EcoService Models Library (ESML)
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Compare EMs
Which comparison is best for me?EM Variables by Variable Role
One quick way to compare ecological models (EMs) is by comparing their variables. Predictor variables show what kinds of influences a model is able to account for, and what kinds of data it requires. Response variables show what information a model is capable of estimating.
This first comparison shows the names (and units) of each EM’s variables, side-by-side, sorted by variable role. Variable roles in ESML are as follows:
- Predictor Variables
- Time- or Space-Varying Variables
- Constants and Parameters
- Intermediate (Computed) Variables
- Response Variables
- Computed Response Variables
- Measured Response Variables
EM Variables by Category
A second way to use variables to compare EMs is by focusing on the kind of information each variable represents. The top-level categories in the ESML Variable Classification Hierarchy are as follows:
- Policy Regarding Use or Management of Ecosystem Resources
- Land Surface (or Water Body Bed) Cover, Use or Substrate
- Human Demographic Data
- Human-Produced Stressor or Enhancer of Ecosystem Goods and Services Production
- Ecosystem Attributes and Potential Supply of Ecosystem Goods and Services
- Non-monetary Indicators of Human Demand, Use or Benefit of Ecosystem Goods and Services
- Monetary Values
Besides understanding model similarities, sorting the variables for each EM by these 7 categories makes it easier to see if the compared models can be linked using similar variables. For example, if one model estimates an ecosystem attribute (in Category 5), such as water clarity, as a response variable, and a second model uses a similar attribute (also in Category 5) as a predictor of recreational use, the two models can potentially be used in tandem. This comparison makes it easier to spot potential model linkages.
All EM Descriptors
This selection allows a more detailed comparison of EMs by model characteristics other than their variables. The 50-or-so EM descriptors for each model are presented, side-by-side, in the following categories:
- EM Identity and Description
- EM Modeling Approach
- EM Locations, Environments, Ecology
- EM Ecosystem Goods and Services (EGS) potentially modeled, by classification system
EM Descriptors by Modeling Concepts
This feature guides the user through the use of the following seven concepts for comparing and selecting EMs:
- Conceptual Model
- Modeling Objective
- Modeling Context
- Potential for Model Linkage
- Feasibility of Model Use
- Model Certainty
- Model Structural Information
Though presented separately, these concepts are interdependent, and information presented under one concept may have relevance to other concepts as well.
EM Identity and Description
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
EM Short Name
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Blue crabs and SAV, Chesapeake Bay, USA | Land capability classification |
EM Full Name
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Blue crabs and submerged aquatic vegetation interaction, Chesapeake Bay, USA | Land capability classification |
EM Source or Collection
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None | None |
EM Source Document ID
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292 ?Comment:Conference paper |
340 |
Document Author
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Mykoniatis, N. and Ready, R. | United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service |
Document Year
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2013 | 2013 |
Document Title
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Evaluating habitat-fishery interactions: The case of submerged aquatic vegetation and blue crab fishery in the Chesapeake Bay | National Soil Survey Handbook - Part 622 - Interpretative Groups |
Document Status
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Not formally documented | Peer reviewed and published |
Comments on Status
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Conference proceedings | Published report |
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
Not applicable | Not applicable | |
Contact Name
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Nikolaos Mykoniatis | United States Department of Agriculture |
Contact Address
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Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education The Pennsylvania State University | Not reported |
Contact Email
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Not reported | http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/contactus/ |
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
Summary Description
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ABSTRACT: "This paper investigates habitat-fisheries interaction between two important resources in the Chesapeake Bay: blue crabs and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV). A habitat can be essential to a species (the species is driven to extinction without it), facultative (more habitat means more of the species, but species can exist at some level without any of the habitat) or irrelevant (more habitat is not associated with more of the species). An empirical bioeconomic model that nests the essential-habitat model into its facultative-habitat counterpart is estimated. Two alternative approaches are used to test whether SAV matters for the crab stock. Our results indicate that, if we do not have perfect information on habitat-fisheries linkages, the right approach would be to run the more general facultative-habitat model instead of the essential- habitat one." | AUTHOR'S DESCRIPTION: "Definition. Land capability classification is a system of grouping soils primarily on the basis of their capability to produce common cultivated crops and pasture plants without deteriorating over a long period of time." "Class I (1) soils have slight limitations that restrict their use. Class II (2) soils have moderate limitations that reduce the choice of plants or require moderate conservation practices. Class III (3) soils have severe limitations that reduce the choice of plants or require special conservation practices, or both. Class IV (4) soils have very severe limitations that restrict the choice of plants or require very careful management, or both. Class V (5) soils have little or no hazard of erosion but have other limitations, impractical to remove, that limit their use mainly to pasture, rangeland, forestland, or wildlife habitat. Class VI (6) soils have severe limitations that make them generally unsuited to cultivation and that limit their use mainly to pasture, rangeland, forestland, or wildlife habitat. Class VII (7) soils have very severe limitations that make them unsuited to cultivation and that restrict their use mainly to rangeland, forestland, or wildlife habitat. Class VIII (8) soils and miscellaneous areas have limitations that preclude their use for commercial plant production and limit their use mainly to recreation, wildlife habitat, water supply, or esthetic purposes." [More information can be found at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/ref/?cid=nrcs142p2_054226#ex2] |
Specific Policy or Decision Context Cited
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Not applicable | None provided |
Biophysical Context
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Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV), eelgrass | No additional description provided |
EM Scenario Drivers
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Essential or Facultative habitat | No scenarios presented |
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
Method Only, Application of Method or Model Run
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Method + Application | Method Only |
New or Pre-existing EM?
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Application of existing model | New or revised model |
Related EMs (for example, other versions or derivations of this EM) described in ESML
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
Document ID for related EM
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Doc-227 | None |
EM ID for related EM
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EM-106 | None |
EM Modeling Approach
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
EM Temporal Extent
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1993-2011 | Not applicable |
EM Time Dependence
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time-dependent | Not applicable |
EM Time Reference (Future/Past)
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past time | Not applicable |
EM Time Continuity
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discrete | Not applicable |
EM Temporal Grain Size Value
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1 | Not applicable |
EM Temporal Grain Size Unit
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Year | Not applicable |
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
Bounding Type
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Physiographic or ecological | Not applicable |
Spatial Extent Name
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Chesapeake Bay | Not applicable |
Spatial Extent Area (Magnitude)
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10,000-100,000 km^2 | Not applicable |
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
EM Spatial Distribution
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spatially lumped (in all cases) | Not applicable |
Spatial Grain Type
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Not applicable | Not applicable |
Spatial Grain Size
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Not applicable | Not applicable |
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
EM Computational Approach
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Analytic | Not applicable |
EM Determinism
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deterministic | deterministic |
Statistical Estimation of EM
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EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
Model Calibration Reported?
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Yes | Not applicable |
Model Goodness of Fit Reported?
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Yes | Not applicable |
Goodness of Fit (metric| value | unit)
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None | None |
Model Operational Validation Reported?
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Yes | No |
Model Uncertainty Analysis Reported?
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Yes | Not applicable |
Model Sensitivity Analysis Reported?
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Yes | Not applicable |
Model Sensitivity Analysis Include Interactions?
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Yes | Not applicable |
EM Locations, Environments, Ecology
Terrestrial location (Classification hierarchy: Continent > Country > U.S. State [United States only])
EM-185 | EM-434 |
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None |
Marine location (Classification hierarchy: Realm > Region > Province > Ecoregion)
EM-185 | EM-434 |
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None |
Centroid Lat/Long (Decimal Degree)
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
Centroid Latitude
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36.99 | Not applicable |
Centroid Longitude
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-75.95 | Not applicable |
Centroid Datum
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WGS84 | Not applicable |
Centroid Coordinates Status
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Estimated | Not applicable |
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
EM Environmental Sub-Class
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None | Terrestrial Environment (sub-classes not fully specified) |
Specific Environment Type
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Yes | None identified |
EM Ecological Scale
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Yes | Ecological scale corresponds to the Environmental Sub-class |
Scale of differentiation of organisms modeled
EM ID
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EM-185 | EM-434 |
EM Organismal Scale
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Yes | Not applicable |
Taxonomic level and name of organisms or groups identified
EM-185 | EM-434 |
None Available | None Available |
EnviroAtlas URL
EM-185 | EM-434 |
None Available | Average Annual Precipitation |
EM Ecosystem Goods and Services (EGS) potentially modeled, by classification system
CICES v 4.3 - Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (Section > Division > Group > Class)
EM-185 | EM-434 |
None |
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<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/national-ecosystem-services-classification-system-nescs-plus">National Ecosystem Services Classification System (NESCS) Plus</a>
(Environmental Subclass > Ecological End-Product (EEP) > EEP Subclass > EEP Modifier)
EM-185 | EM-434 |
None |
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