Using Remote Sensing Data to Predict Habitat Occupancy of Pine Savanna Bird Species

A combination of factors including land use change and fire suppression has resulted in the loss of pine savanna habitats across the southeastern U.S., affecting many avian species dependent on these habitats. However, due to the ephemeral nature of the habitat requirements of many pine savanna species (e.g., habitat is only present for a couple of years after a fire), targeted management of such habitats can be challenging. Moreover, the growing numbers of imperiled pine savanna species can make prioritizing management difficult. One potential tool to better inform management of pine savanna species is satellite imagery. Sentinel-2 satellite imagery data provides an instantaneous snapshot of habitat quality at a high resolution and across a large geographic area, which may make it more efficient than traditional, ground-based vegetation surveying. Thus, the objectives of my research were to 1) evaluate the use of remote sensing technology to predict habitat occupancy for pine savanna species, and 2) use satellite imagery-based models to inform multispecies management in a pine savanna habitat. To meet my objectives, I conducted point count surveys and built predictive models for three pine savanna bird species: Bachman's Sparrow (BACS; Peuacea aestivalis), Northern Bobwhite (NOBO; Colinus virginianus), and Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (RCW; Dryobates borealis) across Georgia. I assessed the performance of satellite imagery in predicting habitat occupancy of these pine savanna species and its potential for multispecies management. I found that models created using satellite imagery habitat metric data performed well at predicting the occupancy of all three species as measured by the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve: BACS=0.84, NOBO=0.87, RCW=0.76 (with values between 0.7-1 defined as acceptable or good predictive capacity). For BACS and NOBO, I was able to compare these satellite imagery models to field-based models, and satellite models performed better than those using traditional vegetation survey data (BACS=0.80, NOBO=0.79). Moreover, I found that satellite imagery data provided useful insights into the potential for multispecies management within the pine savanna habitats of Georgia. Finally, I found differences in the habitat selected by BACS, NOBO, and RCW, and that BACS may exhibit spatial variations in habitat use. The results of this study have significant implications for the conservation of pine savanna species, demonstrating that satellite imagery can allow users to build reliable occupancy models and inform multispecies management without intensive vegetation surveying.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Fisheries and Wildlife Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Allred, Cory Rae

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Hunter, Elizabeth Ann

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Kelly, Marcella J.
• Karpanty, Sarah M.

• remote sensing
• pine savanna
• satellite imagery
• ephemeral
• multispecies management
• Bachman's Sparrow
• Northern Bobwhite
• Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:38261

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/116193