Application of species distribution model using the data of the national survey on the natural environment for primary environmental impact consideration―a case study of the Tokyo salamander Hynobius tokyoensis―

Abstract

Species distribution models（ SDMs） are useful tools for habitat assessment studies in plant and animal species. However, the applicability of SDMs when considering primary environmental impacts remains to be verified. Here, I evaluated the predictiveaccuracy and ecological understandability of SDMs in a case study of the Japanese endangered salamander （Hynobius tokyoensis）. I constructed two maximum entropy （MaxEnt） models and one logistic regression model using national geographical databases. The model constructed using MaxEnt with default settings showed the highest predictive accuracy but provided inadequate ecological understandability. The remaining two models showed adequate ecological understandabilities and predictive accuracies. Hence, a key criterion when considering primary environmental impacts is the use of understandable SDMs for consensus formation.