GIS Output for Florida Panther Hunting Habitat Model

The Florida Panther Hunting Habitat Model (FPHHM) evaluates the quality of Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) hunting habitat on private lands in areas of southwest Florida designated as the primary, secondary, and dispersal zones of panther habitat. The model also provides a means for evaluating predation risk to livestock across the landscape. The model was developed using the species distribution model MaxEnt (Phillips et al. 2006), nighttime GPS telemetry locations from panthers on private lands, and environmental variables that influence the movement of panthers. This model provides a means both to evaluate the quality of panther hunting habitat and the relative risk to livestock (calves). To assess whether the model could predict predation risk to livestock we compared model results to documented calf depredation locations collected in south Florida during 2010-2014. The model correctly predicted panther GPS locations with 99.9% accuracy and is a useful tool for predicting predation risk. Model output consists of an ArcGIS raster map in which each cell (10m x 10m) provides an estimate of the probability of panther presence which ranges from 1 (highest probability of presence) to 0 (lowest probability of presence). It is recommended that probability of presence be interpreted as an index of habitat suitability, rather than a literal interpretation of percent probability (Elith et al. 2011; Merow et al. 2013). For example, a cell with a value of 0.6 should be interpreted as having a greater chance of species occupancy than a cell of value 0.5, and not as the literal interpretation of having a 60% probability of the species occurring at the site. The process of assessing individual ranches for the amount of hunting habitat, and therefore predation risk, is fairly simple and can be performed by anyone proficient in ArcGIS. To do so, ranch property layers should be extracted from the panther hunting habitat model output map in order to calculate an average probability of presence value. This value can then be compared between ranches for prioritization purposes. Model data and information are provided within the hub Dataverse: Florida Panther Hunting Habitat Model (FPHHM), which includes the GIS Output dataset for the FPHHM. There are also 3 subdataverses, GIS layers, MaxEnt Output, and Metadata, each of which include datasets.