Dag Endresen introduces Mapping Species Distributions by Janet Franklin, just published by Cambridge University Press.
Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) has really found its way into the scientific literature of late. It has moved from its origin in ecology, to a wider use in life sciences, including also recently data analysis in agriculture. Andy Jarvis, for one, has recently done some excellent studies of crop diversity with MaxEnt. I have not yet read this book, but have ordered it from my favorite online bookshop. Here’s why.
The book introduces the theory and the fundamentals of SDM and proceeds with a deeper description of the many different data analysis methods that has been applied. The list of methods is long (and still growing). However, it seems this book gives comprehensive guidelines for selecting the appropriate method for your own SDM study. I believe that Janet Franklin, the author, teaches species distribution modeling with the free open source R statistical analysis software. We can perhaps hope to find also some few examples of how to apply the described methods with the R package.
The books seems, however, much more focused on the understanding of the ecological principles for SDM and species-environment relationships. The large section on the SDM methods aims to provide us with an understanding of the assumptions and limitations for the models and predictions. I hope this will help to relieve the kind of “black-box” mystery I sometimes feel for many of the SDM methods. We shall see.
Janet Franklin has long experience of biogeography, with appointments as professor of both Geography and Biology.
