ECOLOGICAL-NICHE FACTOR ANALYSIS: HOW TO COMPUTE HABITAT-SUITABILITY MAPS WITHOUT ABSENCE DATA?

2002/07/01 by A. H. Hirzel, Alexandre H. Hirzel, Jean Hausser +5 · 1,454 citations
Environmental Science · Mathematics · #Biology #Distribution (mathematics) #Ecological niche #Ecology #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies #Environmental niche modelling #Geography #Habitat #Mathematics #Multivariate statistics #Niche #Range (aeronautics) #Species Distribution and Climate Change #Species distribution #Statistics #Variance (accounting) #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

paper · open access · doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[2027:enfaht]2.0.co;2

published in Ecology 83(7), 2027-2036 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2002/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We propose a multivariate approach to the study of geographic species distribution which does not require absence data. Building on Hutchinson's concept of the ecological niche, this factor analysis compares, in the multidimensional space of ecological variables, the distribution of the localities where the focal species was observed to a reference set describing the whole study area. The first factor extracted maximizes the marginality of the focal species, defined as the ecological distance between the species optimum and the mean habitat within the reference area. The other factors maximize the specialization of this focal species, defined as the ratio of the ecological variance in mean habitat to that observed for the focal species. Eigenvectors and eigenvalues are readily interpreted and can be used to build habitat-suitability maps. This approach is recommended in situations where absence data are not available (many data banks), unreliable (most cryptic or rare species), or meaningless (invaders). We provide an illustration and validation of the method for the alpine ibex, a species reintroduced in Switzerland which presumably has not yet recolonized its entire range.

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