Category: Managing Water Resources and Restoration
Project Team: Mississippi Water Resources and Ecological Forecasting II
Team Location: NASA John C. Stennis Space Center ÛÒ Hancock County, Mississippi
Shown here is a landcover classification for Gulfport, Mississippi. The landcover classification was derived from 2014 Landsat 8 OLI imagery after implementing a pan-sharpening process. Image Credit: Mississippi Water Resources and Ecological Forecasting II Team
Authors:
Shelby Barrett
Benjamin Beasley
Aaron Bosarge
Mentors/Advisors:
Joseph Spruce (NASA Stennis Space Center)
James ÛÏDocÛ Smoot (NASA Stennis Space Center)
Dr. Kenton Ross (NASA DEVELOP National Program)
Past/Other Contributors:
Luke Wylie
Brennan McDaniel
Abstract:
Many migratory and coastal bird species found on the Mississippi Gulf Coast have specialized habitat requirements. The degradation of habitat for nesting and foraging from recent natural disasters and anthropogenic activity has contributed to the population decline of multiple migratory and coastal bird species. The Audubon Mississippi Coastal Bird Stewardship Program (CBSP) is working to improve coastal avifauna populations through habitat monitoring and educating the public on the importance of coastal and migratory birds. In the previous term of this project, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) imagery from 2014 was used to produce a 15-meter land cover classification for Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties on the Mississippi coast. Nesting habitat suitability maps were also created for several species of concern. This second term focused on refining the land cover classification from the previous term, expanding habitat maps to encompass foraging and overall habitat preferences for each species, and generating water quality indicator maps from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for the Mississippi coastline. The IDRISI Land Change Modeler for ArcGIS also was used to produce a land cover change detection map. These products allowed CBSP to gain a greater spatial understanding of how birds are using the habitat to enhance their decision-making in relation to habitat and species conservation and restoration planning activities.
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