Interested in Helping Amphibians Cross the Road this Spring?
by Kelly Triece, Private Lands Biologist
Spotted Salamander Crosses a busy road to reach a nearby breeding pool. Photo by Kelly Triece
Amphibians, our harbingers of spring, are soon to be calling in the swamps, pools and woodlands of New Jersey. Thousands of salamanders, frogs, and toads make short, stealthy migrations through the forest to breed and lay their eggs in breeding pools every spring.
However, vehicle mortality during amphibian migration season is a big issue for small animals like amphibians. A single vehicle can harm dozens of the slow-moving animals as they try to cross the road during migration. High traffic volumes can wipe out entire populations over time. For Conserve Wildlife Foundation biologists, this means we will be out on the roadways helping secure safe passage for these amphibians.
Since 2002, we have worked to protect early-spring breeding amphibians like the wood frog, spotted salamander, Jefferson salamander, and spring peeper during their annual migrations. Last year at our biggest Amphibian Crossing site, we assisted 2,684 Spring Peepers, 1,100 Spotted Salamanders, 270 American Toads, 139 Wood Frogs, 95 Jefferson Salamanders and 18 Red-spotted newts cross the road!
The Amphibian Crossing Project relies on volunteers like you. Amphibian migration is completely weather-dependent, but usually occurs between March and April, three-five nights a year. We work in evening shifts and scan the road for crossing amphibians, record species, and number of animals crossing.
If you are interested in volunteering with our Amphibian Crossing Project at locations in North Jersey, please contact Kelly Triece. Volunteers must be 18 years or older.
A volunteer assists in CWF Amphibian Crossing Project. Photo by Kelly Triece.
The Amphibian Crossing Project aims to secure funding for amphibian crossing tunnels at two priority sites. This is part of a larger effort led by the Division of Fish and Wildlife called Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ). CHANJ aims to identify key areas and actions needed for preserving and restoring habitat connectivity for terrestrial wildlife in New Jersey. CHANJ has the potential to increase the sustainability of New Jersey’s terrestrial wildlife populations and de-list endangered species. #CHANJiscoming
Stay tuned as the amphibian attempts to cross the road once again!
In New Jersey and throughout the world, almost every ecosystem is under some degree of disturbance caused by human impact. In particular, urbanization and deforestation often have negative consequences on ecosystems because they typically lead to overall habitat loss. A reduction in available habitat creates habitat fragmentation, where an ecosystem becomes segmented and broken apart. Habitat fragmentation can have multiple negative effects on wildlife, including dispersal, genetic isolation, and community structure impacts. Here in New Jersey, wildlife species are up against steady urbanization and a dense network of roads compromising the connectivity of habitat and wildlife populations. Today, the state of New Jersey remains the most densely populated state in the country occupying about 39,000 miles of public roads.
Connectivity is vital for wildlife. Different color habitat patches represent different resources essential for survival. Lines represent possible corridors connecting patches.
In order to maintain diversity and sustain healthy wildlife populations, we must connect various fragmented habitats and wildlife communities. Animals need to be able to move through the landscape to find food, shelter, mates, and other resources. Without that ability to move, healthy populations cannot persist over the long term. In order to curb the effects of roads and habitat fragmentation, wildlife road crossing structures can be installed to reduce wildlife road mortality. In addition, wildlife habitat corridors can be prioritized for land management, restoration and acquisition.
What is New Jersey doing to create habitat connectivity for our state’s diverse wildlife?
Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey(CHANJ) was formed in 2012 by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, with the vision of making our landscape and roadways more permeable to wildlife movement. CHANJ represents a blueprint for strategic habitat conservation that will identify key areas and the actions needed for preserving and restoring habitat connectivity for terrestrial wildlife in New Jersey. CHANJ has the potential to increase the sustainability of New Jersey’s terrestrial wildlife populations and de-list endangered species. Connecting populations of wildlife will improve gene flow and allow wildlife to move freely throughout the landscape.
How can you help?
Be mindful of wildlife while driving: Peak wildlife crossing season occurs in the spring and summer as wildlife travel to find food and mates. If wildlife such as amphibians and turtles are on the road, safely pull over and carry them to the shoulder in their direction of travel. Always be mindful of safety and do not attempt to handle any wildlife if you are not comfortable.
Insight into a Nocturnal and Enigmatic New Jersey Raptor
by Melanie Mason, Assistant Biologist
Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are one of the most widespread avian species in the world. Despite this impressive distribution, their numbers have been decreasing in parts of their range, and New Jersey is no exception. The extent of their decline isn’t fully known since barn owls are nocturnal and enigmatic, so it’s difficult to estimate their numbers. Although barn owls can travel great distances to disperse after fledging and to find prey, they don’t truly migrate. Therefore, there isn’t a breadth of migration data to sift through in order to triage their downward trend either.
The first step in species conservation is to understand its biology. Because barn owls aren’t migratory, they don’t have the intense energy requirements needed to fuel long distance treks to warmer climates, but the trade-off is they are at the mercy of their local prey abundance and availability. If you look at a distribution map of North American barn owls, you’ll see that New Jersey is close to the northernmost extent of their range. In fact, the majority of their subspecies/races are found in lower latitudes. Unlike their tropical kin, however, northern owls have to frequently survive freezing conditions and in order to do so, need food and lots of it!
Catching enough prey through New Jersey winters can be a challenge in and of itself, but if owls lack sufficient fat stores because of an unfavorable prey year (think hurricanes, floods, droughts, etc), they can easily succumb to cold conditions and die from exposure. The reality is that many young owls do not survive their first winter — a very steep learning curve.
Their preferred prey is meadow vole which are close relatives of lemmings — made famous for their explosive populations during favorable years. In order to respond to sweeping changes in prey availability, the reproductive strategy of barn owls is atypical for most raptors. Where small clutches and high parental investment are the norm, instead, barn owls are capable of breeding year round in favorable conditions (generally fall/spring here in New Jersey) and can have large clutches in order to respond quickly to prey availability. Another uncommon and well-documented strategy is polygyny — where one male sires and provides for multiple nests.
These reproductive strategies are important since barn owls are not a long lived species and typically do not survive much longer than five years. Their saving grace is their ability to “bounce back” and quickly repopulate local areas. This is where we can help!
Barn owls get their name from their close association with humans. They hunt in marshes, fields and grasslands typically favored for agriculture. They frequently nest in structures like old barns, buildings and silos. Constructed structures such as barns and nest boxes are generally preferred over natural cavities (dead or hollow trees for example) because they are safer from predators, more protected from the elements and have a vast supply of mice and voles at their doorstep. As silos and old barns fall down or are torn down in favor of newer, longer lasting metal structures, these nest boxes are even more critical to provide nesting opportunities.
The goal of our barn owl project is to provide safe nesting structures for barn owls in suitable habitat throughout the state. We also hope to gain insight into owl occupancy and nesting success in previously un-monitored areas of New Jersey.
Four ways to help barn owls:
Report any sightings, any time of year. While we are most interested in bolstering the breeding population, identifying winter habitat is critical as well.
Barn owls are better for the environment than barn cats since they are native and don’t kill songbirds, so consider housing barn owl instead! They’ll alleviate your rodent problem without the cost of feeding and risk of unwanted litters.
Don’t use rodenticides! They can harm or kill barn owls (and many other species too), plus owls often do a better job than poisons and are safer for everyone.
The generous support of Washington Crossing Audubon Society provided quite literally the nuts and bolts of the fledgling nest box project by facilitating purchase of supplies for nest box construction — a million times thank you!
YOUR WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS CAN HELP INFORM NEW JERSEY’S BIOLOGISTS
By Michael Davenport, GIS Program Manager
Compared with most of the states within the United States, New Jersey is relatively small in area. However, it is still too large for biologists within New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) to survey every inch of the state for rare species at all times. Therefore, ENSP has created a Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Form with which any bird watcher, hiker, fisherman, and anyone else with knowledge on how to identify New Jersey’s rare wildlife, may submit information on rare species which they may have come across in their travels. This information assists ENSP biologists in monitoring their species’ numbers and whereabouts and may aid in targeting areas for future surveys. Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) staff work very closely with ENSP to encourage the public to submit their observational data and then process the information which gets submitted.
The first step in reporting rare species sightings is to first determine whether the species you observed is a species which is tracked. Tracked species are those listed in New Jersey as endangered, threatened, or special concern. The lists of these species can be found on these ENSP’s websites: endangered & threatened species and special concern species.
The greatest need for data is for those species which are new to the proposed list of endangered, threatened, or special concern species. Because they did NOT previously have an imperiled status, they have largely been ignored in terms of survey effort and/or data acquisition. At the current time, there is a great need for data regarding observations of the following species:
Once you have determined that you observed a rare species, the next step is to complete a Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Form. You may complete one of these forms if you made the observation yourself – second-hand observations or information whose source was a report, letter, conversation, or other document will not be accepted. Also, one form must be completed per species. Thus, if you observe a heron rookery comprised of great blue herons, tricolor herons, and snowy egrets, then three sighting report forms may be submitted.
Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Forms are available for download and/or printing here. Part of the process of completing the form is to submit a map of the location where the animal was observed. This is critically important for reasons to be discussed later. The preferred map to submit is an aerial image of the area which you have marked with the animal’s location; however, a topographic map is also acceptable. Aerial images may be accessed via Google maps. Topographic maps can be accessed here. In addition to the form and map, it is also extremely helpful if you can submit at least one photograph of the animal in order for an ENSP biologist to verify the identification of the species.
After you mail in your form and map to ENSP, CWF or ENSP staff will enter it into their tracking database at which point it will receive an Observation ID number. You will then receive an e-mail acknowledging receipt of your form and providing you with your Observation ID number in the event you wish to follow-up with additional information or inquire as to whether the biologist has reviewed your form.
The form then goes to a CWF or ENSP biologist who will evaluate it to determine whether it is a valid sighting and whether it should be integrated into the next version of ENSP’s Landscape Project. This is why receiving accurate locational information along with the sighting report form is crucial. The Landscape Project is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) product whereby critical areas are identified for imperiled species based upon species locations as well as land-use classifications. The resulting maps enable state, county, municipal, and private agencies to identify important habitats and protect them in a variety of ways. This information is even utilized to regulate land-use in the state and attempt to preserve whatever endangered and threatened species habitat remains in New Jersey.
A common misperception many New Jersey nature watchers have is, if they happen to report their rare species sightings to institutions such as Audubon or Cornell (e-bird), that information will make its way to the state’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program. That is not the case. ENSP needs you to submit your data directly to them. So, please, become a Citizen Scientist and assist both CWF and ENSP in tracking New Jersey’s rare species, in the hopes that our work can prevent them from becoming rarer.
If you have collected a large amount of data and submitting it via multiple Sighting Report Forms may be too time consuming, please contact Mike Davenport, CWF’s GIS Program Manager, at Michael.davenport@dep.nj.gov Other options exist for data submittal (Excel spreadsheets for example) so long as all of the required information is included.
Nation Follows New Jersey’s Lead in Banning Microbeads
by Jake Levine, Intern
Have you ever used a skin-care product with those “exfoliating” beads? Have you ever used toothpaste that guarantees a brighter smile with its “abrasive” powers? The small plastic microbeads found in those products — and many other cosmetics — are polluting waterways and affecting wildlife. These small plastic microbeads are all less than five millimeters in size. Although they are tiny, they can have some colossal impacts on the waterways and the wildlife that inhabit these ecosystems.
What makes these microbeads so detrimental to the waterways and wildlife is its chemical composition. Commonly called plastic, polymers have been one of the most revolutionary creations in industry. They are strong, lightweight, and last a lifetime… literally. A key characteristic of polymers is long decomposition rate. Instead of naturally breaking down, they photo-degenerate, which means they absorb sunlight to break apart. When found in waterways, the rate that they break down is much longer, since the surrounding water keeps the microbeads cool and can redirect the sunlight. In animals that depend on waterways for food, these microbeads put up a fight against their digestive systems. These polymers do not break down in their digestive systems, which can pose a serious health risk to wildlife.
In a standard food chain, the smaller organisms make up the foundation. This foundation provides the energy and nutrients needed to fuel the rest of the food chain. With the introduction of microbeads into waterways, the foundation of the food chain now also contains microbeads. Since microbeads are made of polymers, they offer no nutritional value to any of the organisms that consume them. In addition to not being able to decompose or break down in wildlife, these small pellets can quickly cumulate inside animals, leading to fatal health issues.
So what is being done about the microbead issue? In 2015, legislators passed a bill that will prohibit the selling and distributing of these products that contain microbeads, and you can thank New Jersey for leading the charge! The “Microbead Free Waters Act of 2015” will ban the manufacturing, introduction, or delivery for introduction into our commerce of products that contain intentionally-added microbeads. The ban on the manufacturing will begin on July 1, 2017, while the ban on commerce will begin July 1, 2018.
The ban is one step, but I am anticipating it to lead to something bigger towards the recovery of the waterways and the environment.
HOW A SPECIES BECOMES LISTED AS “ENDANGERED” IN NEW JERSEY
By Michael Davenport, GIS Program Manager
How does the state’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) determine whether a species is imperiled or secure within the state? The process for determining a species’ state status is known as the “Delphi” method of species status review and it is a process which Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ (CWF) staff assists the state with.
In 2015, the NJ Endangered & Nongame Advisory Committee approved that the monarch butterfly be added to the state’s list of Special Concern species. Photo courtesy of Thomas Gorman.
The ENSP endeavors to complete a review of all species currently included on the Endangered and Nongame lists every 5-10 years. In addition, other species groups not currently included on those lists may be reviewed for status as well. At any given time, there may be several status reviews being conducted.
The first step taken in conducting a status review is to identify experts and invite them to participate as a member of a review panel. Members of the panel may be comprised of experts within academia, government agencies, non-profits, or private consultants as well as others.
Once a sufficient number of experts have agreed to participate, staff within the ENSP and CWF will compile background material for the species being reviewed. This may include reports, survey data, and data contained within the state’s Biotics database which is the electronic warehouse for all imperiled species data in New Jersey. This background data, as well as a list of the species being reviewed, and definitions of the status options, are then sent to the panelists for Round 1 of the review.
Delphi reviews are comprised of multiple “Rounds”. For each round, each panelist will choose a status for each species based upon that panelist’s expertise as well as the background material. The panelist then sends their selections and justification regarding each species to ENSP or CWF staff who compile the results submitted by all panelists. The review is completed anonymously, so the panelists do not know the identities of the other participants.
For each species, the panel must reach consensus of at least 85% of the respondents for a species’ status to be determined. If consensus is not reached during the first round, then that species will move on to be reviewed in Round 2. For each new round, the panelists’ status choices during the prior round, as well as all the comments made, are available to the panel, so that reviewers can consider the weight of evidence and other reviewers’ opinions on status as they prepare to vote again. This continues until consensus is reached for all species under review.
Once consensus is reached for all species or, if after four rounds have passed and consensus could not be reached for some species, ENSP or CWF staff will take the compiled Delphi results to the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee (ENSAC). ENSAC reviews the results and makes the final recommendations on status for those species for which consensus was not reached by the expert panel. Based upon ENSAC’s recommendations, any changes to the Endangered and Nongame lists must go through a formal rule-making process before those changes can be made official.
The Delphi review process is a science-based, anonymous review by those with the most expertise on the species within New Jersey. A great deal of thought and time go into preparing for and carrying out a review and CWF has played a major role in assisting with the process. From the blue whale to fairy shrimp, each species will ultimately receive a state status, leading the way for conservation action.
The following are state conservation status categories; the last, “Not Applicable”, is used only during the status review and is not a legal status category.
Endangered
Applies to species whose prospects for survival within the state are in immediate danger due to one or several factors, such as loss or degradation of habitat, overexploitation, predation, competition, disease or environmental pollution, etc. An Endangered species likely requires immediate action to avoid extinction within New Jersey.
Threatened
Applies to species that may become Endangered if conditions surrounding it begin to or continue to deteriorate. Thus, a Threatened species is one that is already vulnerable as a result of small population size, restricted range, narrow habitat affinities, significant population decline, etc.
Special Concern
Applies to species that warrant special attention because of inherent vulnerability to environmental deterioration or habitat modification that would result in their becoming Threatened. This category would also be applied to species that meet the forgoing criteria and for which there is little understanding of their current population status in the state.
Secure/Stable
Applies to species that appear to be secure in New Jersey and not in danger of falling into any of the preceding three categories in the near future.
Undetermined/Unknown
Applies to a species that cannot be assigned a status of endangered, threatened, special concern or secure/stable because not enough information exists on which to base a judgment.
Not Applicable
Applies to species that do not occur in New Jersey, including occasional non-breeding strays and transient breeders that fail to persist.
“The diamondback terrapin has long been special to many people who live in or and visit our coastal communities,” said Commissioner Martin. “Many people have dedicated countless hours to protecting its habitats and raising awareness about this unique species. We need to ensure the terrapin remains part of our coastal ecosystem.”
Unfortunately, terrapins have been an under-served species for a long time in New Jersey. As a former major food source for Native Americans then European settlers, their population has only narrowly avoided being extirpated from our waters by their over exploitation in the late 19th century. Currently, their hunting season is full of unknowns and not one biologist in New Jersey can tell you the actual size of the population. Besides being hunted in winter, terrapins face a huge amount of threats (listed in order of severity): collecting for the pet and food trade, drowning in ghost crab pots, road mortality, habitat loss/shoreline hardening, collision with boat props and hulls, and predation. With all of these threats in their environment and not knowing the current status of their population, taking no action would be a huge mistake. Terrapins are not equipped to reproduce quickly and sustain their population when there are large (and unnatural) sources of mortality. They have very slow reproductive rates and very high mortality rates. Adult females do not reach sexual maturity until they are around 9-10 years old. In addition, only around 1-3% of terrapins are believed to live to adulthood. Recent studies have shown that adult females are becoming smaller and less numerous.
Terrapins do occasionally nest at night. Photo by Ben Wurst
We’ve seen far too many terrapins face terrible deaths from our way of life. This is why we are leading many grassroots conservation efforts to protect terrapins in New Jersey. Since 2009, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has worked tirelessly to help reduce the amount of diamondback terrapin road-kills, to more accurately map their range, and to educate the public about their threats in the environment in the Great Bay and Barnegat Bay watersheds as part of the Great Bay Terrapin Project. Over the past 5 years we have cut the mortality rate of adult females in half to only 4% of adults that attempt to cross Great Bay Blvd. in Little Egg Harbor Twp. In 2015, with help from numerous dedicated volunteers, we documented a total of 906 individuals. Read our full report from 2015!
In 2015, we received 1,291 observations (not include our own) from various partners including a few from the public. Terrapins are extremely under reported from the general public. Most of the sightings that we get are not dispersed enough for them to be used to accurately depict their presence in their historic habitat throughout New Jersey. When they’re active during summer months the public is urged to report sightings of terrapins.
Lastly, we are the project leader for the development of a regional, multi-state strategy for Northern diamondbacks aimed at achieving long-term sustainability for terrapins throughout the Northern and Mid Atlantic Region (35 partners/8 states). We are also working with various partners and have gotten a grant from NOAA to find and remove ghost crab pots on Barnegat Bay, which is a huge threat to terrapins and other aquatic marine life.
23 WILDLIFE SPECIES ADDED TO CWF’S ONLINE FIELD GUIDE
By Michael Davenport, GIS Program Manager
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ’s online field guide, a one-of-a-kind free reference focused on New Jersey’s wildlife, has recently expanded to include 23 additional species. As a result of recent status reviews by the state’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program for reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies, additional species within the state will be receiving an imperiled status of either Endangered, Threatened, or Special Concern. Six reptile species are being added as well as four amphibians and thirteen butterfly species.
The Baltimore checkerspot, a species recently added to CWF’s on-line field guide. Photo courtesy of Eric C. Reuter.
Later this week, two additional blog entries will be posted regarding the status review process and the new listings. The posts will be: “Species Status Review process” (WEDNESDAY); and “How you can help fill-in data gaps” (FRIDAY).
The list of “new” species is below and each species name links to its field guide entry on our website:
Update from Brazil: “We are Going to Have to Science the ‘Heck’ Out of This”
by Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
We came to Brazil to conduct a rigorous scientific study of the wintering population of shorebirds in a place where the land and sea act against any rigorous protocol. It would be easier to just go out and count birds and identify their habitats and prey, but our charge is more difficult.
The survey wraps around satellite imagery, strange unintelligible wavelength data coming from satellites hovering over the earth that can be transformed into brilliant and useful maps in the right hands. Those hands belong to Professor Rick Lathrop and his post doc Dan Merchant. Rick leads the Center for Remote Sensing at Rutgers and he and I have collaborated on projects ranging from municipal habitat conservation planning to Arctic red knot habitat mapping. He has created one of the most alarming maps that every person from New Jersey should know about.
The mapping of Reentrancias Maranhenses, an internationally recognized site of ecological importance is especially tricky. Our research platform is a 50-foot boat and we will be out of cell and internet contact for much of the time. Our method of collecting data for the mapping was devised by the whole team, but especially with the help Professor David Santos of the University of Maranhao, my colleague Dr. Joe Smith and Humphrey Sitters of the International Wader Study Group.
Our 50-foot catamaran
It focuses on collecting bird and habitat information using randomly selected survey points. In other words, we will try to pick places at random to survey so that when we combine them we will have a sample that represents the entire area, not just the places we surveyed. It’s like trying to figure how many different kinds of chocolates are in a valentine. If you take them all from one side then you might have sampled the chocolate covered cherry section leading to believe they are all one kind. But if you choose chocolates at random than you will find the box includes other kinds, caramel or fruit or nutty chocolates. This is making me hungry, but you get the point.
The area of our box we is very large, bigger than New Jersey, and it grows and shrinks every day with the tides. So, sampling is tricky business because a sample at low tide, when the tide is out exposing vast areas of intertidal mud and sand flat, is very different than when the tide is high. So we will be classifying habitat, or stratifying it, so we can focus on limited survey time to get the best sample.
Once collected we can start making maps. All data will be geo referenced – or located precisely with GPS units – so it can be accurately mapped. With this, we will train the satellite maps to outline the habitat best for shorebirds.
All this while exploring areas that have received little scientific scrutiny and under tropical conditions, almost daily rain, a persistent 20 mph wind and summer heat. Add parasites, mosquitoes and diseases like malaria and one can see this a rugged undertaking.
Our crew is up to it. Besides those mentioned above Mark Peck from Royal Ontario Museum, Danielle Paluto from the Brazilian CEMAVE (a counterpart to our USFWS), Steve Gates a veteran of expedition on other SA trips, shorebird expert Dr. Mandy Dey, Stephanie Feigin from Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and the author round out a dream team of bird study in difficult places.
On our Expedition to Study Shorebirds along the Northern Coast of Brazil
By: Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
Ana Paula with Red Knot
The largest mangrove forest in the world covers the Brazilian coastline at the equator near the mouth of the Amazon river. The forest extends out into the Atlantic in long peninsulas tipped by wind swept and mostly inaccessible beaches. The forest, beaches and their long intertidal mud and sandy low tide flats support the largest wintering population of shorebirds in the hemisphere, perhaps the world. The red knot, a listed species in both North and South America, also uses this remote tropical coast.
Boat Trip RouteCatamaran
With scientists from the U.S., Canada, England and Brazil, we will attempt a large scale mapping of this important habitat using state-of-the-art satellite mapping. We will do this from a 50-foot catamaran and two zodiacs hopping from one mangrove estuary to another and conducting bird surveys targeting key areas over a 150 mile-section of the coast. We will be the first to survey some areas. Our goal is to figure out the main threats to both bird and habitat.
To understand the importance of this area one has to think about it like a shorebird. Although born in the Arctic they actually spend only a few months there. They spend a few months moving from their nesting area to their wintering area. They spend the rest of their lives, the majority of their year in the wintering area. A threat to the wintering area would be grave.
Most of our survey zone is part of the Reentrancias Maranhenses, a protected area of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Our catamaran captained by William Thomas will leave from a small town near the city of Sao Luis, Brazil. From there we will sail along the coastline moving in and out of the mangrove islands to survey shorebirds, habitat and marine invertebrates. We will “geo reference” all data, or take detailed coordinates so the data can be reproduced on satellite mapping.
Satellite Map
Satellite maps aren’t really maps as most people understand — pictures or drawings of a section of the earth — they are digital files of remotely sensed data, they are only wavelengths of light that must be interpreted to represent actual habitat. We will train the satellite data so that each habitat will be represented by a combination of spectral data — colors in sense.
Environmental disturbance. Photo by Mark Peck.
Once completed, we can relate the habitat maps with information on birds, their prey and equally important, the threats to the birds and prey. For example, shrimp farming is growing in this area. Entrepreneurs are stripping the intertidal zone of mangrove forest, diking the area and then growing shrimp. Once the area accumulates too much waste and chemicals, they abandon the site and move on to damage another mangrove forest. We will determine which areas are of importance to the birds and potential targets for shrimp farmers. But there is more: oil spills, disturbance from tourists, water pollution are among many.
Over the next three weeks, we will be reporting on our work on this blog.
