Habitats used by most species are becoming increasingly fragmented, requiring a metapopulation modelling approach to population viability analysis. Recognizing habitat patchiness from an endangered species' point of view requires utilization of spatial information on habitat suitability. Both of these requirements may be met by linking metapopulation modelling with landscape data using GIS tech...

Habitat suitability index (HSI) models are traditionally used to evaluate habitat quality for wildlife at a local scale. Rarely have such models incorporated spatial relationships of habitat components. We introduce Landscape HSImodels, a new Microsoft Windowst (Microsoft, Redmond, WA)–based program that incorporates local habitat as well as landscape-scale attributes to evaluate habitats for 2...

BACKGROUND Although numerous studies model species distributions, these models are almost exclusively on single species, while studies of evolutionary lineages are preferred as they by definition study closely related species with shared history and ecology. Hermit spiders, genus Nephilengys, represent an ecologically important but relatively species-poor lineage with a globally allopatric dist...

Invasive plants are a major threat to environmental conservation and are costly to control. To effectively mitigate invasion natural resource managers need to anticipate potential damage, develop policies to prevent introduction as well as mitigate spread. Weed distribution modeling provides managers with the objective information required to strategically direct control efforts. However, often...

During the last century, the global population of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) has decreased and this species is now considered vulnerable. In Iran, the status of this species is much more critical and its distribution is limited to a few areas of Bukan county. We modeled the suitability of habitat for Great Bustards in Bukan County with the goal of determining the most important of distribut...

Instream flow needs (IFN) assessment studies are performed to provide guidelines for stream water management and to assess the impacts of different water projects such as weirs, dams and stream diversions on the available fish habitat. The physical habitat simulation is one of the IFN assessment methods and also a powerful tool in management of river ecosystem that has not become a common metho...

Correlative models between species occurrences and climate (here referred to as ‘habitat suitability models’) have become increasingly popular for forecasting risk from invasive plants under current and future climate scenarios. Th ese models have the potential to inform management and monitoring eff orts by prioritizing landscapes considered at highest risk under a changing climate. However, a...

In this paper we present a framework for modelling potential species distribution (PSD) of balsam fir [bF; Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.] as a function of landscape-level descriptions of: (i) growing degree days (GDD: a temperature related index), (ii) landsurface wetness, (iii) incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and (iv) tree habitat suitability. GDD and land-surface wetness are d...

The demands of a growing human population dictates that expansion of energy infrastructure, roads, and other development frequently takes place in native rangelands. Particularly, transmission lines and roads commonly divide rural landscapes and increase fragmentation. This has direct and indirect consequences on native wildlife that can be mitigated through thoughtful planning and proactive ap...

a r t i c l e i n f o In the present study, classification trees (CTs) and support vector machines (SVMs) were used to study habitat suitability for 30 macroinvertebrate taxa in the Du river in Northern Vietnam. The presence/absence of the 30 most common macroinvertebrate taxa was modelled based on 21 physical-chemical and structural variables. The predictive performance of the CT and SVM model...