There will be two GIS seminars on April 29, 2024.

Seminar 1: Predicting suitability of Mississippi and Missouri river tributaries for invasive carp spawning using habitat suitability models

Presenter: Britney M. Hall, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, GIS Certificate Candidate
Advisor: Dr. Michael J. Weber

Abstract

Two of the most recent and detrimental aquatic invaders are Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix). Understanding where invasive carp reproduce could be useful for predicting population expansion and developing targeted management efforts. Thus, our objectives were to estimate spawning habitat suitability of invasive carp in Iowa based on habitat preferences of river length, sinuosity, presence of turbulent hardpoints, and water temperature and flow. We modelled 20 rivers by dividing each river into 25 km segments and used color infrared imagery as a reference when using automation and point features in GIS to digitize preferred habitat criteria. River segments were analyzed for changes in reproductive suitability as a function of three different weighted models using the Suitability Modeler environment in GIS to assess varying levels of contribution for each habitat criterion. Results from this study could help improve the efficiency of monitoring and removal efforts by identifying locations predicted to be well suited for adult aggregation and reproduction.

Seminar 2: Identifying Spatial Threats to Blanding’s Turtle Populations in Iowa

Presenter: Lizzy Lang, Natural Resources and Ecology Management, GIS Certificate Candidate
Advisor: Dr. Anna M. Tucker & Dr. Stephen J. Dinsmore

Abstract

Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are declining throughout their range and are a species of greatest conservation need in Iowa. We monitored Blanding’s turtles throughout 2023 and into 2024 using radio telemetry, and used their estimated home ranges to identify potential spatial threats at our study sites. We repeated this process across Iowa and compared it to a Blanding’s turtle habitat suitability model to use in a population viability analysis on the species. Spatial threats were characterized as different types of anthropogenic development (i.e. agriculture, roads, and urbanization), and identified using raster images from the National Land Cover Database. All land cover analysis was performed in ArcPro using general tools (for manipulating raster and vector data), digitizing, and statistical summaries. Analysis of home range and population viability was performed in R using the packages “sf” and “popbio” respectively. We found several potential spatial threats at our sites, and across Iowa, that could affect Blanding’s turtle population viability. These mostly consist of agricultural development and roads.

The GIS Seminar Series is hosted by the Department of Community and Regional Planning.