A Two-Eyed Seeing approach to predicting the distribution of skwenkwínem (Claytonia lanceolata: Pursh), a culturally significant plant

Colonial practices and policies and a changing climate have threatened culturally significant food plants and the well-being of those who rely on those plants. Skwenkwínem (western spring beauty, Claytonia lanceolata Pursh: Montiaceae) is a culturally significant food plant for the Secwépemc People of Skeetchestn Indian Band. Skwenkwínem is a corm-bearing geophyte that emerges immediately after snowmelt. Many Indigenous Peoples historically used skwenkwínem corms as a significant portion of their diet, and it remains an important traditional food source today. The Skeetchestn community has noticed a decline in the abundance and quality of their skwenkwínem patches. With increasingly unpredictable seasonal climatic changes, accessing skwenkwínem as a food source is under threat. It is important to know where suitable habitat exists now, and where suitable habitat will exist in the future, for informing conservation efforts. This study uses a species distribution model to predict the distribution of skwenkwínem within its known range in western North America. We have made use of the tidysdm R package to predict habitat suitability for skwenkwínem in the present time and under future climate conditions. We have a two-pronged approach to this study: we model habitat suitability based on predictors selected from interviews conducted with Skeetchestn community members (Informed Model). In tandem, we model habitat suitability using the 19 bioclimatic predictors from WorldClim. Our goals are to produce continuous habitat suitability indices for flexible interpretation of suitable habitat, as well as binary predictions with suitable area estimates. We are also contributing to the sparse socio-ecological species distribution literature, with a fully reproducible example. This study is an application of the Two-Eyed Seeing concept, where two different knowledge systems come together to gain a more holistic understanding of an issue (Bartlett et al. 2012). in our case, we use Skeetchestn community Knowledge to inform our predictor selection (Informed Model), and we create habitat suitability predictions using these informed predictors in our SDM. This study braids Indigenous and western Knowledge for insight and predictions we would not achieve with the 19 bioclimatic variables alone. Data and scripts associated with the final publication are accessible at: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/M4U8Q

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