Seasonal wild pig habitat suitability in northern Australia: mapped results

This dataset contains mapped results from a resource-based, spatially-explicit and regional-scale habitat model for wild pigs in northern Australia. The modelled habitat suitability index (HSI) describes relative habitat quality for wild pig breeding and persistence during the dry (using data from March/April) and wet (using data from October/November) season. HSI values in this dataset effectively range between 11 and 81. They can be broadly classified as follows: HSI ≥ 60 = highly suitable habitat; HSI ≥ 40 = moderately suitable habitat; HSI < 40 unsuitable habitat. Underlying model parameters were elicited from experts. This dataset contains results from an expert-averaged model run. The model contained a variable "Disturbance stress" for which no spatial data proxies were available. In this dataset, we assumed a uniformly “high” intensity and frequency of control activities, which likely overestimated disturbance and undervalued habitat suitability. For further detail on modelling methods and assumptions please consult the accompanying publication Froese et al. (2017). For each seasonal dataset, a georeferenced compressed .TIF file, a metadata .XML file, and an ESRI ArcGIS .LYR file visualizing an appropriate classification scheme are provided.