Known distribution of Uruguayan amphibians and environmental predictors

Fuzzy logic modeling was employed to assess the distribution of amphibians in Uruguay using both expert knowledge and observational records. Fuzzy logic allowed for the assignment of continuous values between 0 and 1 to propositions based on fuzzy logical assumptions about the relationship between species and their environment. Models based on expert knowledge and species records were compared and combined, focusing on threatened species, those considered ubiquitous, and non-threatened/non-ubiquitous species. Results demonstrated equal or superior performance for threatened species according to expert knowledge compared to models based on species records, even when both had to classify the same set of records. Expert models predicted more restrictive favorable territories for threatened species. On the other hand, models based on observed records yielded the best-fitted models for non-threatened non-ubiquitous species and ubiquitous species. In summary, fuzzy logic proved to be an effective tool for integrating expert knowledge and observational records in species distribution modeling.

Methods
The recorded distribution, information on the geo-referenced occurrences of the species was extracted from the amphibian collection database of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of the Republic of Uruguay (Grattarola et al., 2020), and from the work of Núñez et al. (2004). According to experts sources, we considered the grid cells totally or partially contained in the range established by the experts for each species as grid cells with presence of the species (Maneyro and Carreira, 2012). 0 in the table indicate the grids without presences confirmed according to both sources of inormation, and therefore considered absences os pseudoabsences in the modelling procedure, in each case.

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3. Maneyro R and Carreira S. Guía de anfibios del Uruguay. In: Colección Ciencia Amiga. Uruguay; 2012.