'Niche modeling': that uncomfortable sensation means it's working. A reply to McInerny and Etienne.

I thank McInerny and Etienne for their comments [1] on my article in TREE [2]. First, two points of clarification. I stated that ‘…models estimate some subset of the conditions within which a species can survive and reproduce (i.e., the niche)’ [2]. McInerny and Etienne interpreted the parenthetical statement as referring to the subset of conditions rather than the entire set. That was not my intent and I apologize for not making my meaning clear. They also suggest that I had said that Elith and Leathwick favored the term Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) ‘in order to retreat from ecology’.