First Advisor

David Banis

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Geographic Information Science

Department

Geography

Language

English

Abstract

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create Species Distribution Models (SDMs) is rising among many scientific disciplines. Many professionals who were not originally focused on GIS are increasingly becoming more invested in this technology. SDMs are widely used to estimate species’ potential geographic distributions and to evaluate the environmental factors that constrain their ranges. The presence-only maximum entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm implemented in the MaxEnt tool in ArcGIS Pro was used in this project to model habitat suitability for two species of pseudoscorpions, M. pacificus and an undescribed species, in Oregon and Washington. Presence points (of specimen sample locations) and explanatory raster files (of the environmental variables, including [highest and lowest temperatures of 2023, 30-year annual average precipitation, elevation, and aspect) were used as inputs. The tool’s output metrics, including area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), omission rates, and variable contributions, were assessed to identify the most influential environmental predictors. The results show that precipitation and temperature variables were among the strongest contributors to model performance, with additional influence from aspect and elevation. The use of the MaxEnt tool in comparing the habitat suitability and distribution of two pseudoscorpion species within the same genus, one described and one undescribed, is novel. This model assisted the biologists in understanding the different biogeography requirements of the two pseudoscorpion species and could guide the selection of future field data collection sites.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Comments

A GIS practicum report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geographic Information Science MS in GIS 

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