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Modeling the effects of climate change on the geographic ‎distribution of the Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) in Fars ‎province

Document Type : Article

Authors

1 ‎Department of Environmental ‎Science and Engineering, Faculty of ‎Natural Resources and Earth ‎Sciences, Shahrekord University, ‎Iran

2 ‎Department of Nature Engineering, ‎Faculty of Natural Resources and ‎Earth Sciences, Shahrekord ‎University, Iran‎

10.30473/eab.2025.72668.1969

Abstract

Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is one of the important animal species in Fars province, where there is limited information about the effect of climate change on its habitats. In this research, the effects of climate change on the geographical distribution of striped hyenas in Fars province were investigated using the MaxEnt model. Considering the upcoming climate threats, this study has investigated the changes in the distribution of suitable habitats for this species in the current and future time periods (2070) and under the two climate scenarios SSP245 and SSP585 and the general circulation model MRI-ESM2-0. In this research, 4 categories of environmental variables including: climatic variables, human interactions, topography, and land use were used. The results showed that, respectively, the temperature annual range (Bio7), distance to protected areas, precipitation seasonality (Bio15) and land use (in total with 73.4%) have the largest contribution in choosing the optimal habitat for striped hyenas. Also, the results of the evaluation of the level of desirability of striped hyena habitats showed that currently 19.1% of habitats in Fars province are suitable habitats for striped hyenas, of which 21.3% overlap with the network of protected areas. However, projections show that in the future, the level of suitable habitats under the SSP245 and SSP585 scenarios will decrease by 14.27 and 15.56%, respectively. These results emphasize the necessity of developing management plans for the protection of striped hyena habitats in the face of climate change.

Keywords

References
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Experimental animal Biology
Volume 13, Issue 3 - Serial Number 51
June 2025
Pages 75-84
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