Statistical approaches for inferring the spatial distribution of taxa (Species Distribution Models, SDMs) commonly rely on available occurrence data, which is often clumped and geographically restricted. Although available SDM methods address some of these factors, they could be more directly and accurately modelled using a spatially-explicit approach. Software to fit models with spatial autoco...

Recent literature reviews of bioassessment methods raise questions about use of least-impacted reference sites to characterize natural conditions that no longer exist within contemporary landscapes. We explore an alternate approach for bioassessment that uses species site occupancy data from museum archives as input for species distribution models (SDMs) stacked to predict species assemblages o...

Various hypotheses have been proposed about the Quaternary evolutionary history of plant species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), yet only a handful of studies have considered both population genetics and ecological niche context. In this study, we proposed and compared climate refugia hypotheses based on the phylogeographic pattern of Anisodus tanguticus (three plastid DNA fragments and nuc...

Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly used to project the potential distribution of introduced species outside their native range. Such studies rarely explicitly evaluate potential conflicts with native species should the range of introduced species expand. Two snake species native to eastern North America, Nerodia fasciata and Nerodia sipedon, have been introduced to California w...

Aim We used newly identified fossil specimens to reconstruct the Quaternary distributions of five Microtus species (Rodentia: Arvicolinae) from the Pacific coast of the United States. We used these distributions to test the hypothesis that when projected onto past, alternative climate surfaces, species distribution models (SDMs) created using only climate variables are concordant with the empir...

Species distribution models (SDMs) relate species information to environmental conditions predict potential distributions. The majority of SDMs are static, relating presence long-term average conditions. resulting temporal mismatch between and can increase model inference’s uncertainty. For capture the dynamic species-environment relationships near-real-time habitat suitability, needs be spatio...

20 Species distribution models (SDMs) offer an effective tool for identifying species 21 conservation requirements and forecasting how global environmental changes will affect 22 species diversity and distribution. This approach is particularly relevant for bats because their 23 nocturnal behaviour hinders detectability and identification in flight. Despite their important 24 contribution to gl...

Aim Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are correlative models that predict the occurrence or abundance of species in relation to predictor variables. SDMs have become an important part resource management and conservation biology yet they rarely incorporate species’ demography into their predictions. To explore possible influence biotic relationships explaining patterns distribution, explanator...

For a species to be able to respond to environmental change, it must either succeed in following its optimal environmental conditions or in persisting under suboptimal conditions, but we know very little about what controls these capacities. We parameterized species distribution models (SDMs) for 135 plant species from the Algerian steppes. We interpreted low false-positive rates as reflecting ...

In tropical waters resources are usually scarce and patchy, and predatory species generally show specific adaptations for foraging. Tropical seabirds often forage in association with sub-surface predators that create feeding opportunities by bringing prey close to the surface, and the birds often aggregate in large multispecific flocks. Here we hypothesize that frigatebirds, a tropical seabird ...