Showing papers by "A. Townsend Peterson published in 2000"

Preliminary distributional analysis of US endangered bird species

Abstract: A first exploration of applications of ecological niche modeling and geographic distributional prediction to endangered species protection is developed. Foci of richness of endangered bird species are identified in coastal California and along the southern fringe of the United States. Species included on the Endangered Species List on the basis of peripheral populations inflate these concentrations considerably. Species without protection in the US National Park System are focused particularly in peninsular Florida. Application of this methodology to additional taxa and regions holds promise for diverse conservation applications.

Distribution of the birds of the Philippines: biogeography and conservation priorities

Abstract: The Philippine islands hold a concentration of species diversity and endemism of global importance, yet few studies have analyzed biogeographic patterns or attempted to prioritize areas for conservation within the archipelago. We analyzed distributions of 386 species on 28 Philippine islands and island groups, documenting intense concentration of species richness, especially of endemic species, on the two largest islands, Mindanao and Luzon. Factors identified as influencing species richness included island area, maximum elevation, and Pleistocene patterns of connection and isolation. Reserve systems were developed based on heuristic complementarity algorithms, and compared with the existing Integrated Protected Areas (IPAS) system in the country, showing that IPAS is an impressive first step towards protecting avian diversity in the country. Addition of presently proposed reserves on Palawan and Mindoro would make IPAS a near-optimal reserve design, at least at the level of island representation. Important challenges remain, however, with regard to design of reserve systems within islands to represent complete island avifaunas.

Harnessing Museum Resources for the Census of Marine Life: The FISHNET Project

Abstract: ISHNET 1 is a distributed information system that seeks to provide data towards answering two fundamental questions regarding marine biodiversity: how many vouchered records exist for each species of fishes, and what are their distributions in time and space? Recent advances in information technology make possible efficient access to one of the major resources for such knowledge, and the only resource in which data are backed up by actual specimens of the organisms: natural history museums. Scientific collections housed at world natural history museums constitute the most complete and authoritative record of global biodiversity (PCAST, 1998; Krishtalka and Humphrey, 1998, in press). The value of scientific collections lies in the fact that records are directly tied to actual voucher specimens. Changes in taxonomic names and discovery of new species can always be related to actual specimens which are available to all qualified investigators. Efficient access to such data can furnish investigators with baseline data regarding where and when collections have been made. Clearly, this information provides an important tool in planning future collecting efforts. Combining these data with environmental data and sophisticated artificial-intelligence algorithms (see Stockwell and Noble, 1991; Stockwell and Peters, 1993) makes it possible to predict species' distributions (Peterson et al., 1999), study the possible impact of the introduction of exotic species, and to model effects of environmental changes such as global climate change. The purpose of FISHNET is seamless integration of diverse data sets available to all scientists. FISHNET is a consortium of natural history museum fish collections that have agreed to share specimen data openly among all users. As a distributed information system, the data reside on computer servers at each participating institution who thus maintain ownership and stewardship of the data. Because data are served on FISHNET is a consortium of natural history museum fish collections that have agreed to share specimen data openly among all users. request to remote users, FISHNET is not an entity but a cooperative community. The concept of sharing fish specimen data is an old idea that has grown out of the earlier initiatives such as FISHGOPHER 2, MUSE 3 and NEODAT 4 projects. The fish community is almost unique among communities in the extent to which museum holdings have been captured in electronic form and a willingness to share data over the Internet. This particular initiative had its origins when Vieglais began exploring the application of the ANSI/NISO Z39.50 …

A bird-finding guide to Mexico [Review]

Abstract: review of: A Bird-Finding Guide to Mexico. by Steve N G Howell. Ithaca (New York): Comstock Publishing Associates (Cornell University Press). xviii+ 365 p; ill.; index. ISBN: 0-8014-8581-9. 1999

A critical evaluation of kenyon's shag (phalacrocorax [stictocarbo] kenyoni)

Abstract: We examine the validity of Phalacrocorax [Stictocarbo] kenyoni, which was described by Siegel-Causey (1991) from the Aleutian Islands using midden remains and existing skeletal specimens. We emphasize a morphometric evaluation of the taxon using 224 skeletal specimens of North Pacific cormorants, but we also evaluate the qualitative characters originally used to characterize P. kenyoni. Principal components and discriminant function analyses of 14 skeletal characters failed to support the validity of the species. Similarly, all seven of the character states that Seigel-Causey described as unique to P. kenyoni also were found in P. pelagicus and P. urile. Thus, the three type specimens of P. kenyoni appear to be P. pelagicus. Although we could not confirm the validity of P. kenyoni, our morphometric analyses revealed that P. pelagicus individuals from the central Aleutians are smaller than those from surrounding populations.

Mapping the Land Cover of Mexico Using AVHRR Time‐Series Data Sets

Abstract: An important methodological and analytical requirement for analyzing spatial relationships between regional habitats and species distributions in Mexico is the development of standard methods for mapping the country's land cover/land use formations. This necessarily involves the use of global data such as that produced by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). We created a nine‐band time‐series composite image from AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) bi‐weekly data. Each band represented the maximum NDVI for a particular month of either 1992 or 1993. We carried out a supervised classification approach, using the latest comprehensive land cover/vegetation map created by the Mexican National Institute of Geography (INEGI) as reference data. Training areas for 26 land cover/vegetation types were selected and digitized on the computer's screen by overlaying the INEGI vector coverage on the NDVI image. To obtain specific spectral responses for each vegetation type, as de...