Assessing the impact of scale-dependent geodiversity on species distribution models in a biodiversity hotspot
Knowledge about species’ distributions is essential for conservation, especially in light of global change. Species distribution models (SDMs) often rely on mean environmental conditions, yet species distributions are also a function of environmental heterogeneity and filtering acting at multiple spatial scales. Geodiversity, which quantifies variation in Earth's features and processes, has the potential to improve SDMs and conservation assessments, but its effectiveness remains untested. We test a range of geodiversity variables computed at varying scales using climate and elevation data. We compare the predictive performance of MaxEnt SDMs generated using CHELSA bioclimatic variables to those also including geodiversity measures for 31 Colombian mammals. Results suggest that scales at which geodiversity is calculated impact the ability of SDMs to explain species distributions. Some variables consistently exhibited an increasing or decreasing trend in permutation importance with spatial grain, showing slight scale-dependence and indicating that some measures of geodiversity are more relevant at particular scales. Integrating geodiversity variables into SDMs, and doing so at the appropriate spatial scale, enhances our knowledge of species-environment relationships and may improve our ability to predict suitable habitats, thereby contributing to the conservation and management of biodiversity.
NASA FINESST Grant #80NSSC19K1332
- Beth E. Gerstner: PhD Candidate, Michigan State University (MSU)
- Mary E. Blair: Director of Biodiversity Informatics Research, American Museum of Natural History
- Patrick Bills: Data Scientist, MSU
- Cristian A. Cruz-Rodriguez: Alexander Von Humboldt Institute, Colombia
- Phoebe L. Zarnetske: PI, MSU Spatial & Community Ecology Lab (SpaCE Lab)
This repository contains code and the accompanying workflow for generating geodiversity variables and evaluating their utility for SDMs for multiple mammal species in the Northern Andes.
This code and workflow allows users to follow the construction of geodiversity variables and subsequent SDMs and also construct relevant outputs.
See ./code/readme.md for more details.