Landscape Capability for Representative Species
Go to the Product(s)
Terrestrial representative species Landscape Capability Data can be accessed either via the Conservation Planning Atlas or the North Atlantic LCC Spatial Data pages. Scroll down for a complete list of the representative species modeled for this project.
- View the Representative Species Map on the Conservation Planning Atlas
- Review all completed datasets in the Designing Sustainable Landscapes gallery on the Conservation Planning Atlas
- Expanded technical abstracts describing the methodology used in each model is available from University of Massachusetts Designing Sustainable Landscapes webpage
| Representative Species | ||
|---|---|---|
| American Black Duck (breeding) | Cerulean warbler | Red-shouldered hawk |
| American Black Duck (nonbreeding) | Common loon | Ruffed grouse |
| American oystercatcher | Diamondback terrapin | Saltmarsh sparrow |
| American woodcock | Eastern meadowlark | Sanderling |
| Bicknell's thrush | Louisiana waterthrush | Snowshoe hare |
| Black bear | Marsh wren | Snowy egret |
| Blackburnian warbler | Moose | Virginia rail |
| Blackpoll warbler | Northern waterthrush | Wood duck |
| Box turtle | Ovenbird | Wood thrush |
| Brown-headed nuthatch | Prairie warbler | Wood turtle |
Additional Resources
More information and detailed documentation for the Designing Sustainable Landscapes project, which includes many additional datasets besides the species datasets, is available at: http://www.umass.edu/landeco/research/dsl/dsl.html.
Detailed documentation on the development of all of the species datasets, including this Northeast Landscape Capability Dataset, are available at: http://www.umass.edu/landeco/research/dsl/documents/dsl_documents.html. The documentation includes a list of all the species for which models have been or are being developed and discusses limitations and constraints for using the datasets.
The 30 species modeled for this project are a subset of a separate effort initiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region's Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC) team to identify representative species for the entire North Atlantic region. You can find detailed information about the selection process for this effort at: https://www.fws.gov/northeast/science/representativespecies.html
Technical description
Landscape capability integrates factors influencing climate suitability, habitat capability, and other biogeographic factors affecting the species’ prevalence in the area. All locations are scored on a scale from 0 to 1, with a value of 0 indicating no capacity to support the species and 1 indicating optimal conditions for the species (not all species values reach 1).
Each species dataset is one of a larger set of results developed by the Designing Sustainable Landscapes project led by Professor Kevin McGarigal of UMass Amherst. The species datasets developed under the project include the following:
- Landscape capability datasets for a set of species intended to represent a broader set of wildlife species, and associated ecosystems, that collectively encompass a majority of the terrestrial, wetland, and coastal ecosystems of the Northeast. For each species, the datasets include projections of future landscape capability, taking into account several scenarios of possible future development, climate, and forest change, for the year 2080.
- Datasets for each species that compare 2010 results to future scenarios for 2080. These include areas where the species could most likely be expected to persist, areas where it might be able colonize with future climate change, and areas where the species might experience a loss of suitable habitat.
The 2010 Northeast Landscape Capability Dataset for this species represents the integration of three models:
- A habitat capability model developed using a spatially explicit, GIS-based wildlife habitat modeling framework called “HABIT@” developed by the Landscape Ecology Lab of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
- A climate niche model based on an analysis of the climate conditions (circa 2010) that are most suitable for the species in eastern North America.
- A prevalence model intended to capture biogeographic factors influencing the distribution of a species that are not reflected in the habitat capability or climate niche models.
Project Contact(s):
Kevin McGarigal, Director of the Landscape Ecology Lab, University of Massachusetts Amherst
LCC Staff Contact(s):
Scott Schwenk, North Atlantic LCC Science Coordinator
Renee Farnsworth, North Atlantic LCC GIS Specialist
PROJECT PAGE:
| Resource Type: | Amphibians, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles |
|---|---|
| Conservation Targets: | Terrestrial and non-tidal wetland |
| Conservation Framework: | Biological Planning |
| Conservation Action: | Site/area protection, Site/area management, Habitat and natural process restoration, Species management, Species recovery |
