Smoothing and the environmental manifold

Kumar, Siddharth Unnithan; Maini, Philip K.; Chiaverini, Luca; Hearn, Andrew J.; Macdonald, David W.; Kaszta, Żaneta; Cushman, Samuel A.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101472

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…The density and distribution of source points can significantly impact the predictions of connectivity analysis, often to a greater extent than the influence of variation in resistance surfaces themselves (Cushman et al, 2013a;Ash et al, 2020). To simulate source points realistically and consistently for connectivity analysis, we used the probabilistic spatial sampling approach (e.g., Cushman et al, 2017;Chiaverini et al, 2022;Unnithan Kumar et al, 2021), which samples locations probabilistically with the chance of being selected as a source point equal to the value of the habitat suitability probability raster. For expert-opinion resistance models, which do not have a corresponding probability raster, an analogous raster was produced by inverting and rescaling the expert-opinion resistance layer between 0 and 1.…”

Section: Source Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seventy-two models of large mammal connectivity across Panama: insights into a critical biogeographic linkage zone

Cushman,

Craighead,

Yacelga

et al. 2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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AimThe goal of this study was to evaluate consistency among multiple connectivity models for jaguar and puma across Panama to evaluate the plausible current patterns of habitat connectivity for these and potentially other species in this critical biogeographic linkage zone.ApproachWe compared 72 different models of landscape connectivity for both large felids using both empirically based and expert opinion derived resistance layers. We conducted resistant kernel modeling with different dispersal abilities to reflect uncertainty in the movement potential of the two species. We applied three transformations to the resulting connectivity surfaces to account for uncertainty about the shape of the dispersal kernel function. We then evaluated the similarities and differences among these connectivity models, identifying several factors that drive their differences. We quantified the factors that drive differences in connectivity predictions using surface correlation, Mantel testing, and agglomerative hierarchical clustering.ResultsWe found that the main differences among predicted connectivity surfaces were related to species and resistance modeling approach, with relatively little consistent difference related to dispersal ability and nonlinear kernel transformation. Based on the ensemble connectivity prediction across the 72 models, we identified two major core areas, corresponding to the eastern and western portions of the central mountain range, significant attenuation of connectivity in lowland and developed areas of Panama, a major breakage in connectivity in the Canal Zone spanning the width of the country, and weak but potentially critical movement routes connecting the two core areas across the Canal Zone.ImplicationsThis paper contributes to both a theoretical and practical understanding of the functional connectivity of large felids, confirming the strong effect of differences in source points and resistance surfaces on connectivity predictions and identifying and mapping key core areas, barriers, and potential corridors for carnivore movement across the critical Pan-American linkage of the Isthmus of Panama.

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Section: Source Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seventy-two models of large mammal connectivity across Panama: insights into a critical biogeographic linkage zone

Cushman,

Craighead,

Yacelga

et al. 2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

Self Cite

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“…This provides a tremendous opportunity for interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration to explore and identify new objectives and parameters for connectivity modelling [77]. As discussed in the concluding paragraph of [78], we can better honour the richness and wonder of this living, breathing, more-than-human world by opening to a multiplicity of ways to understand its creative and generative processes [1,[79][80][81].…”

Section: Limitations Further Developments and The Wider Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathwalker: A New Individual-Based Movement Model for Conservation Science and Connectivity Modelling

Kumar

Kaszta

Cushman

2022

IJGI

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Understanding organism movement is at the heart of many ecological disciplines. The study of landscape connectivity—the extent to which a landscape facilitates organism movement—has grown to become a central focus of spatial ecology and conservation science. Several computational algorithms have been developed to model connectivity; however, the major models in use today are limited by their lack of flexibility and simplistic assumptions of movement behaviour. In this paper, we introduce a new spatially-explicit, individual- and process-based model called Pathwalker, which simulates organism movement and connectivity through heterogeneous landscapes as a function of landscape resistance, the energetic cost of movement, mortality risk, autocorrelation, and directional bias towards a destination, all at multiple spatial scales. We describe the model’s structure and parameters and present statistical evaluations to demonstrate the influence of these parameters on the resulting movement patterns. Written in Python 3, Pathwalker works for any version of Python 3 and is freely available to download online. Pathwalker models movement and connectivity with greater flexibility compared with the dominant connectivity algorithms currently available in conservation science, thereby, enabling more detailed predictions for conservation practice and management. Moreover, Pathwalker provides a highly capable simulation framework for exploring theoretical and methodological questions that cannot be addressed with empirical data alone.

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Machine learning in landscape ecological analysis: a review of recent approaches

et al. 2021

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Smoothing and the environmental manifold

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

Seventy-two models of large mammal connectivity across Panama: insights into a critical biogeographic linkage zone

Seventy-two models of large mammal connectivity across Panama: insights into a critical biogeographic linkage zone

Pathwalker: A New Individual-Based Movement Model for Conservation Science and Connectivity Modelling

Machine learning in landscape ecological analysis: a review of recent approaches

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