San Francisco Bay Eelgrass Habitat Suitability Model

What is the San Francisco Bay Eelgrass Habitat Suitability Model? It is a spatial model that predicts the capacity of a given location to support eelgrass habitat on the basis of measured and modeled physical (abiotic) parameters and prior observations of eelgrass occurrence within San Francisco Bay.

How To Use the Model

• This model can be used as a screening or support tool to gather information on a location’s restoration potential or conservation priority but it should not substitute for site-specific review.
• As a screening tool, the model may assist in determining whether a baseline eelgrass survey is warranted to inform environmental analysis and permit evaluation.
• As a predictive tool supporting restoration or conservation, the model can help to evaluate how the Bay’s eelgrass distribution may be altered by changing environmental conditions

Limitations and Caveats of the Models

• Pixels containing values for density-frequency in Current Conditions model do not imply eelgrass is currently present.
• Extreme Scenarios model assumes a static shoreline for all sub-models.
• This tool should not be used to determine current presence or absence of eelgrass.
• The tool is intended as a planning and analysis tool and does not take the place of field investigations at a site-specific level.
• The model is based on imperfect data sets derived from multiple sources. Error within model input layers is propagated through the modeling process.
• As new base data become available, the model should be updated to improve screening and predictive ability.