DOI: 10.5061/dryad.np5hqbzzv
title: Protecting alpine biodiversity in the Middle East from climate change: Implications for high-elevation birds

description: Aims: The Middle East, located in the arid belt of the Earth, is home to a
 diverse range of biodiversity, with its mountain ecosystems being the most
 important centers of species diversity and endemism. In this study, the
 impact of climate change on alpine bird species in the Middle East was
 assessed across five mountain systems: Alborz – Kopet-Dagh, Caucasus –
 Pontic, Levant – Taurus, Sarawat – Hijaz, and Zagros – Central Iran.
 Location: Middle East Methods: Using species distribution models (SDMs),
 38 native alpine bird species were analyzed under different climate change
 scenarios. We also identified future multi-species in-situ and ex-situ
 climate refugia and assessed the efficiency of the current protected areas
 (PAs) system in protecting them. Results: The results indicated that, on
 average, habitat suitability for these species is projected to decline by
 36.83% (2050, SSP2-4.5) to 60.10% (2070, SSP5-8.5) with an upward range
 shift. Based on stacking range change of the species, Levant – Taurus,
 Zagros – Central Iran, and Alborz – Kopet-Dagh mountain ranges will
 experience the highest amount of habitat loss, respectively, with Caucasus
 – Pontic being least affected. The gap analysis showed that the existing
 PAs system covers only 13 and 10 percent of the in-situ and ex-situ
 climatic refugia, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the
 significance of mountainous regions in the Middle East for the persistence
 of alpine bird species and the urgent need to prioritize climate refugia
 in trans-boundary and participatory conservation plans. It is crucial to
 prevent habitat degradation and alteration resulting from human activities
 in these areas to ensure the persistence of alpine species and their
 habitats.
description: # Data from: Protecting alpine biodiversity in the Middle East from
 climate change: implications for high-elevation birds --- This dataset is
 related to the article "Protecting alpine biodiversity in the Middle
 East from climate change: implications for high-elevation birds"
 Accepted in the "Diversity and Distributions" journal,
 [https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13826](https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13826). It
 includes the following data files: 1. birds_occ.csv: The geographic
 location of the Middle East alpine birds. 2. bkgr.csv: The geographic
 location of the background data. 3. current: The raster layer of the
 climatic variables of the current time. 4. 2050: The raster layer of the
 climatic variables for 2050. 5. 2070: The raster layer of the climatic
 variables for 2070. 6. SDM_Alpine_birds.R: The R code designed to perform
 the SDM analysis and computing range shifts of the speceis during climate
 change. ## Description of the data and file structure 1. birds_occ.csv:
 19,261 obs. of 3 variables: "Longitude" &lt;- Longitude
 "Latitude" &lt;- Latitude "Species" &lt;- Scientific
 name of the 38 alpinr birds 2. bkgr.csv: 10,000 obs. of 2 variables:
 "Longitude" &lt;- Longitude "Latitude" &lt;- Latitude
 3. current: 7 raster layers in .tif format: "bio1" &lt;- Annual
 mean temperature "bio3" &lt;- Isothermality "bio8"
 &lt;- Mean Temperature of Wettest Quarter "bio9" &lt;- Mean
 Temperature of Driest Quarter "bio13" &lt;- Precipitation of
 Wettest Month "bio14" &lt;- Precipitation of Driest Month
 "bio15" &lt;- Precipitation Seasonality (Coefficient of
 Variation) 4. 2050: 7 climatic layers × five global circulation models
 (GCMs) × two climatie change scenarios for 2050 = 70 climatic layers in
 .tif format: GCMs include ACCESS-CM2, CNRM-CM6-1, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MIROC6,
 and MPI-ESM1-2-LR and climate change scenarios include SSP245 and SSP585.
 5. 2070: 7 climatic layers × five global circulation models (GCMs) × two
 climatie change scenarios for 2070 = 70 climatic layers in .tif format:
 GCMs include ACCESS-CM2, CNRM-CM6-1, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MIROC6, and
 MPI-ESM1-2-LR and climate change scenarios include SSP245 and SSP585. 6.
 SDM_Alpine_birds.R: The R code designed to perform the SDM analysis and
 computing range shifts of the speceis during climate change. ##
 Sharing/Access information Data deposited in the Dryad Digital Repository
 () ## Code/Software All analyses were performed in R 4.3.2 See the main
 text and supplementary information of the manuscript for details.