Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution Models
ABSTRACT Effective biodiversity conservation requires knowledge of species' distributions across large areas, yet prevalence data for marine sessile species is scarce, with traditional variables often unavailable at appropriate temporal and spatial resolutions. As marine organism distributions...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71292 |
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| author | Annie S. Guillaume Renata Ferrari Oliver Selmoni Véronique J. L. Mocellin Hugo Denis Melissa Naugle Emily Howells Line K. Bay Stéphane Joost |
| author_facet | Annie S. Guillaume Renata Ferrari Oliver Selmoni Véronique J. L. Mocellin Hugo Denis Melissa Naugle Emily Howells Line K. Bay Stéphane Joost |
| author_sort | Annie S. Guillaume |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Effective biodiversity conservation requires knowledge of species' distributions across large areas, yet prevalence data for marine sessile species is scarce, with traditional variables often unavailable at appropriate temporal and spatial resolutions. As marine organism distributions generally depend on terrain heterogeneity, topographic variables derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) can be useful proxies in ecological modelling, given appropriate spatial resolutions. Here, we use three reef‐building Acropora coral species across the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, in a case study to (1) assess high‐resolution bathymetry DEM sources for accuracy, (2) harness their derived topographic variables for regional coral species distribution models (SDMs), and (3) develop a transferable framework to produce, select and integrate multi‐resolution variables into marine spatial models. For this, we obtained and processed three distinct bathymetric digital depth models that we treat as DEMs, which are available across the GBR extent: (i) Allen Coral Atlas (ACA) at 10 m, (ii) DeepReef at 30 m and (iii) DeepReef at 100 m. We generalised the three DEMs to multiple nested spatial resolutions (15 m–120 m) and derived the same eight topographic variables to assess SDM sensitivity to bathymetry source and spatial resolution. The ACA and DeepReef DEMs shared similar vertical accuracies, each producing topographic variables relevant to marine SDMs. Slope and vector ruggedness measure (VRM), capturing hydrodynamic movement and shelter or exposure, were the most relevant variables in SDMs of all three species. Interestingly, variables at the finest resolution (15 m) were not always the most relevant for producing accurate coral SDMs, with optimal resolutions between 15 and 60 m depending on the variable type and species. Using multi‐resolution topographic variables in SDMs provided nuanced insights into the multiscale drivers of regional coral distributions. Drawing from this case study, we provide a practical and transferable framework to facilitate the adoption of multiscale SDMs for better‐informed conservation and management planning. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-83c68eee672e4dc99b45bbe6d64c959a |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-83c68eee672e4dc99b45bbe6d64c959a2025-06-27T10:07:16ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-04-01154n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71292Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution ModelsAnnie S. Guillaume0Renata Ferrari1Oliver Selmoni2Véronique J. L. Mocellin3Hugo Denis4Melissa Naugle5Emily Howells6Line K. Bay7Stéphane Joost8Geospatial Molecular Epidemiology Group (GEOME), Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry (LGB) École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Lausanne SwitzerlandAustralian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland AustraliaDepartment of Embryology Carnegie Institution for Science Baltimore Maryland USAAustralian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland AustraliaUMR250/9220 ENTROPIE (IRD‐CNRS‐UR‐IFREMER‐UNC) Noumea Cedex New Caledonia FranceNational Marine Science Centre, Faculty of Science and Engineering Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour New South Wales AustraliaNational Marine Science Centre, Faculty of Science and Engineering Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour New South Wales AustraliaAustralian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland AustraliaGeospatial Molecular Epidemiology Group (GEOME), Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry (LGB) École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Lausanne SwitzerlandABSTRACT Effective biodiversity conservation requires knowledge of species' distributions across large areas, yet prevalence data for marine sessile species is scarce, with traditional variables often unavailable at appropriate temporal and spatial resolutions. As marine organism distributions generally depend on terrain heterogeneity, topographic variables derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) can be useful proxies in ecological modelling, given appropriate spatial resolutions. Here, we use three reef‐building Acropora coral species across the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, in a case study to (1) assess high‐resolution bathymetry DEM sources for accuracy, (2) harness their derived topographic variables for regional coral species distribution models (SDMs), and (3) develop a transferable framework to produce, select and integrate multi‐resolution variables into marine spatial models. For this, we obtained and processed three distinct bathymetric digital depth models that we treat as DEMs, which are available across the GBR extent: (i) Allen Coral Atlas (ACA) at 10 m, (ii) DeepReef at 30 m and (iii) DeepReef at 100 m. We generalised the three DEMs to multiple nested spatial resolutions (15 m–120 m) and derived the same eight topographic variables to assess SDM sensitivity to bathymetry source and spatial resolution. The ACA and DeepReef DEMs shared similar vertical accuracies, each producing topographic variables relevant to marine SDMs. Slope and vector ruggedness measure (VRM), capturing hydrodynamic movement and shelter or exposure, were the most relevant variables in SDMs of all three species. Interestingly, variables at the finest resolution (15 m) were not always the most relevant for producing accurate coral SDMs, with optimal resolutions between 15 and 60 m depending on the variable type and species. Using multi‐resolution topographic variables in SDMs provided nuanced insights into the multiscale drivers of regional coral distributions. Drawing from this case study, we provide a practical and transferable framework to facilitate the adoption of multiscale SDMs for better‐informed conservation and management planning.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71292bathymetry digital elevation model (DEMs)multiscale analysesseascape ecologyspatial scalespecies distribution modelling (SDM)terrain attributes |
| spellingShingle | Annie S. Guillaume Renata Ferrari Oliver Selmoni Véronique J. L. Mocellin Hugo Denis Melissa Naugle Emily Howells Line K. Bay Stéphane Joost Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution Models Ecology and Evolution bathymetry digital elevation model (DEMs) multiscale analyses seascape ecology spatial scale species distribution modelling (SDM) terrain attributes |
| title | Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution Models |
| title_full | Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution Models |
| title_fullStr | Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution Models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution Models |
| title_short | Harnessing Multiscale Topographic Environmental Variables for Regional Coral Species Distribution Models |
| title_sort | harnessing multiscale topographic environmental variables for regional coral species distribution models |
| topic | bathymetry digital elevation model (DEMs) multiscale analyses seascape ecology spatial scale species distribution modelling (SDM) terrain attributes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71292 |
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