Are species distribution models based on broad-scale environmental variables transferable across adjacent watersheds? A case study with eleven macroinvertebrate species

2015 ◽  
Vol 186 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Gies ◽  
Martin Sondermann ◽  
Daniel Hering ◽  
Christian K. Feld
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Species ◽  
Broad Scale

scholarly journals Species Distribution Models for sea pen corals in the Flemish Cap and Flemish Pass Area (NorthwestAtlantic Ocean)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Sacau Cuadrado ◽  
Ana Garcia-Alegre Garralda ◽  
Maria Grazia Pennino ◽  
Francisco Javier Murillo Pérez ◽  
Alberto Serrano López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Marine Spatial Planning ◽  
Trawl Survey ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Sea Bottom ◽  
Planning Framework

Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are widely used to identify species-environmentrelationships and predicting species occurrence and/or density at un-sampled locations.The SDMs implementation allows describing species geographical trends, toidentify spatial ontogenetic shifts of commercially exploited species and to assessthe effect of climate change on species distribution. Moreover, SDMs could bean essential tool to support the marine spatial planning framework providingessential and easy-to-use interpretation tools, such as predictive distributionmaps, with the final aim of improving management and conservation especially ofvulnerable species as sea pen corals. In this study, a 10-yr period (2007-2017) of a bottom trawl survey was used to estimateand predict the suitability habitat of sea pen species as a function of several environmental variables (i.e. bathymetry, sea bottom temperature, sea bottom salinity, slope, rugosity, aspectof the seabed, etc) in Flemish Cap and Flemish Pass (ATLAS Case Study No 11) using different SDM algorithms. Resultsshow that species exhibit specific habitat preferences and spatial patterns inresponse to environmental variables.

scholarly journals Species Distribution Models for sea pen corals in the Flemish Cap and Flemish Pass Area (NorthwestAtlantic Ocean)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Sacau Cuadrado ◽  
Ana Garcia-Alegre Garralda ◽  
Maria Grazia Pennino ◽  
Francisco Javier Murillo Pérez ◽  
Alberto Serrano López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Marine Spatial Planning ◽  
Trawl Survey ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Sea Bottom ◽  
Planning Framework

Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are widely used to identify species-environmentrelationships and predicting species occurrence and/or density at un-sampled locations.The SDMs implementation allows describing species geographical trends, toidentify spatial ontogenetic shifts of commercially exploited species and to assessthe effect of climate change on species distribution. Moreover, SDMs could bean essential tool to support the marine spatial planning framework providingessential and easy-to-use interpretation tools, such as predictive distributionmaps, with the final aim of improving management and conservation especially ofvulnerable species as sea pen corals. In this study, a 10-yr period (2007-2017) of a bottom trawl survey was used to estimateand predict the suitability habitat of sea pen species as a function of several environmental variables (i.e. bathymetry, sea bottom temperature, sea bottom salinity, slope, rugosity, aspectof the seabed, etc) in Flemish Cap and Flemish Pass (ATLAS Case Study No 11) using different SDM algorithms. Resultsshow that species exhibit specific habitat preferences and spatial patterns inresponse to environmental variables.

scholarly journals Combining Deforestation and Species Distribution Models to Improve Measures of Chimpanzee Conservation Impacts of REDD: A Case Study from Ntakata Mountains, Western Tanzania

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1195
Author(s):  
Rebecca Dickson ◽  
Marc Baker ◽  
Noémie Bonnin ◽  
David Shoch ◽  
Benjamin Rifkin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Western Tanzania

Projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) are designed to reduce carbon emissions through avoided deforestation and degradation, and in many cases, to produce additional community and biodiversity conservation co-benefits. While these co-benefits can be significant, quantifying conservation impacts has been challenging, and most projects use simple species presence to demonstrate positive biodiversity impact. Some of the same tools applied in the quantification of climate mitigation benefits have relevance and potential application to estimating co-benefits for biodiversity conservation. In western Tanzania, most chimpanzees live outside of national park boundaries, and thus face threats from human activity, including competition for suitable habitat. Through a case study of the Ntakata Mountains REDD project in western Tanzania, we demonstrate a combined application of deforestation modelling with species distribution models to assess forest conservation benefits in terms of avoided carbon emissions and improved chimpanzee habitat. The application of such tools is a novel approach that we argue permits the better design of future REDD projects for biodiversity co-benefits. This approach also enables project developers to produce the more manageable, accurate and cost-effective monitoring, reporting and verification of project impacts that are critical to verification under carbon standards.

scholarly journals Improving species distribution models using biotic interactions: a case study of parasites, pollinators and plants

Ecography ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 649-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tereza Cristina Giannini ◽  
Daniel S. Chapman ◽  
Antonio Mauro Saraiva ◽  
Isabel Alves-dos-Santos ◽  
Jacobus C. Biesmeijer
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Distribution Models

scholarly journals Historical disturbances to rivers appear to constrain contemporary distribution of a river-dependent frog

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Linnell ◽  
Raymond J. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Species Distribution Models ◽  
Ensemble Model ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Precipitation Frequency ◽  
Historical Distribution ◽  
Large Water ◽  
Source Populations ◽  
Riparian Corridor

AbstractFrogs dependent on lotic environments are sensitive to disturbances that alter the hydrology (e.g., water impoundments), substrate (e.g., debris torrents), and riparian vegetation (e.g., wildfires) of river ecosystems. Although rivers are often very dynamic, disturbances can push environmental baselines outside of narrowly defined ecological tolerances under which a species evolved. Short-lived lotic-dependent organisms, restricted to movements within the water or the riparian corridor, are at risk of local extirpations owing to such disturbances if they fragment and isolate affected populations from recolonizing source populations. In Oregon, USA, the foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) is at its northernmost range margin and has experienced an approximately 41% range contraction compared to their historical distribution. To inform conservation and management, we used species distribution models to identify environmentally suitable watersheds based on intrinsic baseline environmental variables, and then examined potential effects of human-caused alterations to rivers, including splash dams used to ferry timber downstream prior to 1957, large water impoundments, and adjacency to agricultural croplands. We used machine-learning in program Maxent and three different river layers that varied in extent and location of mapped rivers but contained distinct information to produce species distribution models which we then combined into a single ensemble model. Stream order, annual precipitation, and precipitation frequency were the highest ranked baseline environmental variables in most models. Watersheds with highly suitable baseline conditions in our ensemble model were negatively correlated with anthropogenic disturbances to rivers. Foothill yellow-legged frogs appeared to be sensitive to human-caused disturbances to rivers, perhaps indicative of their narrow ecological tolerance to in-river conditions. We do not anticipate variables in our model to change much through time. Rather, for conservation we identified potential legacy (spash dams) and ongoing human-caused disturbances that are more likely to change conditions for the species in the short- and long-term.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document