The Vancouver Institute Of Leprechaun Research

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Spatial Analysis


Analysis 1 - Suitable Habitat Selection

basemap


This is a base map of the GVRD. It shows the various municipalities and islands as well as some of the major roads and water bodies. This map acts as a reference for all the maps in the analysis.



people



This Boolean image shows all of the areas in the GVRD that have no people inhabiting it. This is the only contraint in the habitat MCE, but it was used as a factor in the friction surface MCE. Most of the areas without people are in the northern, mountainous region.

landuse


 This image shows the land use layer in its reclassified version. Like all the other factors in the MCE, this one is based on a 0 to 255 scale so that it can be compared to all the other factors. Agian, we find  large areas of high suitability in the mountain region.


road


 
Here we see the distance from a road suitability factor. The first step in creating this image was to create a distance image, which provides an image with continuous values of distance away from a road. The next step was to take this distance image and reclassify it using the MCE. For this image, suitablility stoped increasing after the distance reached 300m. After this distance the likelyhood of being seen by a motorist is equally unlikely. Again the north is the most suitable.


dem

Elevation is also a factor in the MCE. Elevations above the highest level in Ireland (1041 m) are deemed unsuitable. This factor is contrary to the other factors in that now the northern area is unsuitable.


habitat

This map is the combination of  all the factors and contraints in the MCE. There are a variety of different suitablilities, but there are three larger areas that have the maximum level.

class

This digitized layer shows three distinct populations of leprechauns based on the large areas of greatest suitablility.



Analysis 2 - Determining Highly Used Leprechaun Pathways

water


 This is just a rasterized layer of all the water in the GVRD. Travelling over water is difficult, but not impossible for leprechauns so the layer was a factor, not a constraint.

surface

This is the result of the reverse MCE. This friction surface shows how easily a leprechaun can travel in the GVRD. The higher the value the more difficult it is to travel.

cost

This is an example of a 'costdistance' surface. It shows the difficulty of travelling away from the first, Golden Ears, region. One of these was created for each of the three regions and is used in finding the best pathways.  


pathways

This final map shows all of the most suitable pathways. The black  circles show the centers of the three leprechaun regions, the blue squares show the closest shoe repair stores, and the large green square  is the single shoe supply store.



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