Zooming In: Assessing the Transferability of SDMs From Large to Small Spatial Extents.

ABSTRACT: Species Distribution Models (SDMs) represent a common method for predicting biodiversity responses to environmental changes. SDMs are typically established for and applied to large areas, while little is known about the transferability of large-scale SDMs to smaller spatial extents. This study aims to fill this gap by fitting country-level ensemble SDMs for the seven native reptile species occurring in the Netherlands, and testing their predictive ability against independent occurrence data in 10 municipalities. For each of the species, we trained an ensemble SDM using bioclimatic variables, land cover fractions and soil type as predictors. We then evaluated model performance in 10 municipalities that were not included in model training. Despite performing well at national extent, with a m

SUBMITTER: Seuren JRG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12696477 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature