Habitat Suitability Index Models: Moose, Lake Superior Region

Allen, Arthur; Jordan, Peter; Terrell, James

This document is part of the Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) model series [Biological Report 82(10)], which provides habitat information useful for impact assessment and habitat management. The HSI Model section documents the habitat models and includes information pertinent to their application. The models synthesize habitat use information into a framework appropriate for field application and are scaled to produce an index value between 0.0 (unsuitable habitat) and 1.0 (optimum habitat). The HSI Models include information about the geographic range and seasonal application of the models, their current verification status, and a list of the model variables with recommended measurement techniques for each variable. The models are a formalized synthesis of biological and habitat information published in the scientific literature and may include unpublished information reflecting the opinions of identified experts. Habitat information about wildlife species frequently is represented by scattered data sets collected during different seasons and years and from different sites throughout the range of a species. The models present this broad data base in a formal, logical, and simpl ified manner. The assumptions necessary for organizing and synthesizing the species-habitat information into the models are discussed. The models should be regarded as a hypothesis of specieshabi tat re 1at i onsh ips and not a s a statement of proven cause and effect relationships. The models may have merit in planning wildlife habitat research studies about a species, as well as in providing an estimate of the relative suitability of habitat for that species.

Habitat Suitability Index Models: Moose, Lake Superior Region

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