Habitat suitability (HS) describes the ability of the habitat to support living organisms. There are several approaches to estimate habitat suitability. These approaches are specific to a species or habitat or estimate general HS broadly across multiple species or habitats. The objectives of the study were to compare the approaches for estimating HS and to provide guidelines for choosing an appropriate HS method for conservation. Three HS estimation methods were used. Method 1 scores the suitability based on the naturality of the habitat. Method 2 uses the average of HS values found in the literature. Method 3 uses the species richness as an indicator for HS. The methods were applied to a case study in the Choctawhatchee River Watershed. GIS applications were used to model the suitability of the watershed. The advantages and disadvantages of the HS methods were then summarized. The multiple HS maps created using the three methods display the suitability of the watershed. The highest suitability occurred in the southern parts of the region. Finally, a decision support tool was developed to help determine which approach to select based on the available data and research goals.

As the human population increases, the landscape is altered to provide housing, food, and industry. Human activity poses a risk to the health of natural habitats that, in turn, affect biodiversity. Biodiversity is necessary for a functioning ecosystem, as species work synergistically to create a livable environment. It is, therefore, important to know how human practices and natural events threaten these habitats and the species living in them. A universal method of modeling habitat threats does not exist. This paper details the use of a literature review to formulate a new framework called Define–Investigate–Estimate–Map (DIEM). This framework is a process of defining threats, investigating an area to discover what threats are present, estimating the severity of those threats, and mapping the threats. Analysis of 62 studies was conducted to determine how different authors define and characterize threats in various contexts. The results of this analysis were then applied to a case study to evaluate the Choctawhatchee River and Bay Watershed. Results suggest that the most abundant threat in the watershed is agricultural development, and the most destructive threat is urban development. These two threats have the greatest impact on the total threat level of the watershed. Applying the DIEM framework demonstrates its helpfulness in regional analysis, watershed modeling, and land development planning.

Human activity increases as population increases. The environment must be altered in response to the pressures increasing population creates. Altering the environment may pose a risk to the health of natural habitats. The health and quality of habitats promotes biodiversity in ecosystems. Biodiversity is necessary for a functioning ecosystem as species work synergistically to create a livable environment. It is therefore important to know how practices and events threaten these habitats and the species living in them. This work details how research is used to formulate a framework for identifying habitat threats in any given region, determine habitat suitability, assess habitat sensitivity to different threats, and ultimately model how the quality of habitats change under different land use/cover scenarios. A meta-analysis of how different authors define and characterize threat in various contexts was done. The results of this analysis aids in the process of threat mapping, regional analysis, and land development planning. Knowledge gained from this study was used to evaluate regions on a watershed level using a combination of GIS technology and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model with the goal of performing vulnerability analyses.