Data Sheet 2_3D ecological niche models outperform 2D in predicting coelacanth (Latimeria spp.) habitat.pdf

IntroductionDiscoveries of coelacanth populations off the East African coast and in the Indo-Pacific warrant an analysis of their potential distributions, but the necessary tools to model and project their distributions in 3 dimensions are lacking.
MethodsUsing occurrence records for the West Indian ocean coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, we produced 3D and 2D maximum entropy ecological niche models and projected them into the habitat of the Indonesian coelacanth, Latimeria menadoensis. We gauged each model’s success by how well it could predict L. menadoensis presences recorded from submersible observations.
ResultsWhile the 2D model omitted 33% of occurrences at the most forgiving threshold, the 3D model successfully predicted all occurrences, regardless of threshold level.
DiscussionIncorporating depth results in improved model accuracy when predicting coelacanth habitat, and projecting into 3 dimensions can give us insights as to where to target future sampling. This 3D modelling framework can help us better understand how marine species are distributed by depth and allow for more targeted conservation management.

引言：东非沿岸及印度-太平洋海域的腔棘鱼（coelacanth）种群发现，使得对其潜在分布范围开展分析具备必要性，但目前仍缺乏用于构建并投影其三维分布的相关工具。
方法：本研究以西印度洋腔棘鱼（Latimeria chalumnae）的出现记录为基础，构建了三维与二维最大熵生态位模型，并将模型投影至印尼腔棘鱼（Latimeria menadoensis）的栖息海域。我们通过模型对潜水器观测记录的印尼腔棘鱼出现位点的预测能力，评估各模型的预测效果。
结果：在最宽松的阈值条件下，二维模型遗漏了33%的出现位点，而三维模型则可成功预测所有出现位点，且不受阈值水平影响。
讨论：在预测腔棘鱼栖息环境时，纳入深度维度可提升模型预测精度，而采用三维投影则可为未来采样的目标区域选择提供参考思路。本研究构建的三维建模框架，能够帮助我们更好地理解海洋物种随深度的分布规律，并助力制定更具针对性的保护管理策略。