Marine geospatial ecology tools

Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Laboratory is developing Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools, a free, open-source Python package for marine ecologists. Our presentation will demonstrate four sets of included tools. The benthic complexity tool predicts hardbottom substrate from coarse-resolution (90m) bathymetry. Oceanographic data tools perform batch conversion of oceanographic satellite data to Arc formats, and batch sampling. Habitat modeling tools execute multivariate regression techniques on sampled environmental parameters and identify optimal habitat patches from logistic habitat surfaces. Connectivity tools apply graph-theoretic algorithms for calculating least-cost paths between all patches, restricting networks based on dispersal distances, and calculating graph metrics such as degree and betweenness. The package is designed for interoperability and extensibility. All tools are wrapped by an ArcGIS toolbox, command-line scripts, and COM automation interfaces, allowing them to be easily invoked from nearly any programming environment. The package includes complete documentation and examples of use.