Analysis of the relationship between species and their environment has been always a major issue in ecology and wildlife conservation. According to IUCN red list, Asiatic cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus venaticus ) is a "Critically Endangered” taxon. Eastern half of Iran is the last refuge for the limited number of remaining Asiatic Cheetah. The purpose of this study was modelling potential distribution of Asiatic cheetah and its prey species ( Capra aegagrus, Ovis orientalis, Gazella subgutturosa and Gazella bennettii ) and determination of the parameters affecting their distribution using maximum entropy approach (Maxent). The effects of sample size and scale on the model performance ??were examined. The presence points of cheetah and its prey across the two provinces was obtained from Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project and Isfahan and Yazd Departments of Environment. Cheetah presence data were incorporated of camera traps records and verified presence indices such as hairs, faeces and footprints. Climatic, physiographic, biologic and anthropogenic variables were used in the model. Climatic and physiographic variables were obtained from the website of the Global Climate and digital elevation model of the area respectively. Distance to roads and railways were produced by digitization Iran road map. Distance to urban areas was extracted from the land use layer. Other variables including vegetation types, vegetation condition and vegetation density were extracted from the vegetation map. Prey species distribution maps were considered as input variables for developing cheetah distribution model. The most effective variables on the distribution of Capra aegagrus and Ovis orientalis was slope, and for Gazella subgutturosa and Gazella bennettii were vegetation cover and vegetation type respectively. The distribution of Ovis orientalis and Capra aegagrus were recognized as the most important variables affecting the distribution of Asiatic cheetah. The mean AUC and Omission graph revealed medium to high efficiency for the developed distribution models. When using smaller pixel sizes the obtained AUC was higher, and in larger sample sizes, the AUC was more robust. The obtained results have implications for conservation of Asiatic cheetah in central Iran . Key word: Distribution Model, Maxent, Asiatic Cheetah, Capra aegagrus, Ovis orientalis, Gazella subgutturosa and Gazella bennetti
