Integrating Multiple Distribution Models to Guide Conservation Efforts of an Endangered Toad.

ABSTRACT: Species distribution models are used for numerous purposes such as predicting changes in species' ranges and identifying biodiversity hotspots. Although implications of distribution models for conservation are often implicit, few studies use these tools explicitly to inform conservation efforts. Herein, we illustrate how multiple distribution models developed using distinct sets of environmental variables can be integrated to aid in identification sites for use in conservation. We focus on the endangered arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus), which relies on open, sandy streams and surrounding floodplains in southern California, USA, and northern Baja California, Mexico. Declines of the species are largely attributed to habitat degradation associated with vegetation encroachment, invasive pr

SUBMITTER: Treglia ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4488373 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature