Case Study Example

We are interested in performing a habitat suitability study for a caribou herd. The objective of this study is to allow us to make informed decisions on how a new development may affect the caribou.

In the case of looking at relationships among mapped variables, we could use the information on where the herd spends most of its time. We might find that it prefers the edges of old growth forest for feeding. We can then look at where these types of areas are located in our study region and thereby identify how much caribou-friendly habitat is present.

In the case of looking at a time sequence, we can plot the migration pattern of the caribou herd over time. We can then predict when the herd may come into contact with a new (or proposed) development.

In the case of predictive modeling, we can use our knowledge of the types of habitats that caribou prefer to identify other similar habitat areas. This information can be used to identify areas that have a high probability of hosting an unknown herd as well as for estimating the potential sizes of these herds.

In the case of dynamic simulations, we may have found that there is a strong correlation between caribou location, soil type, dominant tree species and ground vegetation. We can rerun our model without the soil information so that we can determine if the soil type, is in fact, useful for predicting herd location.

In the case of "what if" questions, we could use the GIS to place a housing development in the study area. By overlaying this information with caribou locations, we could determine if this development would disturb their migration. Alternatively, we could see whether this development would result in the loss of caribou habitat.

This modelling can also be turned around to determine which areas would be best for locating a new development, so that it minimizes or eliminates any impact on the herd.