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Conservation Matters: Applied Geography for Habitat Assessments to Maintain and Restore Biodiversity

Jacobs, Teri A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1505148939598755

Abstract Details

2017, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Geography.
The Earth stands on the precipice of the sixth mass extinction. This extinction risk has triggered a growing crisis and urgent need to save the world’s biodiversity. Considering the accelerated rates of biodiversity loss and extinction, we need simple but efficient methods to quickly identify threatened areas. This dissertation research was undertaken with this in mind—to benefit the conservation community, either through the delivery of biogeographic methods or information to further the restoration or maintenance of biodiversity. As a primary goal, this dissertation endeavored to fill those research gaps and offer some simpler and more effective useful and usable geospatial techniques for biodiversity conservation analyses. Secondary goals of the research were (1) to contribute to specific conservation programs for critically endangered species, (2) to inform about the status of habitat, and (3) to address top conservation research priorities. While not a specific objective, the research outcomes may influence public policy. This three-article dissertation introduces two novel techniques: (1) development of a habitat suitability model in ArcGIS using kernel density estimation and a mortality-risk weighting factor on road density, the delimiting variable; and (2) a rapid hybrid change detection technique using ENVI’s SPEAR Vegetation Delineation tool or classifying live green vegetation and ArcGIS to compare and quantify changes in time. For the latter, two studies incorporated the change detection technique. The pilot study performed the change detection with color-infrared aerial photography, while the follow-up investigation tested the feasibility of the method to handle high resolution multi-sensor data, given the difficulty obtaining data from the same or similar sensors. These studies represent the first of their kind. This dissertation research provides widely applicable, practical, and employable geospatial models to perform habitat assessments for biodiversity conservation. Considering the expertise problems adopting these tools for ecological modeling, the easy-to-implement techniques introduced here for the conservation community to perform habitat suitability and change detection analyses fills a pressing research gap. Tailoring the dissertation research to management needs is another significant step in bridging the gap between geospatial specialists, ecology, and the conservation community. The research also contributes practically to two current conservation programs: (1) the habitat suitability modeling identified priority areas where potential reintroduction of critically endangered and extirpated red wolves into the Daniel Boone National Forest may occur and (2) the change detection analyses showed where and how much change (loss) had occurred in the endangered southwestern willow flycatchers’ critical riparian habitat in Mesquite, Nevada. Managers and decision-makers within the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management, respectively, can use this pertinent information to advance their initiatives. These findings are important, not only for adding to the body of knowledge about specific habitat suitability or changes, but also because of the implications for practice. Restoration of wildlife first requires an understanding of the habitat criteria that shape the distribution, abundance, and persistence of species, and we cannot stem habitat loss without first monitoring and documenting habitat changes and the factors influencing the changes.
Tak Yung Tong, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Richard Beck, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Theresa Culley, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Nicholas Dunning, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Hongxing Liu, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
132 p.
Geography
Habitat Assessments; Geographic Information Systems; Remote Sensing; Habitat Suitability Modeling; Change Detection Analysis; Biodiversity Conservation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Jacobs, T. A. (2017). Conservation Matters: Applied Geography for Habitat Assessments to Maintain and Restore Biodiversity [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1505148939598755

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Jacobs, Teri. Conservation Matters: Applied Geography for Habitat Assessments to Maintain and Restore Biodiversity. 2017. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1505148939598755.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Jacobs, Teri. "Conservation Matters: Applied Geography for Habitat Assessments to Maintain and Restore Biodiversity." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1505148939598755

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1505148939598755
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.