Software and algorithm for ecological niche modeling.
Maxent is a mathematically rigorous method for modeling species geographic distributions, based on known occurrences and environmental (especially climatic) predictor variables, introduced in a 2006 paper by Steven J. Phillips, Robert P. Anderson, and Robert E. Schapire. It is based on maximum entropy modeling and implemented as a Java program, provided by the authors, and also implemented in some r packages (for example dismo,maxent) . The software takes as input a set of layers or environmental variables (such as elevation, precipitation, etc.), as well as a set of georeferenced occurrence locations, and produces a model of probability of suitable conditions for the given species. It is free for education and research, but not for commercial purposes.
