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Insights from Ecological Theory on Temporal Dynamics and Species Distribution Modeling

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Predictive Species and Habitat Modeling in Landscape Ecology

Abstract

Understanding species distributions in space and time is essential to ecology, ­evolution, and conservation biology. There is a growing need for robust habitat models that can adequately predict species distributions across broad spatial scales (Guisan and Thuiller 2005). An invaluable tool for conservation biologists (Norris 2004), species distribution models can be used to evaluate potential management actions, interpret the potential effects of climate change, and maximize biodiversity with reserve selection algorithms (Guisan and Thuiller 2005, see also Chap. 14). Yet the usefulness of such models is limited by a number of factors (Guisan and Thuiller 2005; Araújo and Guisan 2006), including poor incorporation of ecological theory in modeling approaches (Austin 2002; Huston 2002; Guisan et al. 2006). This is unfortunate because many theories in ecology can help guide the model building process, which may not only improve model predictions but may also provide greater inference regarding habitat quality in heterogeneous landscapes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, grant #2006-55101-17158. The landbird database was created through support from USFS Northern Region (03-CR-11015600-019). We thank two anonymous reviewers who provided valuable comments on a previous version of this manuscript, which improved the ideas presented here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 110430, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Robert J. Fletcher Jr.

Authors
  1. Robert J. Fletcher Jr.
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  2. Jock S. Young
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  3. Richard L. Hutto
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  4. Anna Noson
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  5. Christopher T. Rota
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert J. Fletcher Jr. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Zoology, Biodiversity & Spatial Information Ctr., North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 27695, North Carolina, USA

    C. Ashton Drew

  2. Dept. Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, A1B 3X9, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

    Yolanda F. Wiersma

  3. Inst. Arctic Biology, Dept. Biology & Wildlife, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 99775, Alaska, USA

    Falk Huettmann

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Fletcher, R.J., Young, J.S., Hutto, R.L., Noson, A., Rota, C.T. (2011). Insights from Ecological Theory on Temporal Dynamics and Species Distribution Modeling. In: Drew, C., Wiersma, Y., Huettmann, F. (eds) Predictive Species and Habitat Modeling in Landscape Ecology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7390-0_6

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