee-eater is distributed in almost regions of the province, Green Bee-eater in southern and western areas and the Persian Bee-eater in northern and western areas. According to the terrestrial ecoregions for Fars province, the European Bee-eater is distributed in the all three ecoregions including central Persian desert basins in northern areas, Zagros mountains forest steppe in central areas, and south Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert ecoregion in southern areas of the province, but the most of its distribution points are related to the Zagros mountains forest steppe ecoregion. The Green Bee-eater is distributed in the Zagros mountains forest steppe and south Iran Nubo-Sindian desert ecoregions, however most of its distribution points are related to the south Iran Nubo-Sindian desert. The Persian Bee-eater is distributed only in the Zagros mountains forest steppe ecoregion.The three Bee-eater species overlap widely in distribution range in some parts of Fars province, and in the areas where all three species coexist, beekeeping is probably associated with a higher risk. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to this point for beehive apiary location.