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Scientist at the University of Idaho are using Landsat data to save endangered birds.
We took freely available Landsat imagery, and we developed this range-wide model that covers
a vast spatial extent and a really wide temporal window. To develop these fine scale maps of
habitat suitability, for an endangered species in an environment that's changing all the time.
Technology Meets Conservation: Mapping Habitat for Endangered Species
So I'm a research biologist, slash project manager for the University of Idaho, and i work on this
endangered Ridgway's Rail in the southwestern United States. It's a species that needs
attention. It is an indicator species of marsh condition throughout the whole Colorado river
system. I know they're a marsh bird. They're they're like the size of a chicken,
but they're high up the food chain in these marshes. And so
if Rails are doing well it's indicative of a healthy system. So if we can develop products that
help us manage marshes for the Rails, it's also going to help protect habitats for other species.
In 2020, Harrity and coauthors published a research paper discussing the habitat suitability models.
And we are really focusing on, okay how do we take effective tools and apply them
in space and time to maximize their benefit to the species? So we paired this spatially extensive
on-the-ground sampling data, with really extensive satellite imagery, to develop range-wide habitat
suitability models, that can inform management actions throughout the range of this species.
Harrity turned to Landsat for the satellite imagery he needed.
We needed a product that was accessible, available, covered our area of interest,
and our time frame of interest, and Landsat really fit that perfectly for us.
And with this Landsat data, the Yuma Ridgway's Rail suitability model was born
And we built this tool that is accessible to managers,
and they can view it, and it's updated annually so they'll have
up-to-date predictions of habitat suitability throughout the entire range of the species. So
they can really focus in on the areas that need management, that don't need management,
that perhaps need on the ground confirmation. It should be a powerful tool to more effectively
and efficiently allocate limited resources, to ideally one day get the species fully recovered!
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NASA USGS Science for a changing word. Landsat is a joint program of NASA and USGS