New England wildlife: a model for ecosystem management – ECOSEARCH (version 1)

Abstract

This volume describes how ECOSEARCH species-habitat models are developed using information about the natural history of species, habitat descriptions, and specific descriptors for soils, topography, water regimes, and vertical habitat structure. Also, examples are provided that demonstrate the impacts of: 1) converting a wooded swamp into a recreational lake with adjoining golf course and housing lots in western Massachusetts; 2) converting a mature forest to earlier successional stages for woodcock management on a National Wildlife Refuge; and 3) varying logging practices on a national forest. ECOSEARCH was developed as a first step to a testable, scientific basis for ecosystem management. ECOSEARCH uses a FORTRAN program to predict occurrence for >300 species of New England wildlife using natural history models and information contained in geographicinformation matrices. ECOSEARCH is based on the assumptions that many wildlife species are associated with certain habitat attributes that can be estimated from vegetative structure, water regimes, soil types, and topographic conditions. The challenge of predicting species occurrences is to discover the constraints that structure particular ecosystems.

Citation

Short, Henry L.; Hestbeck, Jay B.; DeGraaf, Richard M. 2001. New England wildlife: a model for ecosystem management – ECOSEARCH (Version 1). Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-283. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 113 p. [CD-ROM]. https://doi.org/10.2737/NE-GTR-283.