Blog Post 2- Project Progression

Blog Post 2- Analysis of Habitat Fragmentation in New York State

The past three weeks were used to collect land cover data layers for New York State for the Habitat Fragmentation analysis. Literature sources about suitable wildlife habitats for our selected species were also collected to better understand how to conduct analyses of the data layers to understand where suitable habitats for the pilot species will be located in the near future.

The first pilot species that will be used to analyze fragmentation is the eastern coyote (Canis latrans). The criteria taken from field studies on the spatial ecology of coyotes was collected and listed below to be used to analyze where suitable habitats for coyotes (Canis latrans) are located in New York State. The suitable and unsuitable cover type classes for coyotes (Canis latrans) can be viewed below.

National land cover values that represent suitable coyote habitat:

21- Developed, Open Space- mainly parks and golf courses
31- Barren Land
41- Deciduous Forest
42- Evergreen Forest
43- Mixed Forest
52- Shrub/ Scrub
71- Grassland/ Herbaceous
81- Pasture/ Hay
82- Cultivated Crops
90- Woody Wetlands
95- Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands

National land cover values that represent unsuitable coyote habitat:

11- Open Water
23- Developed, Medium Intensity
24- Developed, High Intensity

Below are maps displaying various data that we are using in order to determine habitat fragmentation. We have found and mapped data such as the ecoregions of New York Sate, National Landcover data, forest blocks and forest block linkages, and forested areas of New York State.

This map shows the ecoregions of New York. The ecoregions were determined and named by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The different ecoregions provide a small basis for determining forested areas.

This map shows information on landcover for the entire state. This data was taken from the National Landcover Database and then that raster was clipped to New York State. The different colors/numbers correspond to different types of landcover, as listed above. 

This map displays forest blocks and forest block linkages located in New York. Forest blocks are areas of forest that are continuous and not fragmented. The linkages are areas that are either not fragmented or minimally fragmented that connect the different forest blocks. Those linkages can provide ways for different species, such as coyotes, to move between different forest blocks. 

This map shows an analysis of forested areas of New York State. It was made by performing a nearest neighborhood analysis on the NLCD raster of landcover. The green areas represent anywhere that was determined to be a forest, regardless of forest type. The brown areas are areas that were determined to be non-forested. The forested/green area also represents what we have determined to be prime coyote habitat. 

Literature Cited:

Atwood, Todd C., Harmon P. Weeks, and Thomas M. Gehring. "Spatial Ecology Of Coyotes Along A Suburban-To-Rural Gradient." Journal of Wildlife Management 68.4 (2004): 1000-009. BioOne. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

"Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC)." Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC). US Geological Survey, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

Project Introduction

Analysis of Habitat Fragmentation in New York State

Introduction:
This study will aim to classify habitat fragmentation levels for New York State habitats with regards to how fragmentation affects habitats for specific groups of species based on their range sizes and movement capabilities. The creation of GIS layers showing habitat fragmentation for specific species will be valuable to wildlife conservation efforts as it will help analysts to understand where larger, more suitable habitat fragments for a certain species are located in New York State.Fragmentation must be classified with regards to specific groups of species because causes of habitat  fragmentation vary for each species depending on their movement capabilities. One example of this is seen with a small two-lane road, a common land obstacle that creates fragmentation of habitat, which is a barrier for certain smaller species like frogs or salamanders, but it is not really an obstacle for larger species like white-tailed deer and other large mammals. Therefore, the criteria used to classify fragmentation of habitats must be redefined to cater to a species movement abilities.

Objectives:

• Analyze how habitat fragmentation affects different types of species within New York State.

• Development of a map showing layers of varying degrees of habitat fragmentation in relation to habitat type, human impact, and species of focus.
• Determine a broad definition of fragmented habitat for New York State.

Methodology:

Criteria used to determine fragmentation for a given area in NYS will be collected from researching the metadata of various GIS layers used to show habitat fragmentation levels per area. The criteria will also be created with habitat range data for the coyote based on current land use and habitat layers that are found to support coyote populations. Coyote sightings and movement data will also need to be collected to better understand which habitats are proving more suitable for coyote populations. Next, the new criteria needed to better classify fragmentation coyotes through further research and observations of current GIS layers. A spatial analysis of the targeted data will be used to produce GIS layers showing true habitat fragmentation levels affecting coyote habitats based on the newly formed criteria. The spatial analysis will most likely consists of finding where different land-use, habitat type, and coyote movement layer intersect to determine where suitable coyote communities are present and absent.   

Deliverable:

GIS shapefiles with layers showing fragmentation impact levels on specific habitats for specific types of species. Will be used to develop future habitat fragmentation research questions.

Spatial analysis data for future research.

Data Sources:

ESRI Data and Maps for ArcGIS

GIS.ny.gov

http://www.mrlc.gov/

Literature Cited:

" Ecoregions of North America." Ecoregion Maps and GIS Resources. US Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Feb. 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Heilman, Gerald E., James R. Strittholt, Nicholas C. Slosser, and Dominick A. Dellasala. "Forest Fragmentation of the Conterminous United States: Assessing Forest Intactness through Road Density and Spatial Characteristics." BioScience52.5 (2002): 411. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Robinson, G. R., R. D. Holt, M. S. Gaines, S. P. Hamburg, M. L. Johnson, H. S. Fitch, and E. A. Martinko. "Diverse and Contrasting Effects of Habitat Fragmentation."Science 257.5069 (1992): 524-26. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.