Development of species distribution models (SDMs) and their application has expanded rapidly over the past few years. Often based on simple occurrence data like that provided by the Fishes of Texas project, they summarize and make these data sets useful in new ways and across large spatial extents. They have proven useful in diverse applications such as conservation planning, climate change studies, disease ecology, invasive species research, and community ecology.
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| Class | available | spatial extent | resolution | model construction and interpretation reference | numbers of species available | Download Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Yes | political boundary of Texas | 30 arc-seconds | Model Class 01 | 95 | Model Class 01 Downloads |
| 02 | No | The extent used for SDM construction included NHDplusV2 data regions 11 (Ark-Red-White), 12 (Texas), and 13 (Rio Grande). Model results from this extent was restricted to the political boundary of Texas for post-processing and symbolism. | 30 arc-seconds | Model Class 02 | 51 | Model Class 02 Downloads |
| 03 | No | Species Specific: within major river basin that intersect records | National Hydrography Dataset Plus Catchments | Model Class 03 | 0 | nla |
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Advances in information technology and worldwide efforts to compile, digitize, and make biodiversity data available (e.g., NatureServe [www.natureserve.org], Global Biodiversity Information Facility [www.gbif.org]) have recently improved our perception of the diverse scales of anthropogenic alteration of the environment. Simultaneously, development of new tools and techniques help summarize and utilize these biodiversity datasets. Species distribution modeling (SDM) is one such tool that is increasingly used in many disciplines, including applied fields of systematic conservation planning, climate change studies, disease ecology (Sarkar et al. 2010, Peterson et al. 2008, Gonzales et al. 2010, Moffett et al. 2007), and invasive species research.
Our publication (Labay et al. 2011) demonstrates a probabilistic approach to fill gaps in existing collection data as a means to establish historical baseline conditions. The number of publications on SDM’s utility in the field of conservation have increased recently, and include applications towards invasive plant spread (Merow et al. 2011), mammalian conservation (Lopez-Arevalo et al. 2011), fish species conservation (Sindt et al. 2011), conservation planning protocols (Lawler et al. 2011; Carvalho et al. 2011), forest management (Falk & Mellert 2011), and species or system response to climate change (Graham et al. 2011; Falk & Mellert 2011). We are encouraged by the continued growth and utility of this tool for use in conservation, and have intentions of continuing research with these models to further our understanding about stream fishes in Texas.