Exploring parameter choices in ecological niche modeling: A case study in Bombus niche evolution

Monday, November 11, 2024

8:24 AM – 8:36 AM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 224 B, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

TB

Tatiana Nicole Bush

Graduate Student
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

Co-Author(s)

Elizabeth Murray

Assistant Professor and Director of the MT James Entomological Museum
Washington State University
Colton, Washington
GZ

Gengping Zhu

Washington State University
Pullman, Washington
Silas Bossert (he/him/his)

Researcher
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

Ecological niche modeling requires several choices prior to running the modeling including what environmental variable sets and what type of buffering to choose, but how much does that change the outcome? In this case study, we change either the environmental variable set (Adapt West or BioClim) or the buffering type (MCP or point) and then reconstruct the results one variable at a time across a trimmed Bombus phylogeny using the R package Nichevol (Cobos et al. ). Nichevol takes a phylogeny, environmental variable, occurrences, and buffer region to reconstruct one variable at a time across the phylogeny based on the values in the buffer regions. Bumble bees (Bombus) have caught the interest of the public and scientists alike, leading to numerous species records across many citizen science platforms (e.g., iNaturalist), well-known life history for many species, and a relatively well sampled phylogeny making it the perfect genus for this case study.