Burrowing owl - Species Distribution Model, DRECP

These data are statistical model outputs for burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) species distribution, completed by CBI. Predictions of habitat occupancy were generated from Maxent models for the DRECP.

This species distribution model was produced across the entire DRECP region at 270 m resolution with 176 detections points provided to CBI by Frank Davis’ Biogeography Lab at UC Santa Barbara (filtered to a minimum nearest neighbor distance of 10 km). The model was built with the following 11 environmental predictors (provided to CBI by Frank Davis’ Biogeography Lab at UC Santa Barbara, created for the CA Energy Commission’s project “Cumulative Biological Impacts Framework for Solar Energy in the CA Desert”, 500-10-021) in order of importance:
Aridity Index (FAO definition: annual precipitation (mm)/ potential evapotranspiration (mm/annual). x100);
WHR habitat rating (focal mean (25 m grid) of arithmetic mean of WHR ratings for cover, feeding, and reproduction calculated for area approximating the minimum habitat patch, nesting home range, or activity area for the species based on DRECP species biology notes and other sources (for this species, a circle with 500m radius). The resulting grid was re-aggregated to 270m based on the median of cell scores in the block;
Soil thickness, produced by A. &. L. Flint;
Topographic relief in the 270m cell estimated as the standard deviation of elevations from 30m digital elevation model;
Temperature seasonality (C of V, x100);
Integrated solar radiation (WH/m2, ESRI Spatial Analyst Area Solar Radiation).  Derived from the interior of 30m NED DEM tiles buffered to 300m.  Integrated from 2012-02-29 to 2012-05-30.  Average integrated value in each 270m pixel;
Growing degree days above 5°C (cumulative temp.);
Flow accumulation (ESRI Spatial Analyst Flow Accumulation), calculated from 90m HydroSHEDS flow direction rasters.  90m model data were log(x+1) transformed.  Maximum of the transformed values in each 270m pixel;
Soil field capacity (Mpa), produced by A. & L. Flint, derived from SSURGO or STATSGO where SSURGO was unavailable;
Precipitation of warmest quarter (mm);
Soil available water storage (cm) from 0-50cm, derived from SSURGO or STATSGO where SSURGO was unavailable.  The mapunit-area-weighted average of aws050wta in table muaggatt.
  
 
This model has a 10-fold cross validated AUC score of 0.793 (standard deviation 0.041).