- Metric Name:  Mountain yellow-legged frog potential Habitat

- Data Vintage:  2018

- Unit Of Measure: Binary layer, 1 represents potential habitat

This dataset represents a species habitat distribution map for Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (Rana muscosa) within the conterminous United States (CONUS) based on 2001 ground conditions.

Creation Method: This habitat map was created by applying a deductive habitat model to remotely-sensed data layers within the species' known range.

This Gap Analysis Project (GAP) habitat map is a prediction of the spatial distribution of suitable environmental and land cover conditions within the United States for the species. Mapped areas represent places where the environment is suitable for the species to occur (i.e. suitable to support one or more life history requirements for breeding, resting, or foraging), while areas not included in the map are those predicted to be unsuitable for the species. While the actual distributions of many species are likely to be habitat limited, suitable habitat will not always be occupied because of population dynamics and species interactions. Furthermore, these maps correspond to midscale characterizations of landscapes, but individual animals may deem areas to be unsuitable because of presence or absence of fine-scale features and characteristics that are not represented in our models (e.g. snags, vernal pools, shrubby undergrowth). These maps are intended to be used at a 1:100,000 or smaller map scale.

This habitat map is created by applying a deductive habitat model to remotely-sensed data layers within the species’ range. The deductive habitat models are built by compiling information on the species’ habitat associations and entering it into a relational database. Information is compiled from the best available characterizations of the species’ habitat, which included species accounts in books and databases, primary peer-reviewed literature. The literature references for each species are included in the "Species Habitat Model Report" and "Machine Readable Habitat Database Parameters" files attached to each habitat map item in the ScienceBase repository. The compiled habitat information is used by a biologist to determine which of the ecological systems and land use classes represented in the National Gap Analysis Project’s (GAP) Land Cover Map Ver. 1.0 the species is associated with.

The maps are generated using a python script that queries the model parameters in the database; reclassifies the GAP Land Cover Ver 1.0 and ancillary data layers within the species’ range; and combines the reclassified layers to produce the final 30m reslution habitat map. Map output is, therefore, not only a reflection of the ecological systems that are selected in the habitat model, but also any other constraints in the model that are represented by the ancillary data layers.

Source: - Gap Analysis Project (GAP), 2018, Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (Rana muscosa) aSMFRx_CONUS_2001v1 Habitat Map: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F70Z71KZ.

- Credits:  USGS

US Geological Survey Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center: 
Data disclaimer:  
Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.