QUOTE
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 19:20:08 -0500 (CDT)
From: Chad Arment <Lancwildlife@verizon.net>
Subject: Satellites Enlisted in Search for New Species
Satellites Enlisted in Search for New Species
John Roach
for National Geographic News
September 13, 2005
Conservation biologists have recruited sophisticated satellites to help
discover and protect unknown species before they disappear.
Sensors on the satellites can collect information such as the
vegetation, climate, and topography of remote and unexplored regions, explained
Christopher Raxworthy, the associate curator of herpetology at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York.
In computer models these data are combined with information on habitats
in which certain species thrive. The combination allows scientists to
predict regions where species?some known, others not?are most likely to
be found.
These data are combined with the coordinates of sites where a species
is known to occur. Then, using computer programs, scientists analyze the
information to predict other areas where the species might live.
Field scientists can then travel to the targeted area and search for
the species. The technique helps eliminate some of the guesswork
traditionally involved in conservation biology, speeding the pace of discovery
and protection.
"Habitat loss in many regions is occurring so fast that some species
may be lost before we find them," Raxworthy wrote in an e-mail to
National Geographic News.
Madagascar Test
Raxworthy and his colleagues are using satellite data to help predict
the locations of chameleons, lemurs, and other species on the island
nation of Madagascar, located off the east coast of Africa.
"This next rainy season we will be testing these predictions,"
Raxworthy said. (The rainy season in Madagascar runs from November through
April.)
This type of testing?called ground truthing?involves visiting regions
that the computer models predict are homes to certain species and
verifying the species' presence the old-fashioned way.
Ground truthing is essential to validating the satellite data,
according to Woody Turner, a scientist with NASA's Science Mission Directorate
in Washington, D.C.
"I believe it was Mark Twain who said there are three kinds of lies:
lies, damned lies, and statistics," Turner said. "To that, I'd perhaps
add a fourth: remote-sensing observations that have not been adequately
ground-truthed."
Turner explained that satellite imagery beamed to Earth is easy to
misinterpret. Only through ground truthing can scientists be confident that
the computer models' predictions are true.
Once scientists have ground-truthed the imagery, they can apply their
findings to unexplored regions with confidence.
Using satellite data, scientists can analyze larger areas "in ways you
couldn't with information gained on foot or by driving a car," Turner
said. "It allows you to make connections across large areas."
If Raxworthy and his colleagues' Madagascar ground-truthing test bears
out their computer predictions, the team will use their results to help
the island nation identify areas for conservation.
Madagascar is considered a biodiversity hot spot, an area that is home
to great numbers of species and that is under constant assault from
human activity.
In 2003 the country committed to tripling its protected area from 4.2
million to 14.8 million acres (1.7 million to 6 million hectares) by
2008.
Evolving Tool
According to Turner, the use of satellite technology in conservation
biology is becoming more and more mainstream. "A number of things have
happened coincidentally to push this," he said.
For one thing, satellite imagery is now widely available from
government agencies and businesses. For another, the imagery is cheaper, making
it more accessible to scientists with limited budgets.
Also, scientists can now take GPS (global positioning system) receivers
out into the field to record the precise locations of where they make
observations.
These data collections are then presented through GIS (geographic
information system) technology, which has grown exponentially in recent
years.
GIS technology incorporates the satellite and GPS data into interactive
maps that scientists can view different ways, depending on what data
are of the most interest.
Finally, the computer power and software required to process the
information is vastly improved. "All of this has come together and made
remote sensing effectively another tool that a lot of conservation
biologists ... can use," Turner said.
Nonetheless, challenges remain.
The current challenge, Raxworthy said, is the lack of specialists
trained to handle the satellite data and incorporate it into their work. "It
takes a lot of time and money to train specialists, and currently there
are not enough resources to accelerate training," he said.
From: Chad Arment <Lancwildlife@verizon.net>
Subject: Satellites Enlisted in Search for New Species
Satellites Enlisted in Search for New Species
John Roach
for National Geographic News
September 13, 2005
Conservation biologists have recruited sophisticated satellites to help
discover and protect unknown species before they disappear.
Sensors on the satellites can collect information such as the
vegetation, climate, and topography of remote and unexplored regions, explained
Christopher Raxworthy, the associate curator of herpetology at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York.
In computer models these data are combined with information on habitats
in which certain species thrive. The combination allows scientists to
predict regions where species?some known, others not?are most likely to
be found.
These data are combined with the coordinates of sites where a species
is known to occur. Then, using computer programs, scientists analyze the
information to predict other areas where the species might live.
Field scientists can then travel to the targeted area and search for
the species. The technique helps eliminate some of the guesswork
traditionally involved in conservation biology, speeding the pace of discovery
and protection.
"Habitat loss in many regions is occurring so fast that some species
may be lost before we find them," Raxworthy wrote in an e-mail to
National Geographic News.
Madagascar Test
Raxworthy and his colleagues are using satellite data to help predict
the locations of chameleons, lemurs, and other species on the island
nation of Madagascar, located off the east coast of Africa.
"This next rainy season we will be testing these predictions,"
Raxworthy said. (The rainy season in Madagascar runs from November through
April.)
This type of testing?called ground truthing?involves visiting regions
that the computer models predict are homes to certain species and
verifying the species' presence the old-fashioned way.
Ground truthing is essential to validating the satellite data,
according to Woody Turner, a scientist with NASA's Science Mission Directorate
in Washington, D.C.
"I believe it was Mark Twain who said there are three kinds of lies:
lies, damned lies, and statistics," Turner said. "To that, I'd perhaps
add a fourth: remote-sensing observations that have not been adequately
ground-truthed."
Turner explained that satellite imagery beamed to Earth is easy to
misinterpret. Only through ground truthing can scientists be confident that
the computer models' predictions are true.
Once scientists have ground-truthed the imagery, they can apply their
findings to unexplored regions with confidence.
Using satellite data, scientists can analyze larger areas "in ways you
couldn't with information gained on foot or by driving a car," Turner
said. "It allows you to make connections across large areas."
If Raxworthy and his colleagues' Madagascar ground-truthing test bears
out their computer predictions, the team will use their results to help
the island nation identify areas for conservation.
Madagascar is considered a biodiversity hot spot, an area that is home
to great numbers of species and that is under constant assault from
human activity.
In 2003 the country committed to tripling its protected area from 4.2
million to 14.8 million acres (1.7 million to 6 million hectares) by
2008.
Evolving Tool
According to Turner, the use of satellite technology in conservation
biology is becoming more and more mainstream. "A number of things have
happened coincidentally to push this," he said.
For one thing, satellite imagery is now widely available from
government agencies and businesses. For another, the imagery is cheaper, making
it more accessible to scientists with limited budgets.
Also, scientists can now take GPS (global positioning system) receivers
out into the field to record the precise locations of where they make
observations.
These data collections are then presented through GIS (geographic
information system) technology, which has grown exponentially in recent
years.
GIS technology incorporates the satellite and GPS data into interactive
maps that scientists can view different ways, depending on what data
are of the most interest.
Finally, the computer power and software required to process the
information is vastly improved. "All of this has come together and made
remote sensing effectively another tool that a lot of conservation
biologists ... can use," Turner said.
Nonetheless, challenges remain.
The current challenge, Raxworthy said, is the lack of specialists
trained to handle the satellite data and incorporate it into their work. "It
takes a lot of time and money to train specialists, and currently there
are not enough resources to accelerate training," he said.
Source
