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* Metric Name: Forest Raptors Species Richness *  

* Tier: 2  

* Data Vintage: 04/2023  

* Unit Of Measure: Number of species  

* Represent element and pillar: Yes  

* Type and distribution of data: Right skewed distribution representing count data. Raw values range from 1 to 10 species.  

* Translation: Where is forest raptors species richness high?  

* Translation method and outcome: Raw data values translated to range from +1 to -1 representing more favorable to less favorable conditions, respectively. **** The proposition of more favorable is based on the objective of supporting higher species richness of the functional group (positive linear slope). More favorable (translated to +1) and less favorable (translated to -1) based on climate regions (Table 7). Alternative approaches could use the theoretical maximum of all species in the functional group to define more favorable (+1), but that would assume that all species could cohabitate in a single location. 

Figure . Histogram and scoring of forest raptors species richness in Southern
California

Figure . Histogram of translated forest raptors species richness in Southern
California

Figure . Maps displaying raw metric and translated forest raptors species
richness in Southern California

  

* Metric Definition and Relevance: Native species richness is estimated based on high suitability reproductive habitat for a given species. Reproductive habitat is used to represent suitability because it is critical for species persistence and for most native species it has the most limited requirements. If a habitat is identified as high for a given species, it is considered suitable (1), and habitat identified as moderate, low or not suitable, it is considered unsuitable (0). Species richness values are used as a relative measure of biodiversity value; as such, areas with lower species richness based on these criteria may still have high biodiversity value, but not as high as areas with higher richness values. The total number of federally threatened/endangered native species per spatial unit (30m pixel) can be useful for assessing change in number/composition over space.  

* Credits: FVEG 2023; California Department of Fish and Wildlife CWHR version 9.0 (CDFW); 2014