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Landscape scale species distribution modeling across the Guiana Shield to inform conservation decision making in Guyana

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Abstract

Species distribution modeling using museum and herbarium collections has been greatly facilitated by analytical algorithms such as MaxEnt. The ability to use herbarium and museum collections to inform conservation decision-making can greatly enhance conservation efforts in biodiversity rich countries when human capacity and in-country data are limited. Guyana is used as a case study for landscape scale biodiversity assessment under such constraints. I compiled specimen records for seven taxon-groups (invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, ferns and non-seed plants, and seed plants), across the Guiana Shield, South America, to assess landscape scale biodiversity richness. Collector and taxonomic bias were addressed a priori in MaxEnt by generating a bias surface layer to down-weight areas of high collection intensity by smoothing the sampling distribution. I summed modeled output for each taxon-group to generate taxon-group specific floral, faunal, and all-taxa biodiversity density surfaces. These surfaces were used to (1) identify areas of relative high biodiversity density; (2) assess possible conservation areas; and (3) compare modeled areas of conservation interest with those proposed by the Government of Guyana. In addition, I compared proposed conservation sites with the location of indigenous (Amerindian) and non-indigenous settlements, and lands used for natural resource extraction. I present three conservation scenarios based on the all-taxa biodiversity surface: (i) biodiversity-only, (ii) biodiversity and available lands; and (iii) collaboration with indigenous peoples. The conservation assessment used here provides an objective basis for selecting conservation sites. Model output can also be used to focus biodiversity assessments on poorly modeled and sampled locations.

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Acknowledgements

The author is appreciative of the efforts of John Silander Jr. and Robert Colwell, University of Connecticut, for their suggestions on the dissertation chapter this manuscript is based on. The author is appreciative of comments provided by A. Wilson, J. Allen, and J.A. Silander on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Cory Merow and Adam Wilson, also of the University of Connecticut, were instrumental in the development of the bias surface and methodology for summing the modeling surfaces. I wish to acknowledge all the institutions that generously provided data: American Museum of Natural AMNH (AMNH); Centre for the Study of Biological Diversity (CSBD); Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Fairchild); Missouri Botanical Gardens (MOBOT); National Museum of Natural History (NMNH); Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center (UK); New York Botanical Gardens (NYBG); Royal Botanical Gardens (KEW); Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Special thanks are extended to the staff of the New York Botanical Gardens for their assistance in extracting data from the specimens. L. Herity, P.C. Makarewicz, and M. Oricchio, provided invaluable assistance in data extraction. GIS layers for Guyana were provided by D. Kowlessar, Guyana Forestry Commission, D. Singh, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, N. Nasir, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, R. Bollers, Iwokrama International Rain Forest, and C. Bernard, Conservation International-Guyana. Access to GIS information on indigenous people was provided with the assistance of I. Ramdass, Guyana Environmental Protection Agency. Assistance with GIS data compatibility was provided by University of Connecticut, Natural Resources and Environment Department, Leris Lab, specifically D. Civco and J. Parent. The author wishes to thank the external reviews who commented on this manuscript.

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  1. Tsitsi Y. McPherson

    Present address: State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta), 122E Science 1, Oneonta, NY, 13820, USA

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  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville U-3043, Storrs-Mansfield, CT, 06269, USA

    Tsitsi Y. McPherson

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McPherson, T.Y. Landscape scale species distribution modeling across the Guiana Shield to inform conservation decision making in Guyana. Biodivers Conserv 23, 1931–1948 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0696-4

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