Spatial Ecology and Conservation Modeling
Applications with R
Robert Fletcher and Marie-Josee Fortin
2018, 2026, Springer Publishing
Overview
This book provides a foundation for modern applied ecology. Much of current ecology research and conservation addresses problems across landscapes and regions, focusing on spatial patterns and processes.
This book is aimed at teaching fundamental concepts and focuses on learning-by-doing through the use of examples with the software R. It is intended to provide an entry-level, easily accessible introduction for students and practitioners interested in spatial ecology and conservation.
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The Second Edition (Fletcher and Fortin 2026) was released November 2025! It contains over 200 new pages of material, including new chapters on movement, spatial prioritization and conservation planning.
Table of Contents (2nd Edition)
Chapter 1: Introduction to spatial ecology and conservation
Chapter 2: Scale
Chapter 3: Land-cover pattern and change
Chapter 4: Spatial dispersion and point process data
Chapter 5: Spatial dependence
Chapter 6: Accounting for spatial dependence in ecological data
Chapter 7: Species distributions
Chapter 8: Space use and resource selection
Chapter 9: Movement
Chapter10: Connectivity
Chapter 10: Spatially structured population dynamics
Chapter 12: Spatially structured communities
Chapter 13: Spatial prioritization and conservation planning
Chapter 14: What have we learned? Looking back and pressing forward
Appendix: An introduction to R
Code and Data
For the data used in the 2nd Edition of the book, you can download zipped files containing all data and code at Figshare.
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If you would only like code and data for a single chapter or have any problems with the downloading or use of the data, and code, please contact Rob.