Doctoral Dissertation Research: Applying Bathymetric LiDAR to Advance Marine Landscape Ecology in the Third Dimension

由于直接的人类压力和气候变化，全球珊瑚礁的退化正在加速。为了保护这些生态系统，科学家和管理者正在探索解决沿海资源面临的问题的新方法。其中一个框架是新兴的海洋景观生态学的跨学科方法。虽然大多数景观生态学研究都从两个维度量化了自然环境，但三维结构是影响海洋领域，特别是珊瑚礁环境中群落结构的一个重要因素。这项博士论文研究项目将使用测深激光测距(LiDAR)的遥感数据来量化主要夏威夷群岛附近多个空间尺度上的珊瑚礁环境的三维结构。将采用以地理信息系统为基础的办法，根据生态界定的珊瑚礁鱼类群确定适当的分析范围。将评估LiDAR得出的海景指标与珊瑚礁鱼类组合结构测量(如丰度、多样性和生物量)之间的关系，以开发一套与生态相关的三维海景指标，以支持海洋鱼类组合的建模。然后，激光雷达得出的指标将被用于制作夏威夷主要岛屿鱼类组合结构的预测性地图。这一研究结果将为海洋景观生态学理论理解海洋格局与过程之间的联系提供关键的一步。它们将推进鱼类群落的空间预测建模，展示测深激光雷达技术的新应用，并对海洋保护区设计理论具有重要意义。景观生态学向海洋领域的扩展是对理论和应用的重要贡献。利用测深激光雷达数据将把对海洋地貌格局和生态过程之间联系的了解推向第三个层面。该项目将是第一批采用景观生态学方法的项目之一，以促进对太平洋珊瑚礁的功能和生态过程以及这些过程的规模的基本了解。珊瑚礁鱼类在夏威夷和其他热带地区的人们的经济、文化和生活方式中发挥着至关重要的作用，这项研究将对珊瑚礁管理具有重大意义。鱼类丰度、多样性和生物量的预测地图产品可用于确定关键栖息地，评估当前的海洋保护区，也可用于支持未来海洋保护区在夏威夷的最佳安置。已经与夏威夷的州和联邦方案办公室建立了伙伴关系，以确保研究成果将在多个层面上纳入海洋政策。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。

The global degradation of coral reefs is accelerating as a result of direct human-related stresses and climate change. To preserve these ecosystems, scientists and managers are exploring new ways to address the issues facing coastal resources. One such framework is the emerging transdisciplinary approach of marine landscape ecology. While most landscape ecological studies have quantified the natural environment in two dimensions, three-dimensional structure is well documented to be an important factor affecting community structure in the marine realm, particularly in coral reef environments. This doctoral dissertation research project will use remotely sensed data from bathymetric LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to quantify the three-dimensional structure of coral reef environments at multiple spatial scales beside the main Hawaiian Islands. A geographic information system-based approach will be used to characterize the appropriate scale of analysis based on ecologically defined groups of coral reef fishes. The relationship between LiDAR-derived seascape metrics and measurements of coral reef fish assemblage structure, such as abundance, diversity, and biomass, will be evaluated to develop a suite of ecologically relevant three-dimensional seascape metrics to support modeling of marine fish assemblages. The LiDAR-derived metrics then will be used to produce predictive maps of fish assemblage structure in the main Hawaiian Islands. The results of this research will provide a critical step for marine landscape ecology theory in understanding the link between pattern and process in the ocean. They will advance spatially predictive modeling of fish assemblages; demonstrate a new application of bathymetric LiDAR technology; and have significant implications for marine protected area design theory.The extension of landscape ecology to the marine realm represents an important contribution to both theory and application. The use of bathymetric LiDAR data will advance the understanding of the linkages between marine landscape patterns and ecological processes to the third dimension. This project will be one of the first to apply a landscape ecological approach to advance basic understanding of the functional and ecological processes on Pacific coral reefs and the scales at which these processes operate. Coral reef fishes play a vital role in the economy, culture and lifestyle of the people in Hawaii and other tropical areas, and this research will have major implications for coral reef management. The predictive map products of fish abundance, diversity, and biomass may be used to identify critical habitat, evaluate current marine protected areas (MPAs) and also be applied to support the best placement of future MPAs in Hawaii. Partnerships with State and Federal program offices in Hawaii have been established to ensure that the research results will be integrated into marine policy at multiple levels. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.