Comparing maximum entropy modelling methods to inform aquaculture site selection for novel seaweed species

Qureshi

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Reintroduction of endangered species is an effective and increasingly important conservation strategy once threats have been addressed. The greater one-horned rhinoceros and swamp buffalo have declined through historic hunting and habitat loss. We identify and evaluate available habitat across their historic range (India, Nepal, and Bhutan) for reintroducing viable populations. We used Species Distribution Models in Maxent to identify potential habitats and evaluated model-identified sites through field visits, interviews of wildlife managers, literature, and population-habitat viability analysis. We prioritize sites based on size, quality, protection, management effectiveness, biotic pressures, and potential of conflict with communities. Our results suggest that populations greater than 50 for rhinoceros and 100 for buffalo were less susceptible to extinction, and could withstand some poaching, especially if supplemented or managed as a metapopulation. We note some reluctance by managers to reintroduce rhinoceros due to high costs associated with subsequent protection. Our analysis subsequently prioritised Corbett and Valmiki, for rhino reintroduction and transboundary complexes of Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki and Dudhwa-Pilibhit-Shuklaphanta-Bardia for buffalo reintroductions. Establishing new safety-nets and supplementing existing populations of these megaherbivores would ensure their continued survival and harness their beneficial effect on ecosystems and conspecifics like pygmy hog, hispid hare, swamp deer, hog deer, and Bengal florican.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of reintroducing grassland megaherbivores, the greater one-horned rhinoceros, and swamp buffalo within their historic global range

Qureshi

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

“…SDMs can be reliable tools for selecting potential offshore aquaculture areas (Beard et al 2020 ; Falconer et al 2016 ). Previous studies have confirmed that SDMs were useful for identifying suitable aquaculture sites for farming Manila clam ( Ruditapes philippinarum ) (Dong et al 2020 ) and for identifying the suitable locations for seaweeds aquaculture in the Spencer Gulf, South Australia (Wiltshire and Tanner 2020 ). In the present study, the high values of the areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the true skill statistic (TSS) suggest that the SDMs have a good predictive capacity for selecting suitable aquaculture areas for the cold-water fish S. salar and O. mykiss .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Mapping the potential for offshore aquaculture of salmonids in the Yellow Sea

Dong

Zhang

et al. 2022

Mar Life Sci Technol

Mariculture has been one of the fastest-growing global food production sectors over the past three decades. With the congestion of space and deterioration of the environment in coastal regions, offshore aquaculture has gained increasing attention. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are two important aquaculture species and contribute to 6.1% of world aquaculture production of finfish. In the present study, we established species distribution models (SDMs) to identify the potential areas for offshore aquaculture of these two cold-water fish species considering the mesoscale spatio-temporal thermal heterogeneity of the Yellow Sea. The values of the area under the curve (AUC) and the true skill statistic (TSS) showed good model performance. The suitability index (SI), which was used in this study to quantitatively assess potential offshore aquaculture sites, was highly dynamic at the surface water layer. However, high SI values occurred throughout the year at deeper water layers. The potential aquaculture areas for S. salar and O. mykiss in the Yellow Sea were estimated as 52,270 ± 3275 (95% confidence interval, CI) and 146,831 ± 15,023 km2, respectively. Our results highlighted the use of SDMs in identifying potential aquaculture areas based on environmental variables. Considering the thermal heterogeneity of the environment, this study suggested that offshore aquaculture for Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout was feasible in the Yellow Sea by adopting new technologies (e.g., sinking cages into deep water) to avoid damage from high temperatures in summer.

Transbounding Emerging Dis

“…Among final models selected and based on the principle of parsimony (Vollering et al., 2019; Wiltshire & Tanner, 2020), we prioritized the models presenting the simplest features and the least number of variables and used its parameter settings to create final models. We ran 30 bootstrap replicates (with no clamping or extrapolation, extrapolation and clamping and extrapolation) and retained a random partition of 50% of the points from each run.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among final models selected and based on the principle of parsimony (Vollering et al, 2019;Wiltshire & Tanner, 2020), we prioritized the models presenting the simplest features and the least number of variables and used its parameter settings to create final models. We…”

Section: Niche Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

West Nile virus in Spain: Forecasting the geographical distribution of risky areas with an ecological niche modelling approach

Cuervo

Artigas

Mas‐Coma

et al. 2021

West Nile virus (WNV), a well-known emerging vector-borne arbovirus with a zoonotic life cycle, represents a threat to both public and animal health. Transmitted by ornithophilic mosquitoes, its transmission is difficult to predict and even more difficult to prevent. The massive and unprecedented number of human cases and equid outbreaks in Spain during 2020 interpellates for new approaches. For the first time, we present an integrate analysis from a niche perspective to provide an insight to the situation of West Nile disease (WND) in Spain. Our modelling approach benefits from the combined use of global occurrence records of outbreaks of WND in equids and of its two alleged main vectors in Spain, Culex pipiens and Cx. perexiguus. Maps of the climatic suitability for the presence of the two vectors species and for the circulation of WNV are provided. The main outcome of our study is a map delineating the areas under certain climatic risk of transmission. Our analyses indicate that the climatic risk of transmission of WND is medium in areas nearby the south Atlantic coastal area of the Cadiz Gulf and the Mediterranean coast, and high in southwestern Spain. The higher risk of transmission in the basins of the rivers Guadiana and Guadalquivir cannot be attributed exclusively to the local abundance of Cx. pipiens, but could be ascribed to the presence and abundance of Cx. perexiguus. Furthermore, this integrated analysis suggests that the WNV presents an ecological niche of its own, not fully overlapping the ones of its hosts or vector, and thus requiring particular environmental conditions to succeed in its infection cycle.