USING IKONOS, ASTER, AND LANDSAT TO MAP ISLAND HABITATS IN THEGREAT LAKES

摘要

Resource managers are often required to make important management decisions about GreatLakes islands and the habitats that they support. Accordingly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceGreat Lakes Basin Ecosystem Team has identified a priority need for improved habitatinformation and habitat research on Great Lakes islands. This project explored the use of datafrom Space Imaging's IKONOS, NASA's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission andReflection Radiometer (ASTER), and Landsat ETM+ satellite imagery for efficiently mappinghabitat areas on Great Lakes islands. Specifically, comparisons among the three data sets werecompleted to help clarify benefits and limitations associated with each sensor as they apply to thegoals of this study.Imagery was acquired for two individual island groups and processed to maximize horizontalaccuracy while maintaining spectral integrity. Both supervised and unsupervised spectralclassification techniques were used to analyze the imagery and develop maps representing theimportant wildlife habitats types identified by regional wildlife biologists (e.g., vegetation,beaches, and rock units). Supplemented by an accuracy assessment, the maps were contrastedwith one another and with previous ground-based studies to identify potential strengths andweaknesses of each data set. Results from these analyses were used to define and describe acost-effective methodology that uses remotely-sensed data to identify, map, and assess the landcover of Great Lakes islands and supports USFWS management decisions. Identification of thismethodology and the application-specific capabilities of the three sensors will set the stage for alarge-scale analysis of the island resources in the Great Lakes.