Assessment of Marbled Murrelet Habitat using advanced remote sensing approaches.

大理石海雀（Brachyramphus marmoratus）是一种海鸟，是联邦政府指定的濒危物种，它使用大的苔藓树枝作为筑巢平台。目前的方法来映射大理石海雀栖息地是基于低空飞行的航空调查或航空图像的解释，这两者都有显着的局限性。鉴于Murrelet的栖息地要求是围绕着大树的高度，结构和位置，栖息地的评估可以受益于光探测和测距（LIDAR）遥感数据的应用。因此，该联盟项目的开发旨在支持HQP与BC省政府的Marbled Murrelet专家和其他Marbled Murrelet研究人员密切合作，详细调查三维遥感方法，如LiDAR，新模型可移植性方法和创新的深度学习如何用于预测Marbled Murrelet栖息地。这项研究具有影响海岸范围内的大理石斑海雀栖息地测绘和管理在BC省，以提高空间精度和潜在的合适的筑巢栖息地的估计。该项目与不列颠哥伦比亚省政府的主要行动保持一致，以改善野生动物管理和栖息地保护，并恢复濒危物种，最终为拟议的大理石Murrelet土地使用目标提供信息。

The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), a sea bird, is a federally designated Species at Risk, which uses large, mossy, tree branches for nest platforms. Current methods to map Marbled Murrelet habitat are based on low flying aerial surveys or interpretation of aerial imagery which both have significant limitations. Given that the habitat requirements for the Murrelet are centered around the height, structure and location of large trees, assessment of habitat could benefit from the application of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) remote sensing data. This Alliance project has, therefore, been developed to support a HQP working closely with the Marbled Murrelet experts from the BC Provincial government and other Marbled Murrelet researchers, to investigate, in significant detail, how three-dimensional remote sensing approaches, such as LiDAR, new model transferability methodologies, and innovative deep learning can be used to predict Marbled Murrelet habitat. This research has implications for coast-wide Marbled Murrelet habitat mapping and its management in BC to improve spatial accuracy and estimates of potential suitable nesting habitat. The project aligns with key BC ministry actions to improve wildlife management and habitat conservation and to recover Species at Risk and ultimately to inform proposed Marbled Murrelet Land Use Objectives.