Cave-limited species display patchy and restricted distributions, but are challenging to study in-situ because of the difficulty of sampling. It is often unclear whether the observed distribution is a sampling artifact or a true restriction in range. Further, the drivers of the distribution could be local environmental conditions, such as cave humidity, or they could be associated with surface features that are surrogates for cave conditions. If surface features can be used to predict the distribution of important cave taxa, then conservation management goals can be more easily obtained. These GIS data represent the input and results of a spatial statistical model used to examine the hypothesis that the presence of major faunal groups of cave obligate species could be predicted based on features of the earth surface. Georeferenced records of cave obligate amphipods, crayfish, fish, isopods, beetles, millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails within the area of Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) in the eastern United States (Illinois to Virginia, and New York to Alabama) were assigned to 20 x 20 km grid cells. Habitat suitability for these faunal groups was modeled using logistic regression with twenty predictor variables within each grid cell, such as percent karst, soil features, temperature, precipitation, and elevation. The models successfully predicted the presence of a group greater than 65 percent of the time (mean=88 percent) for the presence of single grid cell endemics, and for all faunal groups except pseudoscorpions. The most common predictor variables were latitude, percent karst, and the standard deviation of the Topographic Position Index (TPI), a measure of landscape rugosity within each grid cell. The overall success of these models points to a number of important connections between the surface and cave environments, and some of these, especially soil features and topographic variability, suggest new research directions. These models should prove to be useful tools in predicting the presence of species in understudied areas.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.

We developed spatial summary (GIS) layers for a study of factors influencing the distribution of cave and karst associated fauna within the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative region, one of 22 public-private partnerships established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in developing landscape scale solutions to conservation problems (https://lccnetwork.org/lcc/appalachian). We gathered occurrence data on cave-limited terrestrial and aquatic troglobiotic species from a variety of sources within the Appalachian LCC region covering portions of 15 states. Occurrence records were developed from the scientific literature, existing biodiversity databases, personal records of the authors, museum accessions, state Natural Heritage programs, and The Nature Conservancy (for Tennessee). Occurrence records were identified by location and translated into a GIS database. Although the precise locations cannot be made public due the sensitivity of the information, data sharing agreements, and restrictions under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, we summarized the data spatially using a coarse 20x20km vector grid. We used these occurence records, summarized at the 20x20km grid resolution in statistical modeling to examine physical factors predictive of cave dwelling fauna. Spatial summaries were developed for all cave dwelling species in our database where we had location coordinates for nine faunal groups (five terrestrial and four aquatic) that are common components of terrestrial and aquatic cave communities: ground beetles (Carabidae), millipedes, pseudoscorpions, spiders, and springtails for terrestrial species groups, and amphipods (Crangonyctidae and Gammaridae), isopods (Asellidae), crayfishes (Cambaridae), and fishes (Amblyopsidae) for aquatic species groups.