Modified items

All recently modified items, latest first.

Probability of Presence - Terrestrial Species: As a first step toward a predictive model of hotspots of species richness based on the predictive variables outlined above, the probabilities of each group within each grid cell were summed (excluding fish which do not occur at all in the Central Appalachians, making predictions impossible). The probabilities were summed to indicate locations that have one or more of the species groupings. Higher values indicate that more species are likely to be found. For the five terrestrial groups, the major hotspot is in northeast Alabama and south central Tennessee, mimicking the observed data. However, there are also hotspots in southwest Virginia, and central West Virginia that do not appear on the map of species richness.

Mean Annual Temperature: Mean annual temperature at 1 kilometer resolution throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Precipitation Seasonality: Precipitation seasonality using coefficient of variation at 1 kilometer resolution throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Mean Annual Precipitation: Mean annual precipitation (mm/year) at a 1 kilometer resolution throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Forest Biomass: Forest biomass at the 1 kilometer scale throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Stream Baseflow Index: Average annual stream baseflow index at 1 kilometer resolution throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Terrestrial Species Richness by County: Distribution of terrestrial species richness at the county scale throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Terrestrial Species Richness: Distribution of terrestrial species richness in 20 kilometer grids throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Aquatic Species Richness by County: Distribution of aquatic species at the county scale throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Aquatic Species Richness: Distribution of aquatic species richness by 20 kilometers grids throughout the Appalachian LCC region. At this scale, the hotspots of aquatic species richness are in southern Indiana (the Mitchell Plain) and central Kentucky (Mammoth Cave).

NatureServe Regions and Karst: Three basic regions are identified by NatureServe; Interior Low Plateaus,Central Appalachians, and Cumberland Southern Blue Ridge. These ares are displayed along with karst resources within the Appalachian LCC region.

Single County Endemic Species: Number of endemic species at the county level throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Single Grid Cell Endemics: Many aquatic and terrestrial species are geographically rare, often found in a single cave. This map dis[;ays the geographic distribution of endemics scattered throughout the Appalachian LCC region.

Stygobiont and Troglobiont Endemics by Cave: Total number of stygobiont and troglobiont endemic species within a cave.

Carbonate/Non-carbonate Contact Linear Sum: Cumulative lengths of contacts between karst and non-karst, measuring both patchiness of available habitat and perhaps dispersal corridors if cave passages are differentially developed along these contacts. This information can be used to predict presence/absence of particular ecological groups in caves.

Cave Species Richness Hotspots: Caves with the most aquatic and terrestrial species. The number of species is highly dependent on sampling intensity, including the number of sampling trips.

Percentage of Karst Area within Grid Cell: Each cell represents the percent of karst within a 20 x 20 kilometer grid cell, a measure of habitat quantity. This attribute can be used to predict presence/absence of particular ecological groups in caves.

Terrestrial Records: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Aquatic Records: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Study Area Carbonate Bedrock Exposure Map: This map depicts the carbonate bedrock exposure within the study area.