Cost Distance

I spent the bulk of December back in the U.S. Before coming home for the holidays to visit my family, I spent 10 days at the Smithsonian Conservation and Research Center GIS lab. We looked at 3 years of camera trapping data from Khao Yai National Park and struggled with stepwise logistic regression models. The models incorporate variables such as distance to nearest road, ranger station, village, etc. to predict carnivore presence at the park. Most interesting, we made a map layer that assigns a cost to get to a camera trap point from the park boundary taking into account elevation (i.e. how accessible is the area to a poacher?). The time was very productive and with a bit more work, I am hoping to get a model that accurately predicts carnivore presence to proximity from people. In the best case scenario, we might be able to use the model to make management recommendations. For example, how would carnivore distribution change if the park increased protection measures in certain areas?

I am finalizing the models and plan to finish a draft manuscript (target “Animal Conservation”) by early January, before leaving for Thailand again.