Siri Kadalbal

Using an ANN (more specific later) to model the impact & distribution of (pollution, wildfires, invasive species ) on (3-5 species)’s habitat distribution in a given time period in (CA ecosystem).

Started May 21, 2025

Abstract or project description

This project will focus on modeling the species distribution of a key species or set of species in a California ecosystem. The key species will be either an invasive species (e.g. pine bark beetle) or a keystone species (e.g. California redwoods), or other species of high cultural/economic importance such as the Chinook salmon. The project will use species occurrence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) along with data relevant to predicting the species habitat, such as climate variables. The data may include known threat datasets such as pollutants that would also be relevant to modeling the habitat suitability. With such a model, we can answer scenarios such as what if the inputs vary (e.g. climate change; pollutants double or are cut in half) and how that impacts the habitat suitability in response.