Quantifying the Impact of Scale on Remote Sensing of Prairie Conservation Area

Keywords: Grid Cell, Remote Sensing, Spatial Statistics, Prairie Conservation Area, Bison
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Effective prairie conservation requires understanding how environmental factors, like vegetation and topography, influence species movement and habitat preferences. This study explores how the scale of remote sensing data impacts the analysis of these factors within prairie conservation areas. By examining relationships between environmental variables (NDVI, DEM, Slope, Aspect, Temperature, and Precipitation) and species movement, this research seeks to inform conservation strategies. The primary research question is: How does the scale of remote sensing data affect the analysis of environmental factors influencing species movement in prairie ecosystems? The objective is to determine how different scales of environmental data impact the interpretation of movement patterns, using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) models. Insights from this study will benefit conservationists and land managers, helping refine monitoring approaches and adapt management practices based on scale-sensitive analysis. OLS provides an overview of the relationships between environmental variables and movement patterns, while GWR captures spatially localized relationships, allowing environmental influences on movement to vary by location, and MGWR captures spatially varying relationships that may depend on data scale. This analysis uses Bison movement data as the dependent variable and environmental factors like NDVI, DEM, Slope, Aspect, Temperature, and Precipitation as independent variables. We anticipate that vegetation and topographic features will show strong associations with movement patterns, but these relationships may change with varying scales. The hypothesis is that different data scales capture distinct spatial patterns, potentially revealing more complex, localized environmental influences on species movement in prairies.