Open-File Report 2014-1134
AbstractMany utility scale renewable energy projects are currently proposed across the Mojave Ecoregion. Agencies that manage biological resources throughout this region need to understand the potential impacts of these renewable energy projects and their associated infrastructure (for example, transmission corridors, substations, access roads, etc.) on species movement, genetic exchange among populations, and species’ abilities to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Understanding these factors will help managers’ select appropriate project sites and possibly mitigate for anticipated effects of management activities. We used species distribution models to map habitat for 15 species across the Mojave Ecoregion to aid regional land-use management planning. Models were developed using a common 1 × 1 kilometer resolution with maximum entropy and generalized additive models. Occurrence data were compiled from multiple sources, including VertNet (http://vertnet.org/), HerpNET (http://www.herpnet.org), and MaNIS (http://manisnet.org), as well as from internal U.S. Geological Survey databases and other biologists. Background data included 20 environmental covariates representing terrain, vegetation, and climate covariates. This report summarizes these environmental covariates and species distribution models used to predict habitat for the 15 species across the Mojave Ecoregion. |
First posted July 14, 2014 For additional information, contact: Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). For best results viewing and printing PDF documents, it is recommended that you download the documents to your computer and open them with Adobe Reader. PDF documents opened from your browser may not display or print as intended. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. More information about viewing, downloading, and printing report files can be found here. |
Inman, R.D., Nussear, K.E., Esque, T.C., Vandergast, A.G., Hathaway, S.A., Wood, D.A., Barr, K.R., and Fisher, R.N, 2014, Mapping habitat for multiple species in the Desert Southwest: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014-1134, 92 p., https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141134.
ISSN 2331-1258 (online)
Abstract
Introduction
Habitat Suitability Modeling
Results
Discussion
References Cited