Using hierarchical spatial models to assess the occurrence of an island endemism: the case of Salamandra corsica
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2020-06-17T08:40:22Z
dc.date.available
2020-06-17T08:40:22Z
dc.date.issued
2019-05-17
dc.identifier.issn
2192-1709
dc.identifier.uri
dc.description.abstract
Background: Island species are vulnerable to rapid extinction, so it is important to develop accurate methods to
determine their occurrence and habitat preferences. In this study, we assessed two methods for modeling the
occurrence of the Corsican endemic Salamandra corsica, based on macro-ecological and fine habitat descriptors.
We expected that models based on habitat descriptors would better estimate S. corsica occurrence, because its
distribution could be influenced by micro-environmental gradients. The occurrence of S. corsica was modeled
according to two ensembles of variables using random forests.
Results: Salamandra corsica was mainly found in forested habitats, with a complex vertical structure. These
habitats are associated with more stable environmental conditions. The model based on fine habitat descriptors
was better able to predict occurrence, and gave no false negatives. The model based on macro-ecological
variables underestimated the occurrence of the species on its ecological boundary, which is important as such
locations may facilitate interpopulation connectivity.
Conclusions: Implementing fine spatial resolution models requires greater investment of resources, but this is
advisable for study of microendemic species, where it is important to reduce type II error (false negatives)
dc.format.mimetype
application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
Springer
dc.relation.isformatof
Reproducció digital del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-019-0169-5
dc.relation.ispartof
Ecological Processes, 2019, vol. 8, art. núm. 15
dc.relation.ispartofseries
Articles publicats (IEA)
dc.rights
Attribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.uri
dc.title
Using hierarchical spatial models to assess the occurrence of an island endemism: the case of Salamandra corsica
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.type.peerreviewed
peer-reviewed