Spatial Macrobenthos Habitat on Ganghwa Tidal Flat, Korea: Part II - Habitat Potential Mapping of Potamocorbula laevis Using Probability Models

Abstract

Macrobenthos is a well-known biological indicator of environmental pollution, and its habitat plays important roles in the food chain in intertidal estuary ecosystems. Therefore, determination of the macrobenthos distribution is essential to understand such ecosystems. Potamocorbula laevis is a macrobenthos species that is found on Ganghwa tidal flat, South Korea. To model the potential distribution of this species, a dataset consisting of 5700 Potamocorbula laevis was divided into training and validation datasets at a 1:1 ratio. Eight controlling factors were also included for evaluation using three models-frequency ratio (FR), weight of evidence (WoE), and evidential belief function (EBF)-to determine the correlations with Potamocorbula laevis habitat potential. From these models, a Potamocorbula laevis habitat potential map was generated and validated using the areas under the curves (AUCs); WoE had the highest accuracy (94.02 %), followed by EBF (81.72 %), and then FR (79.47 %). This Potamocorbula laevis habitat potential map can be used as basic information to understand the intertidal estuarine ecosystem and for future planning regarding the tidal flat area by the government, developers, or public policy makers.