Mapping mosquito breeding habitats (water) under mangrove canopy: contribution from airborne thermal scanning

Proceedings of the 11th Australasian Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Conference

The water use rates of reedbed and wet woodland habitats

To create hydrologically sustainable wetlands, knowledge of the water use requirements of target habitats must be known. Extensive literature reviews highlighted a dearth of water-use data associated with large reedbeds and wet woodland habitats and in response to this field experiments were established. Field experiments to measure the water use rates of large reedbeds [ET(Reed)] were completed at three sites within the UK. Reference Crop Evapotranspiration [ETo] was calculated and mean monthly crop coefficients [Kc(Reed)] were developed. Kc(Reed) was less than 1 during the growing season (March to September), ranging between 0.22 in March and reaching a peak of 0.98 in June. The developed coefficients compare favourably with published data from other large reedbed systems and support the premise that the water use of large reedbeds is lower than that from small/fringe reedbeds. A methodology for determining water use rates from wet woodland habitats (UK NVC Code: W6) is presented, in addition to provisional ET(W6) rates for two sites in the UK. Reference Crop Evapotranspiration [ETo] data was used to develop Kc(W6) values which ranged between 0.89 (LV Lysimeter 1) and 1.64 (CH Lysimeter 2) for the period March to September. The data are comparable with relevant published data and show that the water use rates of wet woodland are higher than most other wetland habitats. Initial observations suggest that water use is related to the habitat’s establishment phase and the age and size of the canopy tree species. A theoretical case study presents crop coefficients associated with wetland habitats and provides an example water budget for the creation of a wetland comprising a mosaic of wetland habitats. The case study shows the critical role that the water use of wetland habitats plays within a water budget.

The application of remote sensing to the management of urban wildlife habitats

The project set out with two main aims. The first aim was to determine whether large scale multispectral aerial photography could be used to successfully survey and monitor urban wildlife habitats. The second objective was to investigate whether this data source could be used to predict population numbers of selected species expected to be found in a particular habitat type. Panchromatic, colour and colour infra-red, 1:2500 scale aerial photographs, taken in 1981 and 1984, were used. For the orderly extraction of information from the imagery, an urban wildlife habitat classification was devised. This was based on classifications already in use in urban environments by the Nature Conservancy Council. Pilot tests identified that the colour infra-red imagery provided the most accurate results about urban wildlife habitats in the study area of the Blackbrook Valley, Dudley. Both the 1981 and 1984 colour infra-red photographs were analysed and information was obtained about the type, extent and distribution of habitats. In order to investigate whether large scale aerial photographs could be used to predict likely animal population numbers in urban environments, it was decided to limit the investigation to the possible prediction of bird population numbers in Saltwells Local Nature Reserve. A good deal of research has already been completed into the development of models to predict breeding bird population numbers in woodland habitats. These models were analysed to determine whether they could be used successfully with data extracted from the aerial photographs. The projects concluded that 1:2500 scale colour infra-red photographs can provide very useful and very detailed information about the wildlife habitats in an urban area. Such imagery can also provide habitat area data to be used with population predictive models of woodland breeding birds. Using the aerial photographs, further investigations into the relationship between area of habitat and the breeding of individual bird species were inconclusive and need further research.

Stylization: a method for preserving the character of climate sensitive habitats. A case study of acidofrequent mixed forests

Stylization is a common method of ornamental plant use that imitates nature and evokes the scenery. This paper discloses a not yet proposed aspect of stylization, since the method offers the possibility of preserving the physiognomy of those habitats that seem to vanish due to future climate change. In addition, novelty of the method is founded also on that vulnerability of the Hungarian habitats has been examined by the researchers only from the botanical and ecological point of view so far and not in terms of its landscape design value. In Hungary, acidofrequent mixed forests appear to be highly sensitive to climate change according to ecological models. We are going to discuss the methodology of stylization of climate sensitive habitats and briefly refer to acidofrequent mixed forests as a case study. Those coniferous and deciduous tree species of the studied habitat that are water demanding are proposed to be substituted by drought tolerant ones with similar characteristics, and an optionally expandable list of these taxa is presented. Based on this the authors suggest experimental investigations of those of the proposed taxa for which the higher drought tolerance is based on observations only.

Five new species of yeasts from fresh water and marine habitats in the Florida Everglades

Yeast populations in the Shark River Slough of the Florida Everglades, USA, were examined during a 3-year period (2002–2005) at six locations ranging from fresh water marshes to marine mangroves. Seventy-four described species (33 ascomycetes and 41 basidiomycetes) and an approximately equal number of undescribed species were isolated during the course of the investigation. Serious human pathogens, such as Candida tropicalis, were not observed, which indicates that their presence in coastal waters is due to sources of pollution. Some of the observed species were widespread throughout the fresh water and marine habitats, whereas others appeared to be habitat restricted. Species occurrence ranged from prevalent to rare. Five representative unknown species were selected for formal description. The five species comprise two ascomycetes: Candida sharkiensis sp. nov. (CBS 11368T) and Candida rhizophoriensis sp. nov. (CBS 11402T) (Saccharomycetales, Metschnikowiaceae), and three basidiomycetes: Rhodotorula cladiensis sp. nov. (CBS 10878T) in the Sakaguchia clade (Cystobasidiomycetes), Rhodotorula evergladiensis sp. nov. (CBS 10880T) in the Rhodosporidium toruloides clade (Microbotryomycetes, Sporidiobolales) and Cryptococcus mangaliensis sp. nov. (CBS 10870T) in the Bulleromyces clade (Agaricomycotina, Tremellales).

Water Uptake Patterns of an Invasive Exotic Plant in Coastal Saline Habitats

Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Schinus) is one of the most widely found woody exotic species in South Florida. This exotic is distributed across environments with different hydrologic regimes, from upland pine forests to the edges of sawgrass marshes and into saline mangrove forests. To determine if this invasive exotic had different physiological attributes compared to native species in a coastal habitat, we measured predawn xylem water potentials (Ψ), oxygen stable isotope signatures (δ18O), and sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) contents of sap water from plants within: (1) a transition zone (between a mangrove forest and upland pineland) and (2) an upland pineland in Southwest Florida. Under dynamic salinity and hydrologic conditions, Ψ of Schinus appeared less subject to fluctuations caused by seasonality when compared with native species. Although stem water δ18O values could not be used to distinguish the depth of Schinus and native species' water uptake in the transition zone, Ψ and sap Na+/K+ patterns showed that Schinus was less of a salt excluder relative to the native upland species during the dry season. This exotic also exhibited Na+/K+ ratios similar to the mangrove species, indicating some salinity tolerance. In the upland pineland, Schinus water uptake patterns were not significantly different from those of native species. Differences between Schinus and native upland species, however, may provide this exotic an advantage over native species within mangrove transition zones.

Comparison of community structure of mangrove and riprap rock habitats along urban coastlines of south Florida

Globally, mangrove ecosystems have substantially declined, largely a result of human impacts. Mangroves provide a number of ecosystem services such as shoreline stabilization and nursery habitat for fish species. As declines continue, many of these ecosystem services are lost or altered. The need for shoreline stabilization has become increasingly apparent when chronic erosion wear away coastlines once mangroves are removed. Limestone boulders called riprap have been employed to offset continued erosion associated with mangrove clearing. In urban coastal areas adjacent to Biscayne Bay, Florida, as much as 80 percent of mangroves have been lost. More recently, riprap has been used in conjunction with mangroves to restore wetlands throughout the Bay. This riprap-mangrove habitat provides structure for marine organisms to colonize. However, fish assemblages and benthic composition could vary between this hybridized habitat and natural mangrove systems. Comparisons of fish and benthic community structure were made, to determine if abundance, species richness, and overall diversity differed between the two habitat types. Visual census and benthic quadrat surveys were conducted in vi mangrove and mangrove-riprap sites within two regions of Biscayne Bay. Total fish abundance was greater in mangroves, but the effect of habitat type on species richness varied between regions. The community structure of fishes and benthic composition differed significantly between mangroves and riprap habitats. Because species composition is so distinct, it is likely that the two communities do no function in the same manner. In areas with cleared shorelines, it may be important to consider the function of added anthropogenic structure for ecological communities.

A Review of the Effects of Altered Hydrology and Salinity on Vertebrate Fauna and Their Habitats in Northeastern Florida Bay

Estuarine productivity is highly dependent on the freshwater sources of the estuary. In Florida Bay, Taylor Slough was historically the main source of fresh water. Beginning in about 1960, and culminating with the completion of the South Dade Conveyance System in 1984, water management practice began to change the quantity and distribution of flow from Taylor Slough into Northeastern Florida Bay. These practices altered salinity and hydrologic parameters that had measurable negative impacts on vertebrate fauna and their habitats. Here, I review those impacts from published and unpublished literature and anecdotal observations. Almost all vertebrates covered in this review have shown some form of population decline since 1984; most of the studies implicate declines in food resources as the main stressor on their populations. My conclusion is that the diversion of fresh water resulted in an ecological cascade starting with hydrologic stresses on primary then secondary producers culminating in population declines at the top of the food web.

Simulating Mechanisms for Dispersal, Production and Stranding of Small Forage Fish in Temporary Wetland Habitats

Movement strategies of small forage fish (<8 cm total length) between temporary and permanent wetland habitats affect their overall population growth and biomass concentrations, i.e., availability to predators. These fish are often the key energy link between primary producers and top predators, such as wading birds, which require high concentrations of stranded fish in accessible depths. Expansion and contraction of seasonal wetlands induce a sequential alternation between rapid biomass growth and concentration, creating the conditions for local stranding of small fish as they move in response to varying water levels. To better understand how landscape topography, hydrology, and fish behavior interact to create high densities of stranded fish, we first simulated population dynamics of small fish, within a dynamic food web, with different traits for movement strategy and growth rate, across an artificial, spatially explicit, heterogeneous, two-dimensional marsh slough landscape, using hydrologic variability as the driver for movement. Model output showed that fish with the highest tendency to invade newly flooded marsh areas built up the largest populations over long time periods with stable hydrologic patterns. A higher probability to become stranded had negative effects on long-term population size, and offset the contribution of that species to stranded biomass. The model was next applied to the topography of a 10 km × 10 km area of Everglades landscape. The details of the topography were highly important in channeling fish movements and creating spatiotemporal patterns of fish movement and stranding. This output provides data that can be compared in the future with observed locations of fish biomass concentrations, or such surrogates as phosphorus ‘hotspots’ in the marsh.

Finding the way home: movement of butterflies in non-familiar habitats

Paisagens naturais tem sido afetadas dramaticamente pela perda de habitat e fragmentação, os quais transformam paisagens contínuas em manchas de habitat circundadas por áreas de não-habitat (matrizes). Essas matrizes, inóspitas ou não, afetam incontáveis processos ecológicos, como a dispersão. Uma das formas de compreender o efeito da matriz no processo de dispersão é estudando o alcance da percepção do habitat dos animais, o qual é definido como o alcance (distância) em que um animal pode perceber elementos da paisagem. Essa percepção está diretamente relacionada ao sucesso de chegada à um novo habitat, enquanto o animal navega por uma matriz. Nós avaliamos a percepção do habitat em Heliconius erato, uma borboleta tropical. Entretanto nós também estávamos interessados em avaliar o efeito da idade das borboletas e do tipo de matriz na percepção do habitat. Consequentemente, nós criamos borboletas em laboratório e pareamos com borboletas coletadas na floresta durante um experimento de soltura. Para determinar o alcance da percepção, nós realizamos solturas em duas diferentes matrizes (coqueiral e campo em regeneração) à três distâncias da floresta (0,30 e 100 metros) e medimos o ângulo final alcançado pelas borboletas. Nós encontramos que (I) borboletas soltas na borda se orientaram fortemente para a floresta; (II) quanto maior a distância de soltura, menor a habilidade de perceber o habitat e (III) há interação entre matriz e idade da borboleta. Borboletas inexperientes se orientaram melhor no campo aberto (alcance da percepção: 30-100 metros) e experientes se orientaram melhor no coqueiral (alcance da percepção entre 30-100 metros).

Mapped distribution of intertidal habitats in Australia between 1999 and 2014, link to data in ArcGIS format (29 MB)

Shorebirds have declined severely across the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Many species rely on intertidal habitats for foraging, yet the distribution and conservation status of these habitats across Australia remain poorly understood. Here, we utilised freely available satellite imagery to produce the first map of intertidal habitats across Australia. We estimated a minimum intertidal area of 9856 km**2, with Queensland and Western Australia supporting the largest areas. Thirty-nine percent of intertidal habitats were protected in Australia, with some primarily within marine protected areas (e.g. Queensland) and others within terrestrial protected areas (e.g. Victoria). In fact, three percent of all intertidal habitats were protected both by both marine and terrestrial protected areas. To achieve conservation targets, protected area boundaries must align more accurately with intertidal habitats. Shorebirds use intertidal areas to forage and supratidal areas to roost, so a coordinated management approach is required to account for movement of birds between terrestrial and marine habitats. Ultimately, shorebird declines are occurring despite high levels of habitat protection in Australia. There is a need for a concerted effort both nationally and internationally to map and understand how intertidal habitats are changing, and how habitat conservation can be implemented more effectively.

Georeferenced standardized apparent wave power along the coastline of Cabrera National Park for analysis of essential habitats of littoral species

Wind- induced exposure is one of the major forces shaping the geomorphology and biota in coastal areas. The effect of wave exposure on littoral biota is well known in marine environments (Ekebon et al., 2003; Burrows et al., 2008). In the Cabrera Archipelago National Park wave exposure has demostrated to have an effect on the spatial distribution of different stages of E.marginatus (Alvarez et al., 2010). Standarized average wave exposures during 2008 along the Cabrera Archipelago National park coast line were calculated to be applied in studies of littoral species distribution within the archipelago. Average wave exposure (or apparent wave power) was calculated for points located 50 m equidistant on the coastline following the EXA methodology (EXposure estimates for fragmented Archipelagos) (Ekebon et al., 2003). The average wave exposures were standardized from 1 to 100 (minimum and maximum in the area), showing coastal areas with different levels of mea wave exposure during the year. Input wind data (direction and intensity) from 2008 was registered at the Cabrera mooring located north of Cabrera Archipelago. Data were provided by IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB, TMMOS http://www.imedea.uib-csic.es/tmoos/boyas/). This cartography has been developed under the framework of the project EPIMHAR, funded by the National Park's Network (Spanish Ministry of Environment, Maritime and Rural Affairs, reference: 012/2007 ). Part of this work has been developed under the research programs funded by "Fons de Garantia Agrària i Pesquera de les Illes Balears (FOGAIBA)".