Use of geographic information systems (GIS) and remotely sensed data to identify and characterize the habitat and predict the distribution of the Palo Duro mouse, Peromyscus truei comanche.

摘要

The Palo Duro mouse, Peromyscus truei comanche, is known to occur only in the Texas Panhandle along the eastern "Caprock" escarpment of the Llano Estacado and is currently listed as threatened by the state of Texas. Previous studies to determine specific habitat associations that limit the species' distribution have been inconclusive. Remotely sensed data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to identify and characterize the habitat of this species, and predict the distribution of P. t. comanche along the Llano Estacado based on collection data, known habitat preferences, and vegetational and soil distributions. Spatial data sources employed for characterization were digitized locational information, 1:250,000 Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) data, and 1:250,000 State Soil Geographic Data Base (STATSGO) data. The co-occurrence of specific vegetation and soil types with recognized collection localities was used to identify and characterize the habitat, and predict the distribution of P. t. comanche.