Spatially-explicit Waterbird Agent-based Modeling Program (SWAMP)

Amounts and timing of available habitats supported by water supplies projected under specified scenarios based on WEAP-CVwh were included in TRUEMET (see Data Input- Existing Collection) and SWAMP avian bioenergetics models to translate scenario impacts on habitats into projected impacts on Central Valley wintering waterbirds through changes in their food supplies. Although SWAMP requires much more input data and is more computationally intensive than the TRUEMET bioenergetics model, SWAMP allows: a) spatially-explicit analysis of the effects of alternative water-management regimes on spatial juxtaposition and distribution of wetland habitats, b) expanding the capacity to generalize across taxa, including waterfowl, shorebirds and other wetland-dependent wildlife, c) incorporating other important determinants of species habitat use and carrying capacity, such as disturbance and dispersion of non-foraging (refuge) habitat, and d) offering the potential to integrate more directly and completely with existing models of water management and in-stream fish habitat. Because SWAMP is spatially-explicit, it accounts of changes in habitats affecting bird behavior at the finest spatial resolution modeled in WEAP-CVwh (not restricted to average characteristics of CVJV Basins). Additionally, SWAMP can be used to evaluate daily intervals of bioenergetic surplus/deficit. SWAMP output is a deliverable in the Central Valley Waterbirds Bioenergetic and Conservation Planning Datasets (Data Output Section).