Mapping Area of Habitat (AOH) for inland wetland species

Data and Rscripts to accompany the submission of the manuscript titled 'Mapping Area of Habitat (AOH) for inland wetland species' for publication.

Abstract:

1.           Area of Habitat (AOH) maps enable a high resolution representation of the habitat available within a species’ range, and can support various conservation policy and planning processes. However, until recently, there was insufficient knowledge on the distribution of inland wetland habitats and freshwater biodiversity to develop AOH mapping methods specifically tailored to inland wetland habitats.

2.           We used a combined empirical and thematic approach to translate inland wetland habitat classes in the IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme into spatially explicit wetland cover using the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD) version 2 and the World Karst Aquifer Map (WOKAM). AOH was subsequently estimated as the area within the mapped range that corresponded to each species’ habitat and elevation associations. The method was developed and tested using IUCN Red List assessment data, range maps and point locality data for four taxonomic groups: 22,876 species of fishes, odonates, decapod crustaceans and molluscs.

3.           The method performed well in comparison to similar methods already developed for terrestrial mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. The mean map prevalence (proportion of area within a species’ range that was AOH) was between 18% and 32% for each taxonomic group. Using data on known localities of occurrence, between 78% and 100% of species per taxonomic group had a higher classification accuracy than expected if AOH were distributed within the range at random. This represents an increased accuracy in our understanding of wetland species’ distributions.

4.      This study represents the first attempt to distinguish between inland wetland habitat sub-classes, and to include subterranean habitats in an AOH mapping method. Our method will facilitate the inclusion of previously under-represented taxa in key conservation tools and analyses, and is expected to increase the accuracy of AOH mapping for any species associated with inland wetland habitats.