W10: L33 = Spatial Ecology [Species Distributions] (Dr. Jolene)

Question 1

Main datasets used for a conservation assessment/plan? (4)

Answer 1

• Museum/Herbarium data.
• Survey atlas data.
• Expert atlas data.
• Field data.

Question 2

Museum/Herbarium data?

Answer 2

= houses type specimens (ad-hoc).

Question 3

Eg of Museu/Herbarium data?

Answer 3

Precis.

Question 4

Survey atlas data attributes? (3)

Answer 4

• Looks at 1 taxon.
• Has presence, absence & unknown data.
• Good.

Question 5

Eg of Survey atlas data?

Answer 5

Protea atlas.

Question 6

Expert atlas data attributes? (3)

Answer 6

• Compiled by experts in the field.
• Not transparent as it’s based on expert knowledge.
• Uncertain whether it’s presence, absence or unknown data.

Question 7

Eg of Expert atlas data?

Answer 7

Birds of Africa.

Question 8

Field data attributes? (2)

Answer 8

• Point localities.
• Ad-hoc as it depends on where people choose to sample data.

Question 9

Egs of Field data? (2)

Answer 9

• ForestPlots.
• SEOSAW.

Question 10

Questions to ask when dealing with datasets? (4)

Answer 10

• Are you dealing with presence/absence data?
• How accurate is the georeference accuracy (eg, GPS/QDS)?
• Taxonomy affects numbers (especially in museum/herbarium data).
• Taxonomic updates of older museum data.

Question 11

Which types of datasets use both presence/absence data? (3)

Answer 11

• Survey atlas data.
• Expert atlas data.
• Field data.

Question 12

Which types of datasets use presence data only? (2)

Answer 12

• Museum data.
• Herbarium data.

Question 13

What is a biodiversity atlas?

Answer 13

= dataset that is useful in conservation planning.

Question 14

Usefulness of biodiversity atlas? (3)

Answer 14

• Cover an extensive area (country/region).
• Contain lists for every species (maps).
• Provide presence, absence & abundance data for species.

Question 15

Egs of Biodiversity atlas? (2)

Answer 15

• Southern African Reptile atlas (virtual atlas).
• SABAP2 (finer resolution).

Question 16

SABAP stands for?

Answer 16

South African Bird Atlas Project

Question 17

How to improve atlas data? (5)

Answer 17

• Dealing with bias: spatial, temporal & taxonomic.
• Spatial resolution.
• Abundance & absence.
• Quantify sampling efforts.
• Improving data quality (species identification).

Question 18

Frog atlas attributes? (4)

Answer 18

• Is an eg of the exploration of the limits of the usefulness of ad-hoc data.
• More records in eastern parts of counting than northern parts (high species richness in eastern parts).
• Unpacks the bias in observed & expected number of records for frog atlas data (as more counting numbers in cities than the bush as more people are more willing to record species numbers in cities than in the bushes).
• Unless we know how well an area has been sampled, we are unsure of how species distribution & species richness change over time.

Question 19

What’s the challenge in a climate change context?

Answer 19

We need to show with a known degree of certainty that:

• A particular species occurs in an area of interest.
• Its distribution has changed over time.
• The change is due to climate.