Using Satellite and Airborne LiDAR to Model Woodpecker Habitat Occupancy at the Landscape Scale

Incorporating vertical vegetation structure into models of animal distributions can improve understanding of the patterns and processes governing habitat selection. LiDAR can provide such structural information, but these data are typically collected via aircraft and thus are limited in spatial extent. Our objective was to explore the utility of satellite-based LiDAR data from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) relative to airborne-based LiDAR to model the north Idaho breeding distribution of a forest-dependent ecosystem engineer, the Red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis). GLAS data occurred within ca. 64 m diameter ellipses spaced a minimum of 172 m apart, and all occupancy analyses were confined to this grain scale. Using a hierarchical approach, we modeled Red-naped sapsucker occupancy as a function of LiDAR metrics derived from both platforms. Occupancy models based on satellite data were weak, possibly because the data within the GLAS ellipse did not fully represent habitat characteristics important for this species. The most important structural variables influencing Red-naped Sapsucker breeding site selection based on airborne LiDAR data included foliage height diversity, the distance between major strata in the canopy vertical profile, and the vegetation density near the ground. These characteristics are consistent with the diversity of foraging activities exhibited by this species. To our knowledge, this study represents the first to examine the utility of satellite-based LiDAR to model animal distributions. The large area of each GLAS ellipse and the non-contiguous nature of GLAS data may pose significant challenges for wildlife distribution modeling; nevertheless these data can provide useful information on ecosystem vertical structure, particularly in areas of gentle terrain. Additional work is thus warranted to utilize LiDAR datasets collected from both airborne and past and future satellite platforms (e.g. GLAS, and the planned IceSAT2 mission) with the goal of improving wildlife modeling for more locations across the globe.

[1]  R. Fildes Conditioning Diagnostics: Collinearity and Weak Data in Regression , 1993 .

[2]  J. Andrew Royle,et al.  ESTIMATING SITE OCCUPANCY RATES WHEN DETECTION PROBABILITIES ARE LESS THAN ONE , 2002, Ecology.

[3]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Model selection and multimodel inference : a practical information-theoretic approach , 2003 .

[4]  Nathaniel E Seavy,et al.  Riparian bird response to vegetation structure: a multiscale analysis using LiDAR measurements of canopy height. , 2009, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[5]  Shelley A. Hinsley,et al.  Cover: Predicting habitat quality for Great Tits (Parus major) with airborne laser scanning data , 2004 .

[6]  P. Gessler,et al.  Characterizing forest succession with lidar data: An evaluation for the Inland Northwest, USA , 2009 .

[7]  H. Zwally,et al.  Derivation of Range and Range Distributions From Laser Pulse Waveform Analysis for Surface Elevations, Roughness, Slope, and Vegetation Heights , 2012 .

[8]  K. Vierling,et al.  Reuse of Woodpecker Cavities in The Breeding and Non-Breeding Seasons in Old Burn Habitats in The Black Hills, South Dakota , 2008 .

[9]  Andrew T. Hudak,et al.  Lidar-Derived Canopy Architecture Predicts Brown Creeper Occupancy of Two Western Coniferous Forests , 2013 .

[10]  Terje Gobakken,et al.  Modeling forest songbird species richness using LiDAR-derived measures of forest structure , 2011 .

[11]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Model selection bias and Freedman’s paradox , 2010 .

[12]  P. Gessler,et al.  Automated estimation of individual conifer tree height and crown diameter via two-dimensional spatial wavelet analysis of lidar data , 2006 .

[13]  A. Hudak,et al.  Mapping snags and understory shrubs for a LiDAR-based assessment of wildlife habitat suitability , 2009 .

[14]  S. Goetz,et al.  Lidar remote sensing variables predict breeding habitat of a Neotropical migrant bird. , 2010, Ecology.

[15]  David A. Belsley,et al.  Conditioning Diagnostics: Collinearity and Weak Data in Regression , 1991 .

[16]  S. Goetz,et al.  Laser remote sensing of canopy habitat heterogeneity as a predictor of bird species richness in an eastern temperate forest, USA , 2006 .

[17]  Thomas C. Edwards,et al.  Landscape patterns as habitat predictors: building and testing models for cavity-nesting birds in the Uinta Mountains of Utah, USA , 2002, Landscape Ecology.

[18]  Göran Ståhl,et al.  Estimating Quebec provincial forest resources using ICESat/GLAS , 2009 .

[19]  Shane A. Richards,et al.  Dealing with overdispersed count data in applied ecology , 2007 .

[20]  M. Lefsky,et al.  Forest carbon densities and uncertainties from Lidar, QuickBird, and field measurements in California , 2010 .

[21]  N. Dochtermann,et al.  Developing multiple hypotheses in behavioral ecology , 2010, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[22]  Shane A. Richards,et al.  TESTING ECOLOGICAL THEORY USING THE INFORMATION‐THEORETIC APPROACH: EXAMPLES AND CAUTIONARY RESULTS , 2005 .

[23]  S. Hannon,et al.  Do aggregated harvests with structural retention conserve the cavity web of old upland forest in the boreal plains , 2011 .

[24]  M. Eens,et al.  Parental Behavior Controls Asynchronous Hatching, But Not Incubation Period, in the Magellanic Penguin: A Commentary on Rebstock and Boersma (2011) , 2013 .

[25]  J. Bednarz,et al.  Landscape Use by Hairy Woodpeckers in Managed Forests of Northwestern Washington , 2007 .

[26]  Andrew Thomas Hudak,et al.  A Multiscale Curvature Algorithm for Classifying Discrete Return LiDAR in Forested Environments , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[27]  J. Dahlgren,et al.  Alternative regression methods are not considered in Murtaugh (2009) or by ecologists in general. , 2010, Ecology letters.

[28]  G. Daily,et al.  Double keystone bird in a keystone species complex. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[29]  B. Mcclelland,et al.  RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER NEST TREES IN NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN OLD-GROWTH FOREST , 2000 .

[30]  R Core Team,et al.  R: A language and environment for statistical computing. , 2014 .

[31]  M. Lefsky A global forest canopy height map from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System , 2010 .

[32]  Qi Chen Assessment of terrain elevation derived from satellite laser altimetry over mountainous forest areas using airborne lidar data , 2010 .

[33]  J. Eitel,et al.  Quantifying aboveground forest carbon pools and fluxes from repeat LiDAR surveys , 2012 .

[34]  B. Koch,et al.  Forest biodiversity and its assessment by remote sensing , 1998 .

[35]  Mark C. Drever,et al.  Woodpeckers as reliable indicators of bird richness, forest health and harvest , 2008 .

[36]  H. Nagendra Using remote sensing to assess biodiversity , 2001 .

[37]  W. Cohen,et al.  Estimates of forest canopy height and aboveground biomass using ICESat , 2005 .

[38]  J. Lawton,et al.  Organisms as ecosystem engineers , 1994 .

[39]  R. G. Wright,et al.  GAP ANALYSIS: A GEOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO PROTECTION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY , 1993 .

[40]  A. Poole,et al.  Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) , 2020, Birds of the World.

[41]  A. Crockett,et al.  Nest site selection by Williamson and red-naped sapsuckers , 1975 .

[42]  Lee A. Vierling,et al.  The use of airborne lidar to assess avian species diversity, density, and occurrence in a pine/aspen forest , 2008 .

[43]  L. Lentile,et al.  Preburn Characteristics and Woodpecker Use of Burned Coniferous Forests , 2008 .

[44]  R. Holthausen,et al.  Habitat use and management of pileated woodpeckers in northeastern Oregon , 1993 .

[45]  M. Fladeland,et al.  Remote sensing for biodiversity science and conservation , 2003 .

[46]  J. Abshire,et al.  Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the ICESat Mission: On‐orbit measurement performance , 2005 .

[47]  T. Edwards,et al.  A Variance-decomposition Approach to Investigating Multiscale Habitat Associations , 2006 .

[48]  Marc J. Mazerolle,et al.  LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS INFLUENCE POND OCCUPANCY BY FROGS AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR DETECTABILITY , 2005 .

[49]  H. Zwally,et al.  Overview of the ICESat Mission , 2005 .

[50]  Dylan Keon,et al.  Equations for potential annual direct incident radiation and heat load , 2002 .

[51]  K. Martin,et al.  Response of woodpeckers to changes in forest health and harvest: implications for conservation of avian biodiversity. , 2010 .

[52]  Shelley A. Hinsley,et al.  Quantifying woodland structure and habitat quality for birds using airborne laser scanning , 2002 .

[53]  R. Dubayah,et al.  Lidar Remote Sensing for Forestry , 2000, Journal of Forestry.

[54]  Michael A. Lefsky,et al.  Revised method for forest canopy height estimation from Geoscience Laser Altimeter System waveforms , 2007 .

[55]  Richard B. Chandler,et al.  unmarked: An R Package for Fitting Hierarchical Models of Wildlife Occurrence and Abundance , 2011 .

[56]  K. Martin,et al.  Resource selection plasticity and community responses to experimental reduction of a critical resource. , 2008, Ecology.

[57]  David R. Anderson,et al.  AIC model selection and multimodel inference in behavioral ecology: some background, observations, and comparisons , 2011, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[58]  K. Vierling,et al.  Nonideal habitat selection by a North American cavity excavator: pecking up the wrong tree? , 2010 .

[59]  K. Martin,et al.  NEST SITES AND NEST WEBS FOR CAVITY-NESTING COMMUNITIES IN INTERIOR BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA: NEST CHARACTERISTICS AND NICHE PARTITIONING , 2004 .

[60]  B. Mcclelland RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HOLE-NESTING BIRDS FOREST SNAGS AND DECAY IN WESTERN LARCH-DOUGLAS-FIR FORESTS OF THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS , 1977 .

[61]  Robert M. Zink,et al.  Bird species diversity , 1996, Nature.

[62]  L. Vierling,et al.  Lidar: shedding new light on habitat characterization and modeling , 2008 .

[63]  L. Vierling,et al.  Spinning a laser web: predicting spider distributions using LiDAR. , 2011, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[64]  D. Mccallum A conceptual guide to detection probability for point counts and other count-based survey methods , 2005 .

[65]  Paul A Murtaugh,et al.  Performance of several variable-selection methods applied to real ecological data. , 2009, Ecology letters.

[66]  Roberta E. Martin,et al.  Multi-trophic invasion resistance in Hawaii: bioacoustics, field surveys, and airborne remote sensing. , 2007, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[67]  J. Andrew Royle,et al.  ESTIMATING ABUNDANCE FROM REPEATED PRESENCE–ABSENCE DATA OR POINT COUNTS , 2003 .

[68]  Ross Nelson,et al.  Locating and estimating the extent of Delmarva fox squirrel habitat using an airborne LiDAR profiler , 2005 .

[69]  J. Elith,et al.  Species Distribution Models: Ecological Explanation and Prediction Across Space and Time , 2009 .

[70]  Qi Chen Retrieving vegetation height of forests and woodlands over mountainous areas in the Pacific Coast region using satellite laser altimetry , 2010 .

[71]  R. Swihart,et al.  Absent or undetected? Effects of non-detection of species occurrence on wildlife-habitat models , 2004 .

[72]  E. Walters Habitat and Space Use of the Red-Naped Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus Nuchalis, in the Hat Creek Valley, South-Central British Columbia , 1997 .

[73]  Roland Brandl,et al.  Assessing biodiversity by remote sensing in mountainous terrain: the potential of LiDAR to predict forest beetle assemblages , 2009 .

[74]  R. Nelson,et al.  Quantifying Tropical Dry Forest Type and Succession: Substantial Improvement with LiDAR , 2013 .

[75]  G. Henebry,et al.  Remote sensing of vegetation 3-D structure for biodiversity and habitat: Review and implications for lidar and radar spaceborne missions , 2009 .

[76]  Matthew E. Watts,et al.  Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity , 2004, Nature.

[77]  D. Harding,et al.  ICESat waveform measurements of within‐footprint topographic relief and vegetation vertical structure , 2005 .

[78]  W. Cohen,et al.  Lidar Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Studies , 2002 .