Evaluating temporal and spatial generality: How valid are species–habitat relationship models?

B. Strauss and R. Biedermann

Ecological Modelling, 2007, vol. 204, issue 1, 104-114

Abstract: Prior to making general inferences or predictions from habitat models, their generalizability requires thorough assessment. However, systematic testing of model generality is often claimed, but rarely done. We used existing models for phytophagous insects (grasshoppers and leafhoppers) from a study on urban brownfields. Data for model building had been collected in two major cities of Northern Germany, Berlin and Bremen. We transferred these models to test data from another year (Bremen, 30 model transfers), and to test data from different geographic regions (transfer from Berlin to Bremen and vice versa, 30 model transfers). We evaluated discriminatory ability as well as model calibration for the test data. Most transfers (28 in time, 27 in space) were successful, i.e. occupied sites within the test data were assigned higher occurrence probabilities than unoccupied sites, the threshold independent c-index for the test data exceeded chance. Our results indicated that models built on the larger dataset (147 plots, Bremen) were more general than the ones basing on the smaller dataset (89 plots, Berlin).

Keywords: Habitat model; Model transfer; Model discrimination; Model calibration; Classification threshold; Leafhoppers; Grasshoppers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:204:y:2007:i:1:p:104-114

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.12.027

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