Range-wide habitat suitability maps for at-risk species in the longleaf system

The data contained in child items of this page were developed to support the Species Status Assessments conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conservation planning for State, Federal, and non-government researchers, managers, landowners, and other partners for five focal herpetofauna species: gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), southern hognose snake (Heterodon simus), Florida pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus), gopher frog (Lithobates capito), and striped newt (Notophthalmus perstriatus). These data were developed by the USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Georgia in collaboration with other partners. The three child items contain the following data: (1) responses of species experts, elicited from online surveys and in-person workshops, reflecting environmental, ecological, climatic, anthropogenic, or other attributes influential to each of the five focal species' status in the Southeast; (2) a spatial geodatabase of polygon feature layers representing habitat suitability classes (low, moderate, and high suitability) for each species, as estimated from range-wide habitat suitability models; and (3) a spatial geodatabase of rasters produced from the same habitat suitability models whose values range from 0 (least suitable habitat for the species) to 100 (most suitable). Collectively, the habitat suitability polygons and rasters extend across the range of these species in the Southeast US, including areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. A full discussion of the compilation methodology and sources used to develop the habitat suitability data is available in the accompanying publication: Crawford, B.A., J.C. Maerz, and C.T. Moore. 2020. Expert-informed habitat suitability analysis for at-risk species assessment and conservation planning. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management. in review.