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Habitat Mapping and Modeling

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By Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center November 13, 2017

Accurately quantifying and mapping wildlife habitat is critical to investigations of species distribution and habitat relationships, and can greatly facilitate management of forests for multiple resources. However acquiring field-based, empirical data is often costly and labor intensive. Modeling provides an alternative technique for describing and mapping habitat, but the usefulness of models relies on the quality of the underlying ecological information. My projects integrate an understanding of wildlife ecology with technological expertise from collaborations with biometricians, statisticians, and GIS specialists to develop habitat models that provide reliable and defendable methods for defining and predicting the distribution of wildlife habitat. For example, in a current project we are utilizing LiDAR data to develop new metrics that more accurately represent the three-dimensional characteristics of habitat for forest-dwelling wildlife.

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

Estimated Probabilities from Lidar Models for Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) Occupancy in Forest Vegetation Stands in the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon

We developed a LiDAR-based habitat model for the threatened Marbled Murrelet (MAMU) in the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, using a two-step approach. First, we tested the applicability of the LiDAR-based model developed for the Coos Bay District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the Siuslaw N.F. In the second step, we tested alternative habitat models developed with forest structural data
By
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

Modeling habitat for Marbled Murrelets on the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, using lidar data

Habitat models using lidar-derived variables that quantify fine-scale variation in vegetation structure can improve the accuracy of occupancy estimates for canopy-dwelling species over models that use variables derived from other remote sensing techniques. However, the ability of models developed at such a fine spatial scale to maintain accuracy at regional or larger spatial scales has not been te
Authors
Joan C. Hagar, Ramiro Aragon, Patricia Haggerty, Jeff P. Hollenbeck
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Oak mistletoe (Phoradendron villosum) is linked to microhabitat availability and avian diversity in Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands

Mistletoes are parasitic or hemi-parasitic flowering plants that parasitize woody plants around the globe. Important food and cover resources provided by mistletoes have been related to strong patterns of positive association between wildlife diversity and mistletoe density. Mistletoes also create microhabitat features known to be important to wildlife by causing deformations in their host trees.
Authors
Kyle R. Pritchard, Joan Hagar, David C. Shaw
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Modeling marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) habitat using LiDAR-derived canopy data

LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is an emerging remote-sensing tool that can provide fine-scale data describing vertical complexity of vegetation relevant to species that are responsive to forest structure. We used LiDAR data to estimate occupancy probability for the federally threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in the Oregon Coast Range of the United States. Our goal was to
Authors
Joan C. Hagar, Bianca N.I. Eskelson, Patricia K. Haggerty, S. Kim Nelson, David G. Vesely
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Geostatistical modeling of riparian forest microclimate and its implications for sampling

Predictive models of microclimate under various site conditions in forested headwater stream - riparian areas are poorly developed, and sampling designs for characterizing underlying riparian microclimate gradients are sparse. We used riparian microclimate data collected at eight headwater streams in the Oregon Coast Range to compare ordinary kriging (OK), universal kriging (UK), and kriging with
Authors
B.N.I. Eskelson, P. D. Anderson, J.C. Hagar, H. Temesgen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Estimating riparian understory vegetation cover with beta regression and copula models

Understory vegetation communities are critical components of forest ecosystems. As a result, the importance of modeling understory vegetation characteristics in forested landscapes has become more apparent. Abundance measures such as shrub cover are bounded between 0 and 1, exhibit heteroscedastic error variance, and are often subject to spatial dependence. These distributional features tend to be
Authors
Bianca N.I. Eskelson, Lisa Madsen, Joan C. Hagar, Hailemariam Temesgen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Pygmy rabbit surveys on state lands in Oregon

The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is classified by the federal government as a species of concern (i.e., under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for consideration as a candidate for listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act) because of its specialized habitat requirements and evidence of declining populations. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Authors
Joan Hagar, George Lienkaemper
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Accurately quantifying and mapping wildlife habitat is critical to investigations of species distribution and habitat relationships, and can greatly facilitate management of forests for multiple resources. However acquiring field-based, empirical data is often costly and labor intensive. Modeling provides an alternative technique for describing and mapping habitat, but the usefulness of models relies on the quality of the underlying ecological information. My projects integrate an understanding of wildlife ecology with technological expertise from collaborations with biometricians, statisticians, and GIS specialists to develop habitat models that provide reliable and defendable methods for defining and predicting the distribution of wildlife habitat. For example, in a current project we are utilizing LiDAR data to develop new metrics that more accurately represent the three-dimensional characteristics of habitat for forest-dwelling wildlife.

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

Estimated Probabilities from Lidar Models for Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) Occupancy in Forest Vegetation Stands in the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon

We developed a LiDAR-based habitat model for the threatened Marbled Murrelet (MAMU) in the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, using a two-step approach. First, we tested the applicability of the LiDAR-based model developed for the Coos Bay District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the Siuslaw N.F. In the second step, we tested alternative habitat models developed with forest structural data
By
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Below are publications associated with this project.

Modeling habitat for Marbled Murrelets on the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, using lidar data

Habitat models using lidar-derived variables that quantify fine-scale variation in vegetation structure can improve the accuracy of occupancy estimates for canopy-dwelling species over models that use variables derived from other remote sensing techniques. However, the ability of models developed at such a fine spatial scale to maintain accuracy at regional or larger spatial scales has not been te
Authors
Joan C. Hagar, Ramiro Aragon, Patricia Haggerty, Jeff P. Hollenbeck
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Oak mistletoe (Phoradendron villosum) is linked to microhabitat availability and avian diversity in Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands

Mistletoes are parasitic or hemi-parasitic flowering plants that parasitize woody plants around the globe. Important food and cover resources provided by mistletoes have been related to strong patterns of positive association between wildlife diversity and mistletoe density. Mistletoes also create microhabitat features known to be important to wildlife by causing deformations in their host trees.
Authors
Kyle R. Pritchard, Joan Hagar, David C. Shaw
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Modeling marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) habitat using LiDAR-derived canopy data

LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is an emerging remote-sensing tool that can provide fine-scale data describing vertical complexity of vegetation relevant to species that are responsive to forest structure. We used LiDAR data to estimate occupancy probability for the federally threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in the Oregon Coast Range of the United States. Our goal was to
Authors
Joan C. Hagar, Bianca N.I. Eskelson, Patricia K. Haggerty, S. Kim Nelson, David G. Vesely
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Geostatistical modeling of riparian forest microclimate and its implications for sampling

Predictive models of microclimate under various site conditions in forested headwater stream - riparian areas are poorly developed, and sampling designs for characterizing underlying riparian microclimate gradients are sparse. We used riparian microclimate data collected at eight headwater streams in the Oregon Coast Range to compare ordinary kriging (OK), universal kriging (UK), and kriging with
Authors
B.N.I. Eskelson, P. D. Anderson, J.C. Hagar, H. Temesgen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Estimating riparian understory vegetation cover with beta regression and copula models

Understory vegetation communities are critical components of forest ecosystems. As a result, the importance of modeling understory vegetation characteristics in forested landscapes has become more apparent. Abundance measures such as shrub cover are bounded between 0 and 1, exhibit heteroscedastic error variance, and are often subject to spatial dependence. These distributional features tend to be
Authors
Bianca N.I. Eskelson, Lisa Madsen, Joan C. Hagar, Hailemariam Temesgen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Pygmy rabbit surveys on state lands in Oregon

The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is classified by the federal government as a species of concern (i.e., under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for consideration as a candidate for listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act) because of its specialized habitat requirements and evidence of declining populations. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Authors
Joan Hagar, George Lienkaemper
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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