Research overview: spatial resolution and scale effects in felid habitat models

The grain and extent at which a habitat model is built strongly influence its conclusions, a key consideration for wide-ranging cats. This overview surveys how the choice of spatial resolution, from coarse climate grids to fine terrain layers, affects which variables appear important and how habitat suitability is mapped, and why predictions can differ across scales. It reviews multi-scale modeling approaches that match predictors to the scale at which animals respond to them. The synthesis frames scale as a fundamental but easily overlooked methodological choice, explaining why a snow leopard or jaguar model can look very different depending on resolution, and why aligning analysis scale with the species' ecology is essential for credible projections.