Modelling abiotic indicators when obtaining spatial predictions of speciesrichness

When conservation biologists formulate strategy used in decisions concernin g the locations of new national parks, refuges and reserves, accurate infor mation about species richness and spatial patterns of species distributions can be critical. Recent research has demonstrated that spatial models and bioindicator taxa can be quite useful for determining generalized spatial p atterns of unrelated taxa on a continental scale. In this research, I incor porate abiotic effects, in this case altitudinal relief, into both the mean and the covariance structures of the spatial prediction model. I use bird species data collected in the Indian subcontinent and cross-validation tech niques to illustrate the degree of improvement in prediction accuracy engen dered by using the abiotic factor and the modified spatial models.