NASA-Assisted Scientists Get Bird’s-Eye View of Population Status
NASA satellite data and citizens’ scientific observations combine for new discoveries on bird populations.
Thanks to the Ebird Citizen Scientist program, millions of birds recorded their observations of different species and submitted control lists to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Thanks to a partnership with NASA, the laboratory has now used this data to model and map the trends in the bird population for nearly 500 North American species.
Led by Alison Johnston of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, the researchers reported that 75% of the study species in the study are decreasing to large -scale scales. And yet, this study has good news for birds. The results, published in Science in May, offer ideas and projections that could shape the future conservation of places where birds make their houses.
“This project demonstrates the power to merge in situ data with the remote sensing of NASA to model biological phenomena which were previously impossible to document,” said Keith Gaddis, the biological diversity of NASA and the director of the ecological forecast program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, which was not involved in the study. “These data do not only give an overview of the terrestrial system, but also provide usable advice to land managers to mitigate the loss of biodiversity.”
A team from Cornell, the University of St. Andrews and the American Bird Conservancy used land imaging data from the NASA moderate imaging spectroradiometer instruments (Modis) to distinguish specific bird habitats such as open forests, dense mists, grassy cultivated land and forest mosaics. They also relied on NASA weather information and water data that corresponded to the dates and times when amateur ornithologists made their reports.
When combined with a set of 14 -year -old Ebird control lists – 36 million observations of species and species, mainly habitats – satellite data gave researchers almost a solid basis to produce a clear image of the health of birds. But there was a missing room.
While some EBIRD control lists come from expert birds that have done deep hiking in the preserves of fauna, others are sent by novices by looking at bird feeders and doing the dishes. This creates what Cornell’s statistician, Daniel Fink, described as “an unstructured and very noisy data set”, with gaps in the landscape that amateur ornithologists have not reached and, ultimately, missing birds.
To take into account the gaps where the birds were not counted, the researchers formed automatic learning models to fill the cards according to the remote sensing data. “For each species – let’s say the Wren rock – we have created a simulation that imitates the species and a variety of ways to respond to changes in the environment,” said Johnston. “Thousands of simulations underlie the results we have shown.”
The researchers obtained an unprecedented resolution, focusing on areas of 12 miles per 12 miles (27 km per 27 km), the same area as Portland, Oregon. This new population counting method can also be applied to EBird data from other locations, Fink said. “Now we use modeling to follow bird populations – no season throughout the year, but during the years – An important step, “he added.
“We were able to take the scientific data of citizens and, through the automatic learning methodology, put it on the same basis as the traditionally structured surveys, in terms of the type of signal that we can find,” said Tom Auer, Cornell Science product manager. “This will increase the credibility and confidence of people who use this information for precise conservation all over the world.”
Since 1970, North America has lost a quarter of its reproductive birds, following a global tendency of decline between species. The causes range from the increase in pollution and the development of land to the evolution of the climate and to the decrease in food resources. Efforts to reverse this loss depend on the identification of areas where birds live at the highest risk, the evaluation of their populations and the training of places where conservation could help the most.
For 83% of the species reported in the new study, the decline was the greatest in places where the populations had been the most abundant – indicating problems with habitat.
“Even in species where populations decrease a lot, there are still places of hope, where populations are increasing,” said Johnston. The team found that the population is increasing in cards of 97% of the species reported. “This shows that there is an opportunity for these species.”
“Birds are faced with so many challenges,” said Cornell’s conservationist, Amanda Rodewald. “This research will help us make strategic decisions on making precise, effective and less expensive modifications. It’s transformer. Now, we can really explore and know where we are going to have the most positive impact to try to stepping birds down. ”
By Karen Romano Young
NASA seat, Washington
