Abstract
Habitat modelling and predictive mapping are important tools for conservation planning, particularly for lesser known species such as many insectivorous bats. However, the scale at which modelling is undertaken can affect the predictive accuracy and restrict the use of the model at different scales. We assessed the validity of existing regional-scale habitat models at a local-scale and contrasted the habitat use of two morphologically similar species with differing conservation status (Mormopterus norfolkensis and Mormopterus species 2). We used negative binomial generalised linear models created from indices of activity and environmental variables collected from systematic acoustic surveys. We found that habitat type (based on vegetation community) best explained activity of both species, which were more active in floodplain areas, with most foraging activity recorded in the freshwater wetland habitat type. The threatened M. norfolkensis avoided urban areas, which contrasts with M. species 2 which occurred frequently in urban bushland. We found that the broad habitat types predicted from local-scale models were generally consistent with those from regional-scale models. However, threshold-dependent accuracy measures indicated a poor fit and we advise caution be applied when using the regional models at a fine scale, particularly when the consequences of false negatives or positives are severe. Additionally, our study illustrates that habitat type classifications can be important predictors and we suggest they are more practical for conservation than complex combinations of raw variables, as they are easily communicated to land managers.
Highlights
Habitat models [1,2] and predictive mapping [3,4] have been successful at classifying habitat of wide-ranging or lesser known species
Site activity levels (63.6631.7 average nightly passes for M. norfolkensis and 9.163.3 average nightly passes for M. species 2) ranged from 0 – 1272.5 average nightly passes for M. norfolkensis and 0 – 144.5 average nightly passes for M. species 2
Mormopterus species 2 was more widespread, occurring at 72.3% of sites compared to M. norfolkensis, which occurred at 57.4% of sites
Summary
Habitat models [1,2] and predictive mapping [3,4] have been successful at classifying habitat of wide-ranging or lesser known species. Habitat models prepared across the entire distribution of a species are likely to describe only broad patterns, whilst models based on a single population or family group are likely to contain location-specific variables that are unable to be extrapolated to broader scales [13]. Both broad- and fine-scale habitat models have value. For land managers that may use habitat model predictions for land-use planning, it is essential to know whether models may be accurately applied to other spatial scales
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