Expert Knowledge as a Basis for Landscape Ecological Predictive Models

Abstract

Defining an appropriate role for expert knowledge in science can lead to contentious debate. The professional experience of ecologists, elicited as expert judgment, plays an essential role in many aspects of landscape ecological science. Experts may be asked to judge the relevance of competing research or management questions, the quality and suitability of available data, the best balance of complexity and parsimony, and the appropriate application of model output. Even the initial decision to pursue modeling follows expert judgment regarding the cost and benefits of a model relative to data collection and the suitability of alternative modeling approaches for the specific application. Increasingly, however, professionals are asked to provide expertise to complement or even substitute for scarce data in landscape ecological models, by quantifying their personal experiences and anecdotal observations. In such cases, the professional is asked to reference their knowledge against geospatial data or landscape metrics derived from such data. We offer our chapter to raise awareness and promote discussion of this particular development within landscape ecological modeling. We draw examples from cases where expertise is provided as data in support of the predictive species-habitat models used to inform conservation planning objectives and strategies.