I have worked at Michigan Natural Features Inventory in biodiversity conservation for over 20 years as a GIS Analyst where I implement geospatial projects involving spatial data management, mapping, web services, python for automation and application development, spatial analysis, special distribution modeling, enterprise GIS management, and spatial statistics. I volunteer with animal rescue groups in my spare time.
Mammal range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmenta... more Mammal range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program hexagons. Hexagons were assigned an attribute value of "1" if any part of the hexagon intersected a county with in which the species was present; otherwise the hexagon was assigned an attribute value of "0". Many range maps were subject to expert review and modified accordingly. Range maps were used to restrict predicted habitat maps to the current known range of each species in Michigan.
Reptile range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environment... more Reptile range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program hexagons. Hexagons were assigned an attribute value of "1" if any part of the hexagon intersected a county with in which the species was present; otherwise the hexagon was assigned an attribute value of "0". Many range maps were subject to expert review and modified accordingly. Range maps were used to restrict predicted habitat maps to the current known range of each species in Michigan.
Amphibian range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environme... more Amphibian range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program hexagons. Hexagons were assigned an attribute value of "1" if any part of the hexagon intersected a county with in which the species was present; otherwise the hexagon was assigned an attribute value of "0". Many range maps were subject to expert review and modified accordingly. Range maps were used to restrict predicted habitat maps to the current known range of each species in Michigan.
We present a new physiographic map of Michigan, that is also available interactively, online. Onl... more We present a new physiographic map of Michigan, that is also available interactively, online. Only four, small-scale physiographic maps of Michigan had been previously published. Our mapping project made use of a wide variety of spatial data, in a GIS environment, to visualize and delineate the physical landscape in more detail than has been done previously. We also examined many of the unit boundaries in the field, using a GIS running on a GPS-enabled laptop. Unlike previous physiographic maps, the online version of the map enables users to query the criteria used to define each of the 224 boundaries of its 10 major and 91 minor physiographic units. The interactive nature of the online version of the map is a unique enhancement to physiographic maps and mapping. Our study also provides data on the number and types of criteria used to define each of the 224 unit boundaries within the map. Most of our unit boundaries are based on data derived from 10-m raster elevation data and NRCS soils data, e.g., relief, soil wetness, escarpments, landscape fabric, and parent material characteristics. Data gleaned from NRCS SSURGO county-scale soil maps were a strength of the project.
A list of the names of the community types used in the selection of occurrences of highly ranked ... more A list of the names of the community types used in the selection of occurrences of highly ranked communities in Michigan, USA.
A table of land and vegetation cover types used in creating geographic information system data la... more A table of land and vegetation cover types used in creating geographic information system data layers of Michigan's land cover ca. 1800 and a coverage of unchanged vegetation.
A table showing the results of two correlation analyses of conservation value across 1900 Michiga... more A table showing the results of two correlation analyses of conservation value across 1900 Michigan townships, determined using the species richness and species occurrences in five groups of potential indicators.
A table of results from a principal-components analysis of the number of occurrences of potential... more A table of results from a principal-components analysis of the number of occurrences of potential indicator species in 924 townships in Michigan.
File List supplement1.zip Description Supplement1.zip is the compressed archival file containing ... more File List supplement1.zip Description Supplement1.zip is the compressed archival file containing two GIS data sets, lu1800.e00 and unch_veg.e00. lu1800 is the land cover of Michigan as interpreted from the survey notes of the Government Land Office (GLO) surveys of the 1800s. Data format is an ESRI polygon coverage in interchange format. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters. unch_veg.e00 is the current Michigan vegetation that is of a similar vegetation type as present in the same location during the GLO surveys of the 1800s. Data type is an ESRI polygon coverage in interchange format. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters.
File List supplement2.zip Description supplement2.zip<br> Compressed archive file containin... more File List supplement2.zip Description supplement2.zip<br> Compressed archive file containing five GIS datasets, unch_wetland.e00, unch_forest.e00, natareas24_p.e00, nat_comm.e00, all_areas.e00 unch_wetland.e00<br> Contiguous wetlands in Michigan that are larger than 100 hectares and are of the same wetland type present in the Government Land Office surveys of the 1800s. Data format is ESRI polygon coverage in an ESRI interchange file. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters. unch_forest.e00<br> Contiguous forests in Michigan that are larger than 100 hectares and are of the same forest type present in the Government Land Office surveys of the 1800s. Data format is ESRI polygon coverage in an ESRI interchange file. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters. natareas24_p.e00<br> State of Michigan designated State Natural Areas. Data format is ESRI polygon coverage in an ESRI interchange file. Geographic projection is Michigan Geor...
Three different models are presented here. The first model is a relatively simple frequency count... more Three different models are presented here. The first model is a relatively simple frequency count intended to show users where there are concentrations of documented occurrences of rare species or natural communities. The second model is intended to show the likelihood of finding a rare species or other high quality natural feature in any given area. This likelihood model is based on the spatial extent of documented occurrences, the presence of potential habitat within the known extent of the occurrences, and the age of each occurrence. The third model calculates a value for an area of interest that measures the contributions of that area to biodiversity. Like the likelihood model, the biodiversity value model incorporates the spatial extent of documented occurrences, presence of potential habitat within the known extent of the occurrences, and the age of each occurrence. In addition, the biodiversity value model incorporates the species’ or natural community’s global status, state ...
Mammal range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmenta... more Mammal range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program hexagons. Hexagons were assigned an attribute value of "1" if any part of the hexagon intersected a county with in which the species was present; otherwise the hexagon was assigned an attribute value of "0". Many range maps were subject to expert review and modified accordingly. Range maps were used to restrict predicted habitat maps to the current known range of each species in Michigan.
Reptile range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environment... more Reptile range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program hexagons. Hexagons were assigned an attribute value of "1" if any part of the hexagon intersected a county with in which the species was present; otherwise the hexagon was assigned an attribute value of "0". Many range maps were subject to expert review and modified accordingly. Range maps were used to restrict predicted habitat maps to the current known range of each species in Michigan.
Amphibian range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environme... more Amphibian range maps were converted from county occurrence maps to equal area (635 km2) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program hexagons. Hexagons were assigned an attribute value of "1" if any part of the hexagon intersected a county with in which the species was present; otherwise the hexagon was assigned an attribute value of "0". Many range maps were subject to expert review and modified accordingly. Range maps were used to restrict predicted habitat maps to the current known range of each species in Michigan.
We present a new physiographic map of Michigan, that is also available interactively, online. Onl... more We present a new physiographic map of Michigan, that is also available interactively, online. Only four, small-scale physiographic maps of Michigan had been previously published. Our mapping project made use of a wide variety of spatial data, in a GIS environment, to visualize and delineate the physical landscape in more detail than has been done previously. We also examined many of the unit boundaries in the field, using a GIS running on a GPS-enabled laptop. Unlike previous physiographic maps, the online version of the map enables users to query the criteria used to define each of the 224 boundaries of its 10 major and 91 minor physiographic units. The interactive nature of the online version of the map is a unique enhancement to physiographic maps and mapping. Our study also provides data on the number and types of criteria used to define each of the 224 unit boundaries within the map. Most of our unit boundaries are based on data derived from 10-m raster elevation data and NRCS soils data, e.g., relief, soil wetness, escarpments, landscape fabric, and parent material characteristics. Data gleaned from NRCS SSURGO county-scale soil maps were a strength of the project.
A list of the names of the community types used in the selection of occurrences of highly ranked ... more A list of the names of the community types used in the selection of occurrences of highly ranked communities in Michigan, USA.
A table of land and vegetation cover types used in creating geographic information system data la... more A table of land and vegetation cover types used in creating geographic information system data layers of Michigan's land cover ca. 1800 and a coverage of unchanged vegetation.
A table showing the results of two correlation analyses of conservation value across 1900 Michiga... more A table showing the results of two correlation analyses of conservation value across 1900 Michigan townships, determined using the species richness and species occurrences in five groups of potential indicators.
A table of results from a principal-components analysis of the number of occurrences of potential... more A table of results from a principal-components analysis of the number of occurrences of potential indicator species in 924 townships in Michigan.
File List supplement1.zip Description Supplement1.zip is the compressed archival file containing ... more File List supplement1.zip Description Supplement1.zip is the compressed archival file containing two GIS data sets, lu1800.e00 and unch_veg.e00. lu1800 is the land cover of Michigan as interpreted from the survey notes of the Government Land Office (GLO) surveys of the 1800s. Data format is an ESRI polygon coverage in interchange format. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters. unch_veg.e00 is the current Michigan vegetation that is of a similar vegetation type as present in the same location during the GLO surveys of the 1800s. Data type is an ESRI polygon coverage in interchange format. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters.
File List supplement2.zip Description supplement2.zip<br> Compressed archive file containin... more File List supplement2.zip Description supplement2.zip<br> Compressed archive file containing five GIS datasets, unch_wetland.e00, unch_forest.e00, natareas24_p.e00, nat_comm.e00, all_areas.e00 unch_wetland.e00<br> Contiguous wetlands in Michigan that are larger than 100 hectares and are of the same wetland type present in the Government Land Office surveys of the 1800s. Data format is ESRI polygon coverage in an ESRI interchange file. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters. unch_forest.e00<br> Contiguous forests in Michigan that are larger than 100 hectares and are of the same forest type present in the Government Land Office surveys of the 1800s. Data format is ESRI polygon coverage in an ESRI interchange file. Geographic projection is Michigan Georef, NAD 83, meters. natareas24_p.e00<br> State of Michigan designated State Natural Areas. Data format is ESRI polygon coverage in an ESRI interchange file. Geographic projection is Michigan Geor...
Three different models are presented here. The first model is a relatively simple frequency count... more Three different models are presented here. The first model is a relatively simple frequency count intended to show users where there are concentrations of documented occurrences of rare species or natural communities. The second model is intended to show the likelihood of finding a rare species or other high quality natural feature in any given area. This likelihood model is based on the spatial extent of documented occurrences, the presence of potential habitat within the known extent of the occurrences, and the age of each occurrence. The third model calculates a value for an area of interest that measures the contributions of that area to biodiversity. Like the likelihood model, the biodiversity value model incorporates the spatial extent of documented occurrences, presence of potential habitat within the known extent of the occurrences, and the age of each occurrence. In addition, the biodiversity value model incorporates the species’ or natural community’s global status, state ...
State of the Strait: Coordinating Conservation in the St. Clair-Detroit River System, 2016
Members of our “Implementing Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring” project (called CWM) were re... more Members of our “Implementing Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring” project (called CWM) were requested to discuss biodiversity within the St. Clair-Detroit River System for State Of The Strait 2015, based on our 5 year (2011-2015) Great-Lakes wide study of the coastal marsh biota. Our sampling included plants, fish, birds, amphibians, invertebrates, as well as water quality. Sampling was conducted for CWM using a random sampling protocol to select sites and sampling plots, which provided a thorough biological overview of current conditions based on over 1000 coastal marshes. However, because the CWM inventory does not provide a long-term perspective of the changing ecological conditions and overall biotic diversity of coastal wetlands, we decided to include in this State of the Strait presentation a discussion of earlier biological inventories of the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers as well.
Uploads