Agent skill

Species Distribution Guide

by wentorai in wentorai/research-plugins

Species distribution modeling with MaxEnt, SDM methods, and GBIF data

MITAuto-check passedData & Analytics

Install Species Distribution Guide

skills CLI
$ npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill species-distribution-guide -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install wentorai/research-plugins species-distribution-guide --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wentorai/research-plugins.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/domains/ecology/species-distribution-guide .claude/skills/species-distribution-guide && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
species-distribution-guide
GitHub stars
298
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~2.8k tokens
SKILL.md length
333 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
405
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Species distribution modeling with MaxEnt, SDM methods, and GBIF data

  • Works in 4 steps: Fit model on current climate + occurrences → Obtain future climate rasters (CMIP6 SSP… → Predict suitability on future climate… → …
  • Data & Analytics work in your project
  • SKILL.md covers Occurrence Data, Environmental Predictors, Model Fitting and Model Evaluation, plus 2 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Species Distribution Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins. Species distribution modeling with MaxEnt, SDM methods, and GBIF data

Its SKILL.md is about 2.8k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Data & Analytics. The repository describes itself as: 350+ academic research skills, MCP configs, and plugins for Research-Claw and AI agents. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Data & Analytics work in your project

Example prompts

  • “Use the species-distribution-guide skill to specy distribution modeling with MaxEnt, SDM methods, and GBIF data”
  • “/species-distribution-guide”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Fit model on current climate + occurrences
  2. Obtain future climate rasters (CMIP6 SSP scenarios)
  3. Predict suitability on future climate surfaces
  4. Compare current vs future range to quantify shifts

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bf44b3c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are python).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Species Distribution Guide loads about 2.8k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 24 tokens; SKILL.md has 333 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~24
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.8k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from wentorai/research-plugins at commit bf44b3c, republished under its MIT licence (© wentorai). 333 words, ~2,827 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/species-distribution-guide/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
species-distribution-guide
description
Species distribution modeling with MaxEnt, SDM methods, and GBIF data

Species Distribution Modeling Guide

A skill for building and evaluating species distribution models (SDMs), covering occurrence data acquisition from biodiversity databases, environmental predictor preparation, model fitting with MaxEnt and ensemble methods, model evaluation, and projection under climate change scenarios.

Occurrence Data

Accessing GBIF Data

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is the primary source of species occurrence records:

python
from pygbif import occurrences, species

def download_occurrences(species_name: str, country: str = None,
                          limit: int = 5000,
                          has_coordinate: bool = True) -> dict:
    """
    Download species occurrence records from GBIF.
    species_name: scientific name (e.g., 'Panthera tigris')
    Returns cleaned occurrence records with coordinates.
    """
    # Get GBIF species key
    name_result = species.name_backbone(name=species_name)
    if "usageKey" not in name_result:
        return {"error": f"Species not found: {species_name}"}

    species_key = name_result["usageKey"]

    # Search occurrences
    params = {
        "taxonKey": species_key,
        "hasCoordinate": has_coordinate,
        "hasGeospatialIssue": False,
        "limit": limit,
    }
    if country:
        params["country"] = country

    results = occurrences.search(**params)

    # Clean records
    records = []
    seen_coords = set()
    for rec in results.get("results", []):
        lat = rec.get("decimalLatitude")
        lon = rec.get("decimalLongitude")
        if lat is None or lon is None:
            continue

        # Remove exact duplicates
        coord_key = (round(lat, 4), round(lon, 4))
        if coord_key in seen_coords:
            continue
        seen_coords.add(coord_key)

        records.append({
            "species": rec.get("species", species_name),
            "latitude": lat,
            "longitude": lon,
            "year": rec.get("year"),
            "basis_of_record": rec.get("basisOfRecord"),
            "institution": rec.get("institutionCode"),
            "country": rec.get("country"),
        })

    return {
        "species": species_name,
        "gbif_key": species_key,
        "n_records": len(records),
        "records": records,
    }
Data Cleaning for SDM
python
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np

def clean_occurrences(records: pd.DataFrame,
                       study_extent: dict = None,
                       thin_distance_km: float = 10.0) -> pd.DataFrame:
    """
    Clean occurrence records for species distribution modeling.
    Removes outliers, duplicates, and applies spatial thinning.

    study_extent: {min_lon, max_lon, min_lat, max_lat}
    thin_distance_km: minimum distance between retained points
    """
    df = records.copy()

    # Remove records with missing coordinates
    df = df.dropna(subset=["latitude", "longitude"])

    # Remove records at (0,0) -- common data error
    df = df[~((df.latitude == 0) & (df.longitude == 0))]

    # Clip to study extent
    if study_extent:
        df = df[
            (df.longitude >= study_extent["min_lon"]) &
            (df.longitude <= study_extent["max_lon"]) &
            (df.latitude >= study_extent["min_lat"]) &
            (df.latitude <= study_extent["max_lat"])
        ]

    # Spatial thinning (grid-based)
    # Convert thinning distance to approximate degrees
    thin_deg = thin_distance_km / 111.0
    df["grid_x"] = (df.longitude / thin_deg).astype(int)
    df["grid_y"] = (df.latitude / thin_deg).astype(int)
    df = df.drop_duplicates(subset=["grid_x", "grid_y"])
    df = df.drop(columns=["grid_x", "grid_y"])

    return df.reset_index(drop=True)

Environmental Predictors

WorldClim Bioclimatic Variables

The standard predictor set for SDMs:

VariableDescriptionUnit
BIO1Annual Mean TemperatureC x 10
BIO2Mean Diurnal RangeC x 10
BIO4Temperature SeasonalitySD x 100
BIO5Max Temperature of Warmest MonthC x 10
BIO6Min Temperature of Coldest MonthC x 10
BIO12Annual Precipitationmm
BIO13Precipitation of Wettest Monthmm
BIO14Precipitation of Driest Monthmm
BIO15Precipitation SeasonalityCV
Extracting Environmental Values
python
import rasterio
from rasterio.sample import sample_gen

def extract_environmental_values(occurrence_coords: np.ndarray,
                                   raster_paths: dict) -> pd.DataFrame:
    """
    Extract environmental variable values at occurrence locations.
    occurrence_coords: array of (longitude, latitude) pairs
    raster_paths: {variable_name: filepath} for each predictor raster
    """
    env_data = {}

    for var_name, raster_path in raster_paths.items():
        with rasterio.open(raster_path) as src:
            values = []
            for lon, lat in occurrence_coords:
                row, col = src.index(lon, lat)
                if 0 <= row < src.height and 0 <= col < src.width:
                    values.append(float(src.read(1)[row, col]))
                else:
                    values.append(np.nan)
            env_data[var_name] = values

    df = pd.DataFrame(env_data)
    df["longitude"] = occurrence_coords[:, 0]
    df["latitude"] = occurrence_coords[:, 1]

    # Remove points with nodata values
    df = df.replace(src.nodata, np.nan).dropna()
    return df

Model Fitting

MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy)

MaxEnt is the most widely used SDM algorithm for presence-only data:

python
import subprocess

def run_maxent(samples_csv: str, env_layers_dir: str,
                output_dir: str, features: str = "auto",
                regularization: float = 1.0,
                n_background: int = 10000) -> dict:
    """
    Run MaxEnt species distribution model.
    samples_csv: CSV with columns species, longitude, latitude
    env_layers_dir: directory containing .asc raster files
    output_dir: directory for model outputs
    """
    cmd = [
        "java", "-jar", "maxent.jar",
        "-s", samples_csv,
        "-e", env_layers_dir,
        "-o", output_dir,
        f"betamultiplier={regularization}",
        f"maximumbackground={n_background}",
        "responsecurves=true",
        "jackknife=true",
        "writeplotdata=true",
        "autorun=true",
    ]

    result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)

    # Parse results from maxentResults.csv
    import csv
    results_file = f"{output_dir}/maxentResults.csv"
    with open(results_file) as f:
        reader = csv.DictReader(f)
        row = next(reader)

    return {
        "training_auc": float(row.get("Training AUC", 0)),
        "test_auc": float(row.get("Test AUC", 0)),
        "n_training": int(row.get("X Training samples", 0)),
        "regularized_gain": float(row.get("Regularized training gain", 0)),
        "important_variables": row.get("Percent contribution", ""),
    }
Ensemble SDM with Python
python
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier, GradientBoostingClassifier
from sklearn.linear_model import LogisticRegression
from sklearn.model_selection import cross_val_predict
from sklearn.metrics import roc_auc_score

def ensemble_sdm(presence_env: pd.DataFrame,
                  background_env: pd.DataFrame,
                  predictor_cols: list[str]) -> dict:
    """
    Build an ensemble SDM from multiple algorithms.
    presence_env: environmental values at presence points
    background_env: environmental values at background/pseudo-absence points
    """
    # Prepare data
    X_pres = presence_env[predictor_cols].values
    X_bg = background_env[predictor_cols].values
    X = np.vstack([X_pres, X_bg])
    y = np.concatenate([np.ones(len(X_pres)), np.zeros(len(X_bg))])

    models = {
        "random_forest": RandomForestClassifier(n_estimators=500, max_depth=10),
        "gbm": GradientBoostingClassifier(n_estimators=300, max_depth=5,
                                            learning_rate=0.05),
        "logistic": LogisticRegression(max_iter=1000),
    }

    results = {}
    predictions = {}

    for name, model in models.items():
        # Cross-validated predictions
        cv_pred = cross_val_predict(model, X, y, cv=5, method="predict_proba")[:, 1]
        auc = roc_auc_score(y, cv_pred)

        model.fit(X, y)
        results[name] = {"auc": round(auc, 4), "model": model}
        predictions[name] = cv_pred

    # Weighted ensemble (weight by AUC)
    total_auc = sum(r["auc"] for r in results.values())
    ensemble_pred = sum(
        predictions[name] * results[name]["auc"] / total_auc
        for name in models
    )
    ensemble_auc = roc_auc_score(y, ensemble_pred)

    results["ensemble"] = {"auc": round(ensemble_auc, 4)}
    return results

Model Evaluation

Evaluation Metrics for SDMs
MetricRangeInterpretation
AUC0-1Discrimination ability (>0.7 useful, >0.8 good)
TSS (True Skill Statistic)-1 to 1Sensitivity + Specificity - 1
Boyce Index-1 to 1Predicted-to-expected ratio consistency
Kappa-1 to 1Agreement beyond chance
python
def compute_tss(y_true: np.ndarray, y_pred_proba: np.ndarray) -> dict:
    """
    Compute TSS (True Skill Statistic) at the optimal threshold.
    TSS = Sensitivity + Specificity - 1
    """
    from sklearn.metrics import roc_curve

    fpr, tpr, thresholds = roc_curve(y_true, y_pred_proba)
    specificity = 1 - fpr
    tss_values = tpr + specificity - 1

    optimal_idx = np.argmax(tss_values)
    return {
        "tss": round(tss_values[optimal_idx], 4),
        "optimal_threshold": round(thresholds[optimal_idx], 4),
        "sensitivity": round(tpr[optimal_idx], 4),
        "specificity": round(specificity[optimal_idx], 4),
    }

Climate Change Projections

Projecting Habitat Shifts

SDMs can project future suitable habitat under climate scenarios:

  1. Fit model on current climate + occurrences
  2. Obtain future climate rasters (CMIP6 SSP scenarios)
  3. Predict suitability on future climate surfaces
  4. Compare current vs future range to quantify shifts

Key considerations:

  • Use multiple GCMs to capture model uncertainty
  • Apply clamping for novel climate combinations
  • Report range change metrics: area gained, area lost, centroid shift

Tools and Resources

  • MaxEnt: Maximum entropy SDM (Java, most cited SDM software)
  • biomod2 (R): Ensemble SDM framework with 10+ algorithms
  • Wallace (R Shiny): Interactive SDM workflow application
  • pygbif / rgbif: GBIF data access from Python/R
  • rasterio / terra: Raster data handling
  • WorldClim (worldclim.org): Global climate data at 1km resolution
  • CHELSA: High-resolution climate data (better for mountainous regions)
  • eBird: Citizen science bird occurrence data (Cornell Lab)

© wentorai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/domains/ecology/species-distribution-guide of wentorai/research-plugins.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bf44b3c

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in wentorai/research-plugins, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Species Distribution Guide next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Species Distribution Guide compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Species Distribution Guide this skillwentorai/research-plugins2981 repos~2.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
MatplotlibzLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills4.7k17 repos~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Exploratory Data Analysisspacering-net/codeg3.9k14 repos~3.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Scikit LearnzLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills4.7k16 repos~3.9kAutomated safety check: PassBSD-3-Clause
Chart Visualizationbytedance/deer-flow84k1 repos~840Automated safety check: PassMIT
TimesFM Forecastinggoogle-research/timesfm34k—~4.7kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0

Similar skills

  • Matplotlib

    zLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills

    Low-level plotting library for full customization. An agent skill from zLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills.

    4.7k GitHub starsUsed in 17 repos~2.9k tokens
    Data & AnalyticsAuto-check passed
  • Exploratory Data Analysis

    spacering-net/codeg

    Perform comprehensive exploratory data analysis on scientific data files across 200+ file formats.

    3.9k GitHub starsUsed in 14 repos~3.6k tokens
    Data & AnalyticsAuto-check passed
  • Scikit Learn

    zLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills

    Machine learning in Python with scikit-learn. An agent skill from zLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills.

    4.7k GitHub starsUsed in 16 repos~3.9k tokens
    Data & AnalyticsAuto-check passed
  • Chart Visualization

    bytedance/deer-flow

    Picks a suitable chart type from 26 options for your data, maps the data to that chart's parameters and generates a chart image through a JavaScript script.

    84k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~840 tokens
    Data & AnalyticsAuto-check passed
  • TimesFM Forecasting

    google-research/timesfm

    Forecasts any univariate time series zero-shot with Google's TimesFM model, returning point forecasts and calibrated prediction intervals without training.

    34k GitHub stars~4.7k tokensUpdated 11 days ago
    Data & AnalyticsAuto-check passed
  • Sandbox Bench

    vercel/next.js

    Official

    Benchmark React or Next.js changes on Vercel Sandbox VMs with paired A/B statistics: react PR/commit vs base, or Next.js PR/commit vs base, measured end-to-end through the bench/render-pipeline app…

    143k GitHub stars~4.1k tokensUpdated today
    Data & AnalyticsAuto-check passed

More from wentorai/research-plugins

All 405 skills in this repo
  • Abstract Writing Guide

    wentorai/research-plugins

    Craft structured research abstracts that maximize clarity and journal acceptance

    298 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.7k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Academic Citation Manager

    wentorai/research-plugins

    Manage academic citations across BibTeX, APA, MLA, and Chicago formats

    298 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~2.7k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Academic Paper Summarizer

    wentorai/research-plugins

    Summarize academic papers with structured extraction of key elements

    298 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.4k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Academic Study Methods

    wentorai/research-plugins

    Evidence-based study techniques for academic learning and retention

    298 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.8k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Academic Tone Guide

    wentorai/research-plugins

    Adjust writing tone and register for academic audiences and venues

    298 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.9k tokens
    Auto-check passed
  • Academic Translation Guide

    wentorai/research-plugins

    Academic translation, post-editing, and Chinglish correction guide

    298 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.6k tokens
    Auto-check passed

Questions about Species Distribution Guide

What does Species Distribution Guide do?

Species distribution modeling with MaxEnt, SDM methods, and GBIF data. Species Distribution Guide is an agent skill from wentorai/research-plugins.

When should I use Species Distribution Guide?

Species Distribution Guide fits situations like: data & Analytics work in your project.

How do I install Species Distribution Guide in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill species-distribution-guide -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/domains/ecology/species-distribution-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .claude/skills/species-distribution-guide in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Species Distribution Guide in Codex?

Run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill species-distribution-guide -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/domains/ecology/species-distribution-guide in wentorai/research-plugins) into .agents/skills/species-distribution-guide in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Species Distribution Guide in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill species-distribution-guide -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/species-distribution-guide, .gemini/skills/species-distribution-guide, .github/skills/species-distribution-guide and .opencode/skills/species-distribution-guide in your project.

What does Species Distribution Guide need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Species Distribution Guide is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Species Distribution Guide access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Species Distribution Guide safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Species Distribution Guide use?

Species Distribution Guide is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Species Distribution Guide use?

About 2.8k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 11k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Species Distribution Guide?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Species Distribution Guide: Matplotlib (zLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills, 4.7k stars), Exploratory Data Analysis (spacering-net/codeg, 3.9k stars), Scikit Learn (zLanqing/codex-claude-academic-skills, 4.7k stars) and Chart Visualization (bytedance/deer-flow, 84k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Species Distribution Guide?

wentorai (a GitHub user) maintains it in wentorai/research-plugins, which has 298 GitHub stars. The repository holds 405 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 19, 2026.

Source: wentorai/research-plugins on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.