Fig 2. Habitat suitability map in the current climate conditions based on the ensemble model for (a) Z. spina-christi and (b) Z. nummularia .
The study projected the ensemble model into future climate scenarios, revealing an overall distribution pattern for habitat suitability. A decrease in unsuitable habitat classes was observed in the future potential distribution of Z. spina-christi , considering two climatic scenarios (SSPs) across two time periods (2041-2070 and 2071-2100). In areas with acceptable suitability, the range showed fluctuations, with both increases and decreases. Nevertheless, the overall trend pointed towards an increase in suitable habitat. The predictions indicated that under the climate scenario SSP-585, a suitable habitat will emerge in South Khorasan province during 2071-2100 in regions with no previous records of this species. Conversely, regions likely to become unsuitable in the future encompass parts of Khuzestan, Kerman, and Southern Fars provinces. These areas will experience a decrease in the spatial integrity of the predicted habitat, resulting in fragmentation (as illustrated in Fig. 3 and detailed in Table 1 and Table 3).Top of Form