Insular mole skinks: Area of habitat still above water given projected sea level rise and proportion of habitat at risk of storm surge in the Florida Keys, Cedar Keys, and Egmont Key, Florida

The primary habitats for insular mole skinks in Florida are sand beaches, beach berms, and dunes, making them particularly vulnerable to sea level rise (SLR) and storm surge. We used the most recent SLR projections, high resolution lidar-based digital elevation models, a combination of a comprehensive land cover and hand-digitized aerial imagery, and the latest storm surge simulations to predict the impact of SLR and storm surge on habitat for insular mole skinks in Florida, by decade, from 2030 – 2150 using a modified bathtub model. Data include the predicted area of mole skink habitat still above water (units = number of pixels) from SLR per decade for 3 SLR scenarios, for the Florida Keys Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius egregius), the Cedar Key Mole Skink (P. e. insularis), and the Egmont Key Mole Skink (known from a single occurrence). Data also include the risk of storm surge from simulated tropical cyclones (categories 1-5), per habitat type, as both the percent of habitat at risk of being submerged by storm surge water and the average depth of storm surge water.