Integrating occupancy models and structural equation models to understand species occurrence.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the drivers of species occrrece s a fundamenal goal in basic and applied ecology. Occupancy models have emerged as a popular approach for inferring species occurrence because they account for problems associated with imperfect detection in field surveys. Current models, however, are limited because they assume covariates are independent (i.e., indirect effects do not occur). Here, we combined structural equation and occupancy models to investigate complex influences on species occurrence while accounting for imperfect detection. These two methods are inherently compatible because they both provide means to make inference on latent or unobserved quantities based on observed data. Our models evaluated the direct and indirect roles of cattle grazing, water chemistry, vegetation,

SUBMITTER: Joseph MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4877056 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature