Rapid dispersal of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) biocontrol beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) on a desert river detected by phenocams, MODIS imagery and ground observations

article i nfo Wemeasured therate of dispersal ofsaltcedarleafbeetles (Diorhabdacarinulata),a defoliatinginsect released on western rivers to control saltcedar shrubs (Tamarixspp.), on a 63 km reach of the Virgin River, U.S. Dispersal was measured by satellite imagery, ground surveys and phenocams. Pixels from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensors on the Terra satellite showed a sharp drop in NDVI in midsummer followed by recovery, correlated with defoliation events as revealed in networked digital camera imagesand ground surveys. Ground surveys and MODIS imagery showed that beetle damage progressed downstream at a rate of about 25 km yr −1 in 2010 and 2011, producing a 50% reduction in saltcedar leaf area index and evapotranspiration by2012,asestimatedbyalgorithms basedon MODISEnhancedVegetationIndexvaluesandlocal meteorological dataforMesquite,Nevada.Thisreductionistheequivalentof10.4%ofmeanannualriver flowsonthisriverreach. Our results confirmotherobservationsthat saltcedarbeetles are dispersing much fasterthan originallypredicted in pre-release biological assessments, presenting new challenges and opportunities for land, water and wildlife managers on western rivers. Despite relatively coarse resolution (250 m) and gridding artifacts, single MODIS pixels can be useful in tracking the effects of defoliating insects in riparian corridors.

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