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Habitat Suitability Modeling
This document describes a computer mapping tool that can be used to assess, predict and map species and habitat distributions: HSM (Habitat Suitability Modeling). This custom extension to ArcView Spatial Analyst was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and will be available in the spring of 1999 on CD-ROM.
Introduction
Which bottom-dwelling species are found in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina?
What is the best time of year to dredge a channel while minimizing the
impact on a species? Which areas of Pensacola Bay, Florida are most suitable
for oysters, and what may happen if the supply of fresh water is reduced
by 50 percent? These are the kinds of questions that can be addressed
by HSM - Habitat Suitability Modeling.
Background
HSM was developed by the NOAA's Biogeography Program staff and the ESRI,
who have been working to: 1) develop techniques for rapid assessment of
coastal resources, and to 2) identify suitable habitat areas for coastal
species. Since NOAA is mandated to manage many coastal and ocean species
(invertebrates, fishes, marine reptiles and mammals) and to identify essential
habitat for fishery species, the ability to develop species and habitat
distribution maps is of great importance. HSM can also be useful for other
public and private institutions, which spend millions of dollars each
year to obtain or develop similar resource assessments. HSM was developed
to support NOAA mandates and related requirements.
HSM - Habitat Suitability Modeling
Habitat suitability modeling is a map development technique used to estimate
the habitat suitability of an area for a species. HSM uses theoretical
or empirical models to produce maps of habitat suitability for selected
fish and invertebrate species, or to predict the effects of environmental
change. HSM is a custom extension of ESRI's ArcView GIS Spatial Analyst.
How HSM Works
HSM generates habitat suitability maps for a species based on the species'
habitat requirements and the areas' environmental characteristics. The
user supplies environmental data layers and habitat suitability ratings
for each environmental type, based on the species' habitat affinities.
HSM allows the user to employ standard or custom algorithms to combine
the suitability ratings assigned to each environmental data layer to calculate
the overall habitat suitability for the area of interest. HSM then generates
maps of these habitat suitability calculations. To validate the model,
the user can overlay actual survey or field data (e.g., fishery trawl
survey data) and develop maps showing both the modeled and actual fish
distributions (see Figure 3). HSM also contains a validation step whereby
model results are compared to observed distribution and abundance data
to generate a nonparametric test of agreement.
Figure 3. HSM provides a tool for estimating the habitat suitability of an area, and is especially useful in modeling changes to habitat due to environmental impacts or changes.
Habitat suitability analysis has many applications and is commonly used to analyze the suitability of areas for terrestrial wildlife species. Resource managers can use HSM to assess the effects of planned changes to an area (e.g., Which estuarine species would be affected if fresh water were diverted from a river?). The habitat suitability analysis approach can also be applied to evaluate the suitability of an area for competing land uses, such as different zoning plans.
System Requirements
HSM requires ArcView, Spatial Analyst and a Windows NT computer. To implement
HSM beyond the prototype areas requires spatial and attribute data sets
for the new areas.
For more information on HSM or NOAA's other habitat and biogeography projects, contact Tracy Gill (tel.: 301-713-3000, ext 180; e-mail: tracy.gill@noaa.gov) or Mark Monaco, Chief, NOAA's Biogeography Program (tel.: 301-713-3000, ext.189; e-mail: mark.monaco@noaa.gov), or visit NOAA's Biogeography Program Web site at http://biogeo.nos.noaa.gov/.
ArcViewTM and Spatial AnalystTM software are the intellectual property of ESRI and is provided under license agreement. Copyright © 1995 ESRI. All rights reserved.
WindowsTM and AccessTM are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation.
CORA and HSM: Coastal GIS Tools
March 1999
