Modelling habitat suitability of reintroduced scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) in Sidi Toui National Park, Tunisia

Abstract

Reintroducing endangered species into their restored habitats is a significant aspect of conservation biology. The scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), one of the most critically endangered antelopes worldwide, was reintroduced into several protected areas in Tunisia. Understanding their habitat requirements within micro-level ecosystems is crucial for developing effective management plans to aid in species recovery. Using information-theoretic and multimodel inference (MMI) techniques, we evaluated the impact of habitat and management characteristics on the distribution of the scimitar-horned oryx in Tunisia's Sidi Toui National Park during different seasons, from June 2020 – May 2022. Our analyses, using regression coefficients and selection probabilities, revealed that factors influencing habitat suitability varied seasonally for the scimitar-horned oryx. However, the presence of grasses emerged as the most consistent indicator of their occurrence throughout the year. The strong fit of models to the data was confirmed by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) plots, which indicated an Area Under the Curve (AUC) > 0.9. The study has significant implications for developing practical habitat management plans for the scimitar-horned oryx in Sidi Toui National Park.