European Green Crab Habitat Suitability Predictions for Salish Sea Beaches

Salish Sea beaches in British Columbia are assessed for European Green Crab invasion risk using five predictive models. The dataset contains habitat suitability predictions from MaxEnt, gradient boosted regression, and other methods, synthesized through a multi-model ensemble approach. It was produced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to inform early detection monitoring site selection.

Use Cases

• Compare habitat suitability scores from the five individual models (e.g., MaxEnt, gradient boosted regression) to assess model agreement for specific beach locations.
• Apply the multi-model ensemble predictions to prioritize Salish Sea beaches for early detection monitoring of European Green Crab based on combined environmental and habitat characteristics.
• Analyze spatial patterns of predicted suitability to identify coastal areas within the Salish Sea most vulnerable to European Green Crab invasion.

Strengths

• Predictions are derived from five distinct modeling methods, providing multiple analytical perspectives on habitat suitability.
• A multi-model ensemble approach integrates outputs, likely increasing predictive power by combining environmental and habitat variables.
• Data is provided in multiple geospatial formats (ESRI REST, SHP, CSV), facilitating analysis in various GIS and statistical software.

Limitations

• The dataset contains model predictions, not direct field observations of crab presence or abundance, requiring validation with empirical data.
• Predictive accuracy is confined to the Canadian portion of the Salish Sea and may not generalize to other geographic regions.
• Specific input variables, row counts, and column details for the underlying models are not provided in the available metadata.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Model predictions from five habitat suitability assessment methods (MaxEnt, stochastic gradient boosted models, rapid site selection, qualitative ranking) and their derived ensemble.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

Salish Sea, British Columbia, Pacific Region (Canada).