Mapping Avian Habitat for the Gulf Coast Joint Venture
The Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) was established in 1988 as a result of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which espouses the restoration of continental waterfowl populations through conservation partnerships in priority habitat regions. Since that time GCJV partners have expanded their mission and purpose to include the provision of habitat to support other priority bird species within the region.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The western U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast provides important habitat for migrant and wintering waterfowl and shorebirds. The Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) partnership is focused on advancing conservation of priority bird habitats in this region. An example of the GCJV’s efforts is the use of bioenergetic models (that is, models that incorporate species-specific population abundance objectives, temporal residency, daily energy demand of birds, and foraging energy values of habitats) to translate regional waterfowl and shorebird population targets into quantitative habitat objectives. These objectives are expected to represent landscape conditions needed to support populations at desired levels. Remote sensing science can help quantify avian habitat at the landscape-scale and assess long-term trends and annual variation of landscape conditions. Collectively, this information can help the GCJV evaluate progress toward objectives and provide insight into regional conservation priorities.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and GCJV use remote sensing data to estimate the amount of avian habitat in temporarily or seasonally flooded wetlands, flooded rice fields, and moist soil units along inland agricultural landscapes across the western Gulf of Mexico. The overall goal of this effort is to estimate the amount of waterfowl and shorebird habitat on inland agricultural lands from the mid-1980s to present. Additionally, the waterfowl habitat assessments are used to investigate the annual performance of the Texas Prairie Wetland Project, an important conservation delivery program in the GCJV region.
Future Steps: The team plans to develop journal articles to highlight the methods and results of these mapping efforts.
The Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) was established in 1988 as a result of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which espouses the restoration of continental waterfowl populations through conservation partnerships in priority habitat regions. Since that time GCJV partners have expanded their mission and purpose to include the provision of habitat to support other priority bird species within the region.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The western U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast provides important habitat for migrant and wintering waterfowl and shorebirds. The Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) partnership is focused on advancing conservation of priority bird habitats in this region. An example of the GCJV’s efforts is the use of bioenergetic models (that is, models that incorporate species-specific population abundance objectives, temporal residency, daily energy demand of birds, and foraging energy values of habitats) to translate regional waterfowl and shorebird population targets into quantitative habitat objectives. These objectives are expected to represent landscape conditions needed to support populations at desired levels. Remote sensing science can help quantify avian habitat at the landscape-scale and assess long-term trends and annual variation of landscape conditions. Collectively, this information can help the GCJV evaluate progress toward objectives and provide insight into regional conservation priorities.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and GCJV use remote sensing data to estimate the amount of avian habitat in temporarily or seasonally flooded wetlands, flooded rice fields, and moist soil units along inland agricultural landscapes across the western Gulf of Mexico. The overall goal of this effort is to estimate the amount of waterfowl and shorebird habitat on inland agricultural lands from the mid-1980s to present. Additionally, the waterfowl habitat assessments are used to investigate the annual performance of the Texas Prairie Wetland Project, an important conservation delivery program in the GCJV region.
Future Steps: The team plans to develop journal articles to highlight the methods and results of these mapping efforts.