Pasar al contenido principal

page search

Biblioteca Species Distribution Models of Freshwater Stream Fishes in Maryland and Their Implications for Management

Species Distribution Models of Freshwater Stream Fishes in Maryland and Their Implications for Management

Species Distribution Models of Freshwater Stream Fishes in Maryland and Their Implications for Management

Resource information

Date of publication
Diciembre 2013
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
AGRIS:US201400155987
Pages
1-12

Species distribution models (SDMs) are often used in conservation planning, but their utility can be improved by assessing the relationships between environmental and species response variables. We constructed SDMs for 30 stream fishes of Maryland, USA, using watershed attributes as environmental variables and presence/absence as species responses. SDMs showed substantial agreement between observed and predicted values for 17 species. Most important variables were natural attributes (e.g., ecoregion, watershed area, latitude/longitude); land cover (e.g., %impervious, %row crop) was important for three species. Focused analyses on four representative species (central stoneroller, creek chub, largemouth bass, and white sucker) showed the probability of presence of each species increased non-linearly with watershed area. For these species, SDMs built to predict absent, low, and high densities were similar to presence/absence predictions but provided probable locations of high densities (e.g., probability of high-density creek chub decreased rapidly with watershed area). We applied SDMs to predict suitability of watersheds within the study area for each species. Maps of suitability and the environmental and species response relationships can help develop better management plans.

Share on RLBI navigator
NO

Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Maloney, Kelly O.
Weller, Donald E.
Michaelson, Daniel E.
Ciccotto, Patrick J.

Publisher(s)
Data Provider
Geographical focus