Abstract
The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently revised the recovery plan
(USFWS, 2011) and designated Critical Habitat (USFWS, 2012a) for the
Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). The Critical
Habitat designation was based in part on a map of relative habitat
suitability that was developed by USFWS (2011, 2012b) for this purpose.
Loehle et al. (2015) critiqued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s
approach to modeling relative habitat suitability for the Northern
Spotted Owl. Here, we respond to Loehle et al.’s assessment, and
identify four major shortcomings within it. First, it mischaracterizes
the literature on spotted owls and MaxEnt, the species distribution
model used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Second, it is
predicated upon several logic errors that, when resolved, undermine
Loehle et al.’s conclusions. Third, it fails to demonstrate that the
nesting and roosting site location data used by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is a biased sample. Lastly, Loehle et al.’s claims of
significant flaws in analytical methods and ecological inference by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are not convincing. We assert that the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northern Spotted Owl relative habitat
suitability model was in fact scientifically rigorous, and that it met
the intended goals that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service articulated
for their models.
Keywords
- Critical Habitat;
- MaxEnt;
- Northern Spotted Owl;
- Relative habitat suitability;
- Species distribution model;
- Strix occidentalis caurina
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
