E-scape: consumer-specific landscapes of energetic resources derived from stable isotope analysis and remote sensing

Energetic resources and habitat distribution are inherently linked.
Energetic resource availability is a major driver of the distribution of
consumers, but estimating how much specific habitats contribute to the
energetic resource needs of a consumer can be problematic. We present a
new approach that combines remote sensing information and stable isotope
ecology to produce maps of energetic resources (E-scapes). E-scapes
project species-specific resource use information onto the landscape to
classify areas based on energetic importance. Using our E-scapes, we
investigated the relationship between energetic resource distribution and
white shrimp distribution and how the scale used to generate the E-scape
mediated this relationship. E-scapes successfully predicted the size,
abundance, biomass, and total energy of a consumer in salt marsh habitats
in coastal Louisiana, USA at scales relevant to the movement of the
consumer. Our E-scape maps can be used alone or in combination with
existing models to improve habitat management and restoration practices
and have potential to be used to test fundamental movement
theory.