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* Metric Name: Threatened/Endangered Vertebrate Species Richness *  

* Tier: 2  

* Data Vintage: 04/2023  

* Unit Of Measure: Number of species  

* Represent element and pillar: Yes  

* Type and distribution of data: Normal distribution representing count values. Raw values ranged from 0 to 10 across the Southern California. Maximum values varied among climate classes.  

* Translation: Where are the number of threatened and endangered species the greatest?  

* 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 a greater number of threatened and endangered species at a given point in time (positive linear slope). More favorable (translated to +1) and less favorable (translated to -1) set based on climate regions (Table 7).

Figure . Histogram and scoring of threatened and endangered vertebrate species
richness in Southern California

Figure . Histogram of translated threatened and endangered vertebrate species
richness in Southern California

Figure . Maps displaying raw metric and translated metric translated and
endangered vertebrate 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. These values are specific to the southern California species and footprint for this kit.  

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