BIOCLIM - the First Species Distribution Modelling Package. Booth, T. In CSIROpedia. CSIRO.
BIOCLIM - the First Species Distribution Modelling Package [link]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
[Excerpt: The problem] Species distribution modelling (SDM, also known as ecological niche modelling or habitat suitability modelling) helps to show where species may occur under past, present or future conditions. Before BIOCLIM was created efforts had been made to relate species distributions to climatic conditions, but these had been too coarse to gain much acceptance. The lack of reliable estimates for climatic conditions at sites remote from meteorological stations was a major limitation. [The solution] Modern SDM began in January 1984 with the release of the BIOCLIM package on the CSIRONET computer network. Researchers input information on individual sites where a species had been recorded, its environmental requirements were determined by the BIOCLIM package and climatically-suitable locations mapped. The ease-of-use of BIOCLIM meant it could readily be used by anyone who had latitude, longitude and elevation data describing a species' distribution. The first BIOCLIM release included a coarse 0.5-degree digital elevation model (DEM) for prediction, soon updated with a 0.1-degree DEM. DEMs with much greater precision subsequently became available. [...] [\n] [...] [The impact] This concept has proved to be an enormously powerful idea around the world. Over a thousand scientific papers since 1984 have cited the original BIOCLIM work. Improvements to BIOCLIM have included the addition of interpolation relationships for solar radiation and Class A pan evaporation. The number of variables used increased from 12 in 1984 to 35 in 1999. Though BIOCLIM is still widely used particularly for teaching and comparative purposes, more sophisticated SDM analysis methods have also been developed. Many of these still use a set of 19 variables developed for BIOCLIM. Most use global climatic data developed using refined versions of the interpolation routines originally developed for BIOCLIM. A search in Google Scholar for ” species distribution model” shows that the current year (2018) is tracking towards more than one thousand SDM publications being produced in this year alone. These numerous publications not only advance fundamental science, but also have enormous practical impacts on planning at local, national and global levels. [...]
@incollection{boothBIOCLIMFirstSpecies2018,
  title = {{{BIOCLIM}} - the First Species Distribution Modelling Package},
  booktitle = {{{CSIROpedia}}},
  author = {Booth, Trevor},
  date = {2018-09},
  publisher = {{CSIRO}},
  location = {{Canberra, Australia}},
  url = {http://www.webcitation.org/72UlWCLhV},
  abstract = {[Excerpt: The problem] Species distribution modelling (SDM, also known as ecological niche modelling or habitat suitability modelling) helps to show where species may occur under past, present or future conditions. Before BIOCLIM was created efforts had been made to relate species distributions to climatic conditions, but these had been too coarse to gain much acceptance. The lack of reliable estimates for climatic conditions at sites remote from meteorological stations was a major limitation.

[The solution] Modern SDM began in January 1984 with the release of the BIOCLIM package on the CSIRONET computer network. Researchers input information on individual sites where a species had been recorded, its environmental requirements were determined by the BIOCLIM package and climatically-suitable locations mapped. The ease-of-use of BIOCLIM meant it could readily be used by anyone who had latitude, longitude and elevation data describing a species' distribution. The first BIOCLIM release included a coarse 0.5-degree digital elevation model (DEM) for prediction, soon updated with a 0.1-degree DEM. DEMs with much greater precision subsequently became available. [...]

[\textbackslash n] [...]

[The impact] This concept has proved to be an enormously powerful idea around the world. Over a thousand scientific papers since 1984 have cited the original BIOCLIM work. Improvements to BIOCLIM have included the addition of interpolation relationships for solar radiation and Class A pan evaporation. The number of variables used increased from 12 in 1984 to 35 in 1999. Though BIOCLIM is still widely used particularly for teaching and comparative purposes, more sophisticated SDM analysis methods have also been developed. Many of these still use a set of 19 variables developed for BIOCLIM. Most use global climatic data developed using refined versions of the interpolation routines originally developed for BIOCLIM. A search in Google Scholar for ” species distribution model” shows that the current year (2018) is tracking towards more than one thousand SDM publications being produced in this year alone. These numerous publications not only advance fundamental science, but also have enormous practical impacts on planning at local, national and global levels. [...]},
  keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-14636858,bioclimatic-predictors,ecology,environmental-modelling,habitat-suitability,historical-perspective,niche-modelling,predictors}
}

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