Potential distribution and landscape connectivity of the Antioquia Brushfinch (<em>Atlapetes blancae</em>): Implications for its conservation

We estimate the potential distribution area and habitat connectivity of the Antioquia Brushfinch (Atlapetes blancae), a critically endangered bird endemic to the Altiplano de Santa Rosa de Osos in Antioquia, Colombia. We generated two essential inputs to guide its conservation: I. a hypothesis about its potential distribution, and II. a landscape connectivity model. We identify three priority areas for its protection, considering its occurrence, as well as its ecological niche and habitat requirements (connectivity models). We used the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) and minimum volume ellipsoids (MVE) to estimate the niche and map its potential distribution. We developed a habitat model and used it in conjunction with the potential distribution to generate a map of landscape connectivity for the species. Our results support a potential distribution composed of two disconnected nuclei: an epicenter to the north of the Altiplano (513.26 km² according to MaxEnt and 300.12 km² according..., Ecological niche models and potential distribution To estimate the environmental preferences (ecological niche) for A. blancae and project them into geographic space (potential distribution), we modeled the relationships between occurrence records and environmental variables, using two approaches: the maximum entropy algorithm, MaxEnt (Phillips et al. 2004), and minimum volume ellipsoids (MVE). For both MaxEnt and MVE, a calibration and model selection protocol based on statistical significance, predictive ability, and complexity was implemented. Occurrence records Occurrence records were obtained from field data previously collected by the “Proyecto Atlapetes” (https://arcg.is/1yz0eK), by the “Iniciativa de conservación del Montañerito Paisa” (iCMP, http://reporte.humboldt.org.co/biodiversidad/2020/cap3/302/), complemented with the eBird (https://ebird.org/home) and GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/) databases. All occurrence records were reviewed for quality assurance following protocols pr..., # Data from: Potential distribution and landscape connectivity of the Antioquia Brushfinch (*Atlapetes blancae*): Implications for its conservation Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.mcvdnckbt](10.5061/dryad.mcvdnckbt) ## Description of the data and file structure Files encompass 1. occurrence records (comma-delimited text files), 2. binary rasters in TIFF format, and 3. vector data in geopackage format. ### Files and variables #### **File**: A.blancae_joint_ReducedPrecision.csv **Description:** three column text file with coordinates for all presence records. Coordinate precision was intentionally reduced to protect species that may be targeted by humans. ##### Variables * Especie: Species, in this case, *Atlapetes blancae*. * Longitud: Longitude in decimal degrees. Coordinate Reference System: WGS84 * Latitud: Latitude in decimal degrees. Coordinate Reference System: WGS84 #### **File**: A.blancae_test_ReducedPrecision.csv **Description:** three column text file with coordinates...,