CASSONDRA WALKER
Current Research
When integrated into ecology and conservation, remote sensing of landscapes enhances our ability to reliably assess habitat structure and quality at broader scales and provides novel data that previous in-field measurement techniques were unable to evaluate. This technology is important in understanding the relationships between declining migratory song bird distribution and habitat quality. One method, LiDAR technology uses reflected laser light to gather spatial data in 3 planes and another method, hyperspectral imaging, records the reflected wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum that can be used to distinguish between different landscape features.
Objective 1
Determine if the distribution of Bell’s vireo can be explained by the spatial distribution and vegetation architecture of shrubs measured with terrestrial LiDAR and hyperspectral imagery.
LiDAR technology uses reflected laser light to gather spatial data in 3 planes (x,y,z coordinates), where each coordinate is a reflected laser beam and the spatial relationship between any ser of coordinates can be easily calculated. LiDAR data is displayed as a point cloud shown on the left.
Objective 2
Explain the distribution of Bell’s vireos by the absence of invasive vegetation species which alter the vegetative architecture variables associated with suitable habitat.
Hyperspectral imaging records the reflected wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum that can be used to distinguish between different landscape features. Hyperspectral data of a particular location is displayed as a set of several images, each one measuring the reflected light off the earth’s surface in a particular set of wavelengths.
Objective 3
Determine if terrestrial and airborne LiDAR sensors which have different fields of view for measuring habitat architectural variables can be combined in habitat suitability models and used at different spatial scales.
Airborne LiDAR (A) has a horizontal field of view that looks down on the object being measured whereas terrestrial LiDAR (B) has a vertical field of view that measures an object from the side