Abstract Detail

Biodiversity Informatics & Herbarium Digitization

Metsger, Deborah [1], Dickinson, Timothy A [1], Seed, Evan [2], Dickinson, Adam [3].

Progress on using herbarium specimens for tree species distribution mapping in Ontario, Canada.

Production of robust distribution mapping of Ontario tree species has required us to supplement herbarium specimen data in several different ways. Data mining techniques were used to extract site records from habitat descriptions on herbarium specimens and from Ecological Land Classification and Forest Ecosystem Classification datasets so to fill in data gaps. Online data sources including Canadensys, Michigan Flora, the CNH Symbiota portal, and more enabled us to use data from surrounding political jurisdictions to eliminate edge effects. Overlapping data points were identified and removed. Preliminary dot maps created in ArcGIS were compared with the online "Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps from Atlas of United States Trees by Elbert L. Little, Jr. (and other publications)" to identify gaps in coverage and to assess differences between the datasets. Maximum entropy modeling (MAXENT) is being used to generate final species distribution maps. Comparison of the resulting maps with other abiotic factors including topography, bedrock and soils is being used to account for environmental heterogeneity within the province and to help infer biogeographic regions. Future comparisons with disturbance data will shed light on changes in distribution. As there is presently no published account of the flora of Ontario, this effort is a first step towards an atlas of the Ontario flora.

1 - Royal Ontario Museum, Natural History, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6, Canada
2 - University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health,, 155 College St, Toronto, , Toronto, ON, M5T 3M7, Canada
3 - University of Toronto, Department of Geography, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada

Keywords:
Ontario
Species Distribution Modelling
herbarium specimens
Flora.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 12, Biodiversity Informatics & Herbarium Digitization
Location: 105/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Time: 5:00 PM
Number: 12013
Abstract ID:915
Candidate for Awards:None