Monitoring Of Spatial Patterns Research Articles

Effects of urban wetland patch pattern on the biodiversity of aquatic birds in Nairobi, Kenya

Urban wetlands are ubiquitous landscape elements that affect the spatial pattern and functions of cities. Despite being rich and important habitats for a variety of birds, they are continually being isolated or lost. Isolation and loss negatively impact on the integrity of the urban landscape pattern and compromises on biophilic planning and development. Since urbanization is a continuous cultural process, it is important to investigate how its impacts, which are invariably in conflict with nature, would portend for aquatic bird communities in urban areas. This study sought to determine the variability and relationship between the structural patch pattern of palustrine wetlands in Nairobi and the species richness and abundance of aquatic birds in these wetlands. From a population of 300 wetlands, this study used heterogeneous sampling to identify and investigate 31 palustrine wetlands spread across the city of Nairobi. For each of these wetlands, a variety of landscape metrics were calculated and the species diversity of aquatic birds was quantified. Multiple regression analysis was performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 21 to determine the relationships between wetland patch pattern and wetland biodiversity. The study found that patch pattern significantly affects aquatic bird biodiversity, R² = .516, F (7, 23) = 3.498, p < .05. It was also found that the characteristics of the wetland neighbourhood significantly affected aquatic bird biodiversity, R² = .301, F (3, 27) = 3.867, p < .05. This study highlights the need to mainstream, plan, and design for the conservation and monitoring of spatial patterns and biodiversity of palustrine wetlands in urban landscapes. In doing so, biophilic cities are created, bio-systemic urban infrastructure is generated, human wellbeing is enhanced, and urban wetland ecosystem services are valued.

Utilizing Local Variance of Simulated High Spatial Resolution Imagery To Predict Spatial Pattern of Forest Stands

Spatial pattern, defined as the distribution of individuals in space, is an important characteristic of forest stands. It provides an insight into the allocation of above- and below-ground resources to a tree, as well as reflecting the stand history, microclimate, and competition between different species over time. The spatial arrangement of trees can be described as random, aggregated, or regular with a number of statistics existing that characterize the spatial pattern of a given tree population. High spatial resolution remote sensing is an obvious tool to facilitate the measuring and monitoring of spatial patterns in forest stands. Remote sensing imagery provides detailed information about forest structure while still allowing large areas of forest to be mapped and monitored. The increased availability of high resolution imagery coupled with improvements in scene processing and interpretation techniques allow additional information, such as texture, to be extracted from this type of imagery. In this paper the spatial pattern of trees within a forest stand is related to high spatial resolution imagery. This relationship is developed using a technique that relates scene texture variance to a statistic describing spatial pattern. The technique was tested on a number of simulated remote sensing scenes by systematically varying the size and spatial distribution of trees using a geometric-optical model. Results indicate that it is theoretically possible to derive the spatial pattern of trees within a high spatial resolution forested scene provided crown size is estimated a priori. It is also likely that the total projected foliage cover of the canopy will affect the ability to predict spatial distribution based on texture variance. It was concluded that the spatial pattern of trees within a scene can play a vital role in the amount and degree of variation existing within imagery. It is important to consider the implications of these type of relationships when developing variance-based models of forest structure.

Territoriality and spatial patterns of white rhinoceros in Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe

Boundaries associated with reserves or conservation areas may alter spatial patterns of individuals, and may affect the sexes differently in species that exhibit sex‐specific patterns of space use. Because of poaching threats, most African rhinos today persist within sanctuaries or reserves with fenced perimeters. We examined spatial patterns of adult white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) in Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe. Matobo Park contains a high‐density population of rhinos within a fenced reserve and a lower‐density group outside of the fenced area. Adult females in the lower‐density group used significantly larger home ranges than those in the high‐density group. Overlap among female home ranges was extensive in both groups. Adult male white rhinos establish territories that are exclusive of other males performing scent‐marking behaviours, and in Matobo Park, male territories were much larger than those observed in other populations of white rhinos. Additionally, few adult males in the high‐density reserve held territories that occupied most available space; two‐thirds of adult males were excluded from establishing territories, and followed a non‐territorial tactic. In the absence of dispersal opportunities, managers may need to regulate the number of males within smaller reserves. Monitoring of spatial patterns should be undertaken to permit management decisions to be made with an understanding of male behaviour and territorial status.