The Use of Remote Sensing in
Habitat Management for Wildlife
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Helen Holdsworth
EES 5053
University of Texas at San Antonio
December 2, 2006
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Problem Statement
Habitat fragmentation and urban encroachment
are two of the major factors threatening
wildlife species around the world.
The ability to accurately assess habitat with
remote sensing imagery should allow
researchers to be more specific in their
assessments and recommendations for habitat
management.
Overview
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Introduction
Methods
Results
Management Implications
Conclusions
fcit.usf.edu
www.treknature.com
animals.timduru.org
Landscape Metrics Associated with
Habitat Use by Ocelots in South Texas
• Hypothesis: Prefer
large patches of closed
canopy & avoid large
patches of unsuitable
habitat
• Location: Laguna
Atascosa National
Wildlife Refuge
Methods
• August 1991 Landsat
Thematic Mapper
imagery
• Aerial photos
• Digital orthophoto
quadrangles
Image from TNRIS
Methods
• Used supervised and
unsupervised
classification for better
accuracy
• 4 land cover classes:
Urban/barren
Water
Closed canopy
Open canopy
Image from published paper, Journal of Wildlife Management
Methods
• Landscape Metrics
Number of patches
Shape
Patch size
Edge
Mean nearest neighbor
Results & Management
Implications
Image from
Google Earth
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Closed canopy shows a great degree of fragmentation.
Ocelots used the largest patches available.
Decisions must consider size, shape, and edge.
Consider conserving areas with smaller patches.
Landscape Models to Predict the Influence of
Forest Structure on Tassel-Eared Squirrel
Populations
• Question: Which
characteristic best
predicts squirrel
density & recruitment?
• Location: Mogollon
Plateau in northern
Arizona
Image from
www.forestera.nau.edu/vw2/images/wmpala__assess_area.gif
Methods
• Data from Forest
Ecosystem Restoration
Analysis
• Ground measurements
• Digital orthophotos
• ETM imagery
Results & Management
Implications
• Squirrel density best
predicted by basel area
• Recruitment best
predicted by canopy
cover
• Remove smaller trees
• Leave larger patches
with moderate-to-high
canopy cover
Identifying Suitable Sites for Florida
Panther Reintroduction
• Question: Which
areas would be good
for panther
reintroduction?
• Location: Historic
range of panther
Methods
• GIS map layers at 500
x 500 m
• 1992 National Land
Cover Data
Results & Management
Implications
• Identified 9 potential
sites with the historic
range
• Need field survey at
local scale to verify
• Need remote
inaccessible areas
Analysis of The Use of
Remote Sensing
Ocelot Research
• 1991 Landsat
Thematic Mapper
• Spatial resolution of
30 m on bands 1-5, 7
• Spatial resolution of
120 m on band 6
• No problems reported
http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/
Analysis of The Use of
Remote Sensing
Squirrel Research
• Enhance Thematic
Mapper Plus (ETM+)
• Spatial resolution of 30 m
on bands 1-5, 7
• Spatial resolution of 120
m on band 6
• Spatial resolution of 15 m
on band 8
• No problems reported
http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/
Analysis of The Use of
Remote Sensing
Panther Research
• GIS map layers at 500
x 500 m
• 1992 National Land
Cover Data
• Could not incorporate
fine scale
characteristics
http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/
www.treknature.com
Conclusions
fcit.usf.edu
• Many imagery tools available
• What you use depends on your resources
• Should see more research and
recommendations based on remote imagery
use
• Probably always need some ground-truthing
animals.timduru.org