Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.

The wild boar is an important crop raider as well as a reservoir and agent of spread of swine diseases. Due to increasing densities and expanding ranges worldwide, the related economic losses in livestock and agricultural sectors are significant and on the rise. Its management and control would stro...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Claudia Pittiglio, Sergei Khomenko, Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5955487?pdf=render
_version_ 1819052298918166528
author Claudia Pittiglio
Sergei Khomenko
Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo
author_facet Claudia Pittiglio
Sergei Khomenko
Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo
author_sort Claudia Pittiglio
collection DOAJ
description The wild boar is an important crop raider as well as a reservoir and agent of spread of swine diseases. Due to increasing densities and expanding ranges worldwide, the related economic losses in livestock and agricultural sectors are significant and on the rise. Its management and control would strongly benefit from accurate and detailed spatial information on species distribution and abundance, which are often available only for small areas. Data are commonly available at aggregated administrative units with little or no information about the distribution of the species within the unit. In this paper, a four-step geostatistical downscaling approach is presented and used to disaggregate wild boar population density statistics from administrative units of different shape and size (polygons) to 5 km resolution raster maps by incorporating auxiliary fine scale environmental variables. 1) First a stratification method was used to define homogeneous bioclimatic regions for the analysis; 2) Under a geostatistical framework, the wild boar densities at administrative units, i.e. subnational areas, were decomposed into trend and residual components for each bioclimatic region. Quantitative relationships between wild boar data and environmental variables were estimated through multiple regression and used to derive trend components at 5 km spatial resolution. Next, the residual components (i.e., the differences between the trend components and the original wild boar data at administrative units) were downscaled at 5 km resolution using area-to-point kriging. The trend and residual components obtained at 5 km resolution were finally added to generate fine scale wild boar estimates for each bioclimatic region. 3) These maps were then mosaicked to produce a final output map of predicted wild boar densities across most of Eurasia. 4) Model accuracy was assessed at each different step using input as well as independent data. We discuss advantages and limits of the method and its potential application in animal health.
first_indexed 2024-12-21T12:17:37Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d33a5fcfd55f45dc952677e9b6890835
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-21T12:17:37Z
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-d33a5fcfd55f45dc952677e9b68908352022-12-21T19:04:25ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-01135e019329510.1371/journal.pone.0193295Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.Claudia PittiglioSergei KhomenkoDaniel Beltran-AlcrudoThe wild boar is an important crop raider as well as a reservoir and agent of spread of swine diseases. Due to increasing densities and expanding ranges worldwide, the related economic losses in livestock and agricultural sectors are significant and on the rise. Its management and control would strongly benefit from accurate and detailed spatial information on species distribution and abundance, which are often available only for small areas. Data are commonly available at aggregated administrative units with little or no information about the distribution of the species within the unit. In this paper, a four-step geostatistical downscaling approach is presented and used to disaggregate wild boar population density statistics from administrative units of different shape and size (polygons) to 5 km resolution raster maps by incorporating auxiliary fine scale environmental variables. 1) First a stratification method was used to define homogeneous bioclimatic regions for the analysis; 2) Under a geostatistical framework, the wild boar densities at administrative units, i.e. subnational areas, were decomposed into trend and residual components for each bioclimatic region. Quantitative relationships between wild boar data and environmental variables were estimated through multiple regression and used to derive trend components at 5 km spatial resolution. Next, the residual components (i.e., the differences between the trend components and the original wild boar data at administrative units) were downscaled at 5 km resolution using area-to-point kriging. The trend and residual components obtained at 5 km resolution were finally added to generate fine scale wild boar estimates for each bioclimatic region. 3) These maps were then mosaicked to produce a final output map of predicted wild boar densities across most of Eurasia. 4) Model accuracy was assessed at each different step using input as well as independent data. We discuss advantages and limits of the method and its potential application in animal health.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5955487?pdf=render
spellingShingle Claudia Pittiglio
Sergei Khomenko
Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo
Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.
PLoS ONE
title Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.
title_full Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.
title_fullStr Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.
title_full_unstemmed Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.
title_short Wild boar mapping using population-density statistics: From polygons to high resolution raster maps.
title_sort wild boar mapping using population density statistics from polygons to high resolution raster maps
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5955487?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT claudiapittiglio wildboarmappingusingpopulationdensitystatisticsfrompolygonstohighresolutionrastermaps
AT sergeikhomenko wildboarmappingusingpopulationdensitystatisticsfrompolygonstohighresolutionrastermaps
AT danielbeltranalcrudo wildboarmappingusingpopulationdensitystatisticsfrompolygonstohighresolutionrastermaps