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OPTIMIZATION OF HABITAT PLACEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE NORTHERN SPOTTED OWL IN THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA
Author(s) -
Hof John,
Raphael Martin G.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
ecological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.864
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-5582
pISSN - 1051-0761
DOI - 10.1890/1051-0761(1997)007[1160:oohpac]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - peninsula , habitat , extant taxon , plan (archaeology) , occupancy , ecology , geography , visibility , environmental resource management , environmental science , biology , archaeology , meteorology , evolutionary biology
The purpose of this paper is to develop an optimization procedure that can be used with simulation methods to capture the strengths of both in analyzing habitat layouts. We present a static optimization model for spatially locating habitat, using the Northern Spotted Owl in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State (USA) as a case study. Optimization model parameters, including adult survival, fecundity, and occupancy of sites, are generated with an extant simulation model, and both models are used together to evaluate an alternative plan for the recovery of this high‐visibility species. This plan is generally supported by the analysis, but some gains are indicated to be possible from trading off some federally managed habitat for nonfederal habitat (though such a trade‐off may not be realistically practical).