The softwares that must be used are ArcGIS and Maxent ( Full details are in each of the Computer Lab Instruction file I have uploaded)
Please find attached the module organiser message regarding the assessment :
"You will need to undertake an individual project, which is based on the four computer labs. Each lab will introduce new methods and approaches, which you will apply to a case study (a species and region) of your own choosing. You will progressively build your project over the duration of the module.
The labs progress as follows:
Lab 1: Obtain and import species’ occurrence records
Lab 2: Obtain and manipulate environmental layers
Labs 3 and 4: Run, apply and evaluate a species distribution model
Guidance on choosing a study species and region will be given during lectures and labs. In summary, select a species that is restricted to a single continent, ensure you can obtain ~20-1000 occurrence records (e.g., from GBIF in lab 1), and stick with terrestrial, not marine or freshwater (due to availability of environmental datasets). Aim to select a species with some conservation interest; for example, a species that is invasive, endangered (e.g., IUCN Red List), likely to be impacted by climate change, or important for ecosystem services (e.g., pollination).
To obtain feedback on your progress, you must submit via Moodle a one-paragraph project proposal after Lab 1 (deadline 5pm Wednesday 19 January 2022) and a two-paragraph project update after Lab 4 (deadline 5pm Wednesday 16 Feb 2022). Guidelines for these interim reports are provided at the end of the lab documents. The interim reports are not assessed; instead, feedback will be provided promptly to help with writing the final report.
A template to help structure your final write-up is provided. This provides guidance on what should be included and the criteria for assessment. For instance, your report should: justify the choice of species and region (why are they of interest?); describe your methods (data sources, types of environmental variables, modelling approach); present your results; and include a Discussion that reviews possible implications/applications of your results (e.g., could the models contribute toward species discovery? what could be the impacts of climate change?). Try to relate your work to some of the issues we will cover in other parts of the course (e.g., would you make intrinsic or utilitarian arguments for conservation of the species? what conservation action might help conservation of the species?).
Also, be sure to include key figures: a map of the species distribution; a map of at least one environmental layer; a map showing a species distribution model; evaluation statistics for your model; a map showing species distribution model projected to a different region and/or time period. All maps should be neatly presented, including a key, legend and title. Include the maps within the write-up as figures that are referred to in the text. Write the report broadly in the style of a Primary Research Article for the journal Global Change Biology (follow their style for references and section headings, but stick to the word limit for this module; see the online author guidelines here).
The word limit for the final report is up to 2,000 words. The limit includes title, abstract, figure legends, tables and in-text citations, but excludes full citations in the reference list at the end.
All reports are marked in accordance with the Faculty of Life Sciences marking guidelines for coursework, which are posted on the Introduction tab of the module’s Moodle page.
For advice on how to write a good research report, I recommend watching this lecture (in 3 parts).