Results
and Problems
This analysis has shown us that there are three large regions in the Lower Mainland that are suitable for leprechaun populations to survive. We have named these populations of leprechauns based on their region of habitation. They are: the Golden Ears Leprechauns in the northeast, the Douglas Island Leprechauns in central GVRD, and the Deltonian Leprechauns in the southern west coast area. The analysis has also highlighted the main pathways that leprechauns from the three regions are most likely going to take. All of this is presented in the spatial analysis section of the study.
This analysis was completed using IDRISI GIS software and as you can see, many things can be accomplished that cannot be done by hand mapping and statistical calculations. The results we obtained from the analysis look very convincing and precise and they might be, but there are many errors and estimations in the study that make the results a bit questionable.
When studying a species such as the leprechaun, which has never been thoroughly examined, there are obvious guesses that need to be made. First of all, the characteristics of the environment that pertain to leprechaun survival may actually be different from the real aspects of the world that are important to them when they are choosing a place to live. For example, leprechauns may not be affected by elevation at all or they in fact like higher elevations and were only limited by this factor in Ireland. This analysis was limited by the current knowledge on leprechauns as well as the data that was available in digital format. For example, we could not find digitized data on the distribution of clover or on the habitats of other mythical species such as elves and fairies. Its level of detail limited the data that we did have. The land use information provided only simple descriptions such as “agriculture”, while specific types like “orchards” and “potatoes” would have been more helpful.
Two other errors are the result of the limitations of the analytical operations. The first one has to do with the way the friction surface was created. Although doing a MCE with reverse values allows you to create the surface based on multiple criteria, it does limit the values that can be assigned (0-255). The second problem is with the method in creating a least cost pathway. In this operation the computer selects the “best” or lowest value pixel next to the one that it is currently on to end up at the destination. In reality it may be much more practical to enter a high-risk pixel at some point in order to shorten the distance or lower the risk overall. The mischievous and chancy nature of leprechauns would make this assumption quite accurate.