Most projects in Landscape Ecology, at some point, define a species-habitat association. These models are inherently spatial, dealing with landscapes and their configurations. Whether coding behavioral rules for dispersal of simulated organisms through simulated landscapes, or designing the sampling extent of field surveys and experiments in real landscapes, landscape ecologists must make assumptions about how organisms experience and utilize the landscape. These convenient working postulates allow modelers to project the model in time and space, yet rarely are they explicitly considered. The early years of landscape ecology necessarily focused on the evolution of effective data sources, metrics, and statistical approaches that could truly capture the spatial and temporal patterns and processes of interest. Now that these tools are well established, we reflect on the ecological theories that underpin the assumptions commonly made during species distribution modeling and mapping. This is crucial for applying models to questions of global sustainability.
EAN/ISBN : 9781441973900
Publisher(s): Springer, Berlin, Springer Science & Business Media
Discussed keywords: Geoinformationssystem, Geoökologie, Landschaftsökologie
Format: ePub/PDF

Author(s): Drew, C. Ashton - Wiersma, Yolanda F. - Huettmann, Falk