Data for habitat suitability analysis

Today, in addition to the destruction and fragmentation of the world's habitats, the invasive species and the damage caused by them, are one of the most important factors in the destruction of ecosystems. Raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a medium-sized mammal that is placed in mid-levels of the food chain and can affect a wide range of species. Considering the damage done to local ecosystems by this invasive species, habitat assessment and determining the factors affecting its habitat suitability is one of the key steps in managing this species. In this study, using MaxEnt model and examining twelve environmental parameters (altitude, slope, aspect, geological units, soil type, vegetation, land use, distance to villages, distance to main roads, distance to waterways, average temperature and rainfall) in the west of Guilan Province, the habitat suitability of this alien species was determined and the most important factors affecting this suitability were investigated. The results showed that the validity value of the model (AUC) was estimated to be 0.852 and the parameters such as distance to village (34.5%), altitude (24.2%) and land use (15.9%) are among the most important and effective factors. Also, the results showed that 0.60% of study area has high suitability, 6.14% moderate suitability, 24.87% low suitability and 68.36% is unsuitable areas for raccoons. The overall result shows that despite the lack of vast favorable areas for this invasive species, an increase in the number and expansion of this species is very likely, because this species has an omnivorous diet, high adaptability to different environments and conditions, as well as extensive niches. All of these factors cause the raccoon to spread further in the region and consequently increase the risks and damages to the native ecosystem.