Habitat suitability models are widely adopted in ecosystem management and restoration, where these index models are used to assess environmental impacts and benefits based on the quantity and quality of a given habitat. Many spatially distributed ecological processes require application of suitability models within a geographic information system (GIS). Here, we present a geospatial toolbox for assessing habitat suitability. The Geospatial Suitability Indices (GSI) toolbox was developed in ArcGIS Pro 2.7 using the Python® 3.7 programming language and is available for use on the local desktop in the Windows 10 environment. Two main tools comprise the GSI toolbox. First, the Suitability Index Calculator tool uses thematic or continuous geospatial raster layers to calculate parameter suitability indices based on user-specified habitat relationships. Second, the Overall Suitability Index Calculator combines multiple parameter suitability indices into one overarching index using one or more options, including: arithmetic mean, weighted arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and minimum limiting factor. The resultant output is a raster layer representing habitat suitability values from 0.0 to 1.0, where zero is unsuitable habitat and one is ideal suitability. This report documents the model purpose and development as well as provides a user’s guide for the GSI toolbox.
MULTIPLE PARAMETER ESTIMATION AND BEHAVIOR CONSISTENCY CRITERION IN REGRESSION ANALYSIS