Abstract Detail

Ecology

Germain-Aubrey, Charlotte [1], Allen, Julie [2], Guralnick, Robert [3], Laffan, Shawn [4], Mishler, Brent D. [5], Neubig, Kurt Maximillian [6], Soltis, Douglas [3], Majure, Lucas C. [7], Soltis, Pamela  S. [8].

Using museum specimens to refine species distribution models: The Florida Plant Diversity Project.

With an estimated one billion specimens hosted in 1,600 collections in the USA, natural history museums and herbaria contain immense data on species distributions and ecology. The iDigBio portal, which currently serves data for 60 million records (and a corresponding estimate of at least 150 million specimens) grants anyone access to these specimens through a simple search engine. The scope of research questions that this resource will enable is unprecedented! Mapping biodiversity at the landscape level, organism traits, endemism or evolutionary history all are essential for conservation, ecological, phylogenetic and evolutionary studies. Florida hosts several biodiversity hotspots and is home to over 4,100 species of plants. Using, amongst other sources of data, herbarium collections, we took advantage of the historical data linked with the specimens to improve on the current methods for species distribution models. We report here new methods that can be applied to modeling using herbarium specimen data. To shift from a niche model to a species distribution model, we geographically restricted the training area of the models according to the number and location of occurrences. This study emphasizes the importance of museum collections in our ability to understand and predict future changes in biodiversity at the landscape level.

Related Links:
iDigBio

1 - University Of Florida, Florida Museum Of Natural History, Dickinson HAll, Museum Road, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
2 - Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL, 61820, United States
3 - Florida Museum of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History, Dickinson Hall - Museum Road, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States
4 - University of New South Wales, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Sidney, NSW, 2052, Australia
5 - University Of California, Berkeley, DEPT OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY, 1001 Valley Life Science Building # 2465, Berkeley, CA, 94720-2465, USA
6 - Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Plant Biology, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA
7 - Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ, 05008, United States
8 - University Of Florida, Florida Museum Of Natural History, PO BOX 117800, Gainesville, FL, 32611-7800, USA, 352/273-1964

Keywords:
Distribution
ecological niche modeling
Florida
museum specimens
iDigBio.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 6, Ecology Section: Population Biology
Location: 201/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 1st, 2016
Time: 8:30 AM
Number: 6001
Abstract ID:418
Candidate for Awards:None