Presentation Summary

Understanding the intricate patterns of species distribution is fundamental to effective wildlife monitoring and conservation efforts. Niche modeling and distribution modeling tools have emerged as pivotal resources for making informed decisions that promote species preservation and ecosystem health in a rapidly changing world. By bridging theoretical concepts and practical applications, this webinar will provide a broad introduction to the use of ecological niche modeling and species distribution modeling tools. Through engaging case studies, attendees will uncover how these tools have successfully contributed to biodiversity assessments and the discovery of new species and populations, helped identify critical habitats and the potential impacts of climate change on biodiversity, and guided conservation planning.

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Presenter Bio

Laura is a quantitative biologist who studies how organisms’ responses to environmental gradients shape global biodiversity patterns and the geographic distributions of species. She has developed inferential methods to characterize species’ climatic niches and predict the potential effects of climate change in reshaping species distributions or the spread of invasive species. Another focus of her research is comparing different statistical methods to estimate richness and population densities, with the goal of improving future surveys to ensure efficient estimations.

Some of her current research involves using remote sensing data and genomic data to study the distribution and community composition of marine plankton through the application of machine learning algorithms.