Adequacy of Wildlife Habitat Relation Models for Estimating Spatial Distributions of Terrestrial Vertebrates
Edwards TC, Deshler ET, Foster D, Moisen GG. 1996. Adequacy of Wildlife Habitat Relation Models for Estimating Spatial Distributions of Terrestrial Vertebrates. Conservation Biology. 10(1):263-270
The U.S. National Biological Survey uses gap analysis to understand potential distributions of terrestrial vertebrates. Gap analysis is based on the synthesis of wildlife habitat relation data, which is then modeled using a vegetation cover map derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery. The authors used long-term species lists from eight National Park units in Utah, to evaluate the adequacy of the wildlife habitat relations data generated by gap analysis in predicting species distributions at landscape scales. They estimated omission and commission error rates for major taxonomic groups and for each park unit. Depending on the taxonomic group, omission error ranged from 0-25%, and commission error ranged from 4-33%. Error rates were highest in amphibians and reptiles, and lowest for birds and mammals. In general, the error rate declined as the size of the park increased.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Edwards, Thomas; Deshler, Elena; Foster, Dan; Moisen, Gretchen
- Units
- ARCH , BRCA , CANY , CARE , GLCA , HOVE , NABR , ZION
- Keywords
- Amphibians, Animal Studies, Birds, Distribution, Gap Analysis, Habitats, Mammals, Modeling, Reptiles, wildlife-habitat relation models