Echinoids of the Kerguelen Plateau – occurrence data and environmental setting for past, present, and future species distribution modelling

Abstract

The present dataset provides a case study for (SDM)species distribution modelling and for model testing in a poorly documented marine region.The dataset includes spatially-explicit data for echinoid (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) distribution. Echinoids were collected during oceanographic campaigns led around the Kerguelen Plateau (+63°/+81°E; -46°/-56°S) since 1872. In addition to the identification of collection specimens from historical cruises, original data from the recent campaigns POKER II (2010) and PROTEKER 2 to 4 (2013-2015) are also provided. In total, five families, ten genera, and 12 echinoid species are recorded in the region of the Kerguelen Plateau.The dataset is complemented with environmental descriptors available and relevant for echinoid ecology and SDM. The environmental data was compiled from different sources and was modified to suit the geographic extent of the Kerguelen Plateau, using scripts developed with the R language (R Core Team 2015). Spatial resolution was set at a common 0.1° pixel resolution. Mean seafloor and sea surface temperatures, salinity and their amplitudes, all derived from the World Ocean Database (Boyer et al. 2013) are made available for the six following decades: 1955–1964, 1965–1974, 1975–1984, 1985–1994, 1995–2004, 2005–2012.Future projections are provided for several parameters: they were modified from the Bio-ORACLE database (Tyberghein et al. 2012). They are based on three IPCC scenarii (B1, AIB, A2) for years 2100 and 2200 (IPCC, 4th report).

Methods for improving species distribution models in data-poor areas: example of sub-Antarctic benthic species on the Kerguelen Plateau

“…Species occurrence data were taken from Guillaumot et al (2016) and Pierrat et al (2012). The data set includes presence-only data of echinoid species collected during 19 scientific cruises carried out on the Kerguelen Plateau (46 to 56°S, 63 to 81°E) since 1872 ( Fig.…”

“…1B illustrates the expeditions that mainly contributed to the dataset. The full list is available in Guillaumot et al (2016). Scientific objectives, dates, sampling effort, gears and surveyed areas differed between cruises, leading to spatial and temporal heterogeneities (Guillaumot et al 2016).…”

“…The full list is available in Guillaumot et al (2016). Scientific objectives, dates, sampling effort, gears and surveyed areas differed between cruises, leading to spatial and temporal heterogeneities (Guillaumot et al 2016). From this data set, 4 echinoid species with contrasting ecological preferences and a high number of presence-only records were selected.…”

“…Environmental descriptors were taken from Guillaumot et al (2016). The data set covers the geographic extent of the Kerguelen Plateau and com-prises environmental data encompassing 6 decades .…”

“…Therefore, the growing interest of marine biologists and biogeographers in the region has led to the conception of collaborative projects compiling past and present marine biodiversity data in information networks such as the SCAR-Marine Biodiversity Information Network (SCAR-MarBIN) (Griffiths et al 2011), the Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean (De Broyer et al 2014) and other open access databases (Danis et al 2013, Gutt et al 2013, Van de Putte et al 2014. However, running SDMs in the region still requires a significant data compilation effort (Guillaumot et al 2016) to complement the existing open access data sources and to check for data quality. In addition, modeling Southern Ocean species distributions poses auxiliary problems due to the paucity of data and model performances that can vary with ecological niche width (Qiao et al 2015).…”