Estimated distribution of crabeater seal Lobodon carcinophagus in East Antarctica

Crabeater seal distribution estimates for East Antarctica Presence probability of crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus) based on mean climatological environmental conditions (1981-2013) for November and December. Probability of presence was calculated using four species distribution model (SDM) algorithms to create a SDM ensemble weighted based on model performance. The SDM algorithms included were: Generalised Additive Model (GAM), MaxEnt, Random Forests (RF), and Boosted Regression Trees (BRT). Additionally, three sources of environmental data were used for each SDM algorithm to compare the performance of models trained with environmental data from remotely-sensed products and models, and to assess the impact of including a larger, and arguably more complete set of environmental predictors. Data came from remotely-sensed data products and ACCESS-OM2-01 (coupled sea ice-ocean model). Given that remotely-sensing data within the area and period of study were only available for a few of environmental variables that influence the distribution of crabeatear seals, we created two sets of environmental data from the ACCESS-OM2-01 model. One set matched the variables available in remotely-sensed data products (reduced ACCESS-OM2-01), and another including the full set of relevant environmental variables (full ACCESS-OM2-01). How to cite You can access and use the code contained in this repository as described in the licence. If using this code as a basis for your work, remember you must cite its use using the following citation: - Fierro-Arcos, D. (2025). Are high-resolution ocean sea ice model outputs a suitable source of environmental data to predict the distribution of species?: A case study of crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus) in East Antarctica. (Version 1.0.0) [Computer software]. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16260867 When using the code in a publication, please also include the following citation in addition to the citation above: - Fierro-Arcos, D., Corney, S., Meyer, A., Hayashida, H., Kiss, A. E., Emmerson, L., Southwell, C., & Heil, P. (2025). High-resolution ocean sea ice model outputs to predict species distribution: case study of crabeater seal Lobodon carcinophagus in East Antarctica. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 772, 193-214. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14968