Modelling species distributions using remote sensing predictors: Comparing Dynamic Habitat Index and LULC

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Hauptverfasser: Oliveira, Maïri Souza, Préau, Clémentine, Alleaume, Samuel, Lenormand, Maxime, Luque, Sandra
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Oliveira, Maïri Souza
Préau, Clémentine
Alleaume, Samuel
Lenormand, Maxime
Luque, Sandra
author_facet Oliveira, Maïri Souza
Préau, Clémentine
Alleaume, Samuel
Lenormand, Maxime
Luque, Sandra
contents This study compares the predictive capacity of the Dynamic Habitat Index (DHI) - a remote sensing (RS)-based measure of habitat productivity and variability - against traditional land-use/land-cover (LULC) metrics in species distribution modelling (SDM) applications. RS and LULC-based SDMs were built using distribution data for eleven bird, amphibian, and mammal species in Île-de-France. Predictor variables were derived from Sentinel-2 RS data and LULC classifications, with the latter incorporating Euclidean distance to habitat types. Ensemble SDMs were built using nine algorithms and evaluated with the Continuous Boyce Index (CBI) and a calibrated AUC. Habitat suitability scores and their binary transformations were assessed using niche overlap indices (Schoener, Warren, and Spearman rank correlation coefficient). Both RS and LULC approaches exhibited similar predictive accuracy overall. After binarisation however, the resulting niche maps diverged significantly. While LULC-based models exhibited spatial constraints (habitat suitability decreased as distance from recorded occurrences increased), RS-based models, which used continuous data, were not affected by geographic bias or distance effects. These results underscore the need to account for spatial biases in LULC-based SDMs. The DHI may offer a more spatially neutral alternative, making it a promising predictor for modelling species niches at regional scales.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_14862
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Modelling species distributions using remote sensing predictors: Comparing Dynamic Habitat Index and LULC
Oliveira, Maïri Souza
Préau, Clémentine
Alleaume, Samuel
Lenormand, Maxime
Luque, Sandra
Quantitative Methods
Populations and Evolution
This study compares the predictive capacity of the Dynamic Habitat Index (DHI) - a remote sensing (RS)-based measure of habitat productivity and variability - against traditional land-use/land-cover (LULC) metrics in species distribution modelling (SDM) applications. RS and LULC-based SDMs were built using distribution data for eleven bird, amphibian, and mammal species in Île-de-France. Predictor variables were derived from Sentinel-2 RS data and LULC classifications, with the latter incorporating Euclidean distance to habitat types. Ensemble SDMs were built using nine algorithms and evaluated with the Continuous Boyce Index (CBI) and a calibrated AUC. Habitat suitability scores and their binary transformations were assessed using niche overlap indices (Schoener, Warren, and Spearman rank correlation coefficient). Both RS and LULC approaches exhibited similar predictive accuracy overall. After binarisation however, the resulting niche maps diverged significantly. While LULC-based models exhibited spatial constraints (habitat suitability decreased as distance from recorded occurrences increased), RS-based models, which used continuous data, were not affected by geographic bias or distance effects. These results underscore the need to account for spatial biases in LULC-based SDMs. The DHI may offer a more spatially neutral alternative, making it a promising predictor for modelling species niches at regional scales.
title Modelling species distributions using remote sensing predictors: Comparing Dynamic Habitat Index and LULC
topic Quantitative Methods
Populations and Evolution
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.14862