Use of Occupancy Models to Evaluate Expert Knowledge-based Species-Habitat Relationships

Expert knowledge-based species-habitat relationships are used extensively to guide conservation planning, particularly when data are scarce. Purported relationships describe the initial state of knowledge, but are rarely tested. We assessed support in the data for suitability rankings of vegetation types based on expert knowledge for three terrestrial avian species in the South Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States. Experts used published studies, natural history, survey data, and field experience to rank vegetation types as optimal, suitable, and marginal. We used single-season occupancy models, coupled with land cover and Breeding Bird Survey data, to examine the hypothesis that patterns of occupancy conformed...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Birds, South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Southeast CASC, Wildlife and Plants, breeding bird survey, All tags... brown-headed nuthatch, eastern wood-pewee, expert knowledge, habitat conservation, red-headed woodpecker, south atlantic coastal plain, Fewer tags