International Conservation

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Using GIS and GPS for Protected-area Management
in Honduras and BelizeLoma Linda Universitys
(LLU) ESSE21 and Geobrain ProjectSCGIS Annual
ConferenceAsilomar, Monterey, CA June 25-28,
2007Robert E. Ford
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Northern Mesoamerica gt HONDURAS BELIZE
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Schools involved...Public Health andScience and
Technology
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Focus gt Use of Remote Sensing and GIS
Analytic Tools for Sustainability,
Environmental Policy Analysis, Project
ImplementationWithUSAID- MIRA Project (Manejo
Integrado de Recursos Ambientales).
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Base of Operations in HondurasLoma Linda
University (LLU) Mesoamerican Field Studies
CenterValle de Angeles, Honduras...
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Many changes are affecting Honduras and need to
be documented and mitigated
Increasing gap between Rich Poorurbanization,
declining agriculture
Stress on Natural Capital, e.g. wetlands, reefs,
forest biodiversity loss, e.g. Manatees, birds,
iguanas
1975
Socio-economic changes, e.g. tourism,
fisheries, trade embargoes, ethnic/demographic
conflict, drugs, crime, sewage, health, land
conflict, disease risk....
West Bay, Roatan
2004
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Some of our PARTNERS
UNAH
Bay Islands UniversitySDA/ASI Initiative
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Key Honduras Field Partners
UNAH Natural History Museum work
GPS workshop with CURLA
 
OACS GeoEpi Workshop
 
CEGER
FUCSA
La Botija - Peace Corp UNAH Natural
History Museum
REHDES
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Goals of our Research Teaching

• Assess status of critical flagship species and
  ecosystems.
• Provide baseline data for longer-term monitoring.
  
• Build institutional capacity and knowledge.
• Recommend strategies for better ecosystem and
  biodiversity management.
• Provide science information and research results
  for education, marketing and outreach.

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Goals of our Work...continued

• Assess interaction between protection of species
  and ecosystems within protected areas and
• Assess the positive or negative trends seen in
  agriculture, fisheries, watershed management and
  other economic pursuits outside the protected
  areas.
• Make recommendations to NGO, education, and
  government entities that lead to better resource
  management and sustainability over the near and
  long term.

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Analytical Tools Utilized

• Standard field biological and ecological tools
  and methods as utilized by professionals in
  marine biology, herpetology, mammalogy, and
  biodiversity analysis.
• In addition we utilized visualization, and
  geospatial analysis tools such as GIS, Remote
  Sensing (sonar, aerial photography surveys) and
  GPS.

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OVERVIEWLoma Linda Univ. Univ. of Redlands
Research Projects

• Manatee Research Belize and Honduras
• Marine Biodiversity Assessment Bay Islands,
  Honduras
• Herpetofauna Biodiversity Pacific Dry Tropical
  Forest, Honduras
• LULC change - North Coast
• National SDI Cooperation with Government and
  Universities
• Water Resources and Hazards North Coast
• Ecotourism online web mapping (ArcIMS)
  applications

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Characterization of Resting Holes and Their Daily
and Nightly Use by Antillean Manatees
gtTrichechus manatus manatus Drowned Cayes,
Belize

• Marie-Lys C. Bacchus
• Loma Linda University

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• Belize remains one of the last strongholds for
  this species in this part of the world. (OShea
  Salisbury, 1991)

http//www.4windstravel.com/shows/belize/map.jpg
www.sirenian.org
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The Drowned Cayes

• Mangrove islands
• Marine habitat
• Ideal for manatees

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Introduction
www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov
www.simplonpc.co.uk/ SCJPEGS/sc2158_Arurora.jpg

• Vulnerable on IUCN Red List (2004)
• Causes
• Hunting
• Habitat degradation
• Belize increase in tourism
• Increase in boat traffic
• Increase in development
• Siltation

Lebfevre et al., 2001
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Resting Holes

• Depressions in benthic substrate
• Quiet areas with minimal disturbance
• Two to three feet deep
• Manatee highway
• Reverse thermoclines
• Freshwater seeps nearby?

By Alan Stevens
By Renee Bickar
By Alan Stevens
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Main Goal

• Characterize resting holes and to correlate
  diurnal and nocturnal resting hole use by
  manatees with environmental parameters such as
  salinity, water temperature, and currents.
• Importance
• First step in understanding daily and nightly
  habitat use by manatees
• Understanding which environmental characteristics
  play a role in these choices

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Modeling Habitat Preferences

• Water Temperature (Irvine, 1983 Lebfevre et al.,
  2001 Deutsch et al., 2003 Jimenez, 2005)
• Freshwater (Hartman, 1979 Rathbun et al., 1990
  Olivera-Gomez Mellink, 2005)
• Vegetation (Hartman, 1979 Kinnaird, 1985
  Deutsch et al., 2003 Jimenez, 2005)
• Depth (Hartman, 1979 Lebfevre et al., 2000
  Olivera-Gomez Mellink, 2005)
• Currents Wave Action (Hartman, 1979, Lebfevre
  et al., 2001 Jimenez, 2005)
• Tides (Hartman, 1979 Jimenez, 2002)

By Alan Stevens
www.nps.gov/bisc/resource/ images/seagrass.jpg
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Data Analysis

• GIS
• Draw resting holes
• Integrate environmental data
• ANOVAs
• Differences in air and water temperatures,
  salinity, depth, width, distance to shore and
  water velocity between resting holes
• Logistic Regression
• Test if presence/absence of manatees can be
  predicted by one or more habitat characteristic
  variable

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Digital Globe data Via Google Earth Dec. 2002
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Behaviors of Florida Manatees

• Florida manatees appear to be arrhythmic
• Spend time feeding, resting, idling, cruising,
  and socializing
• Resting for six to ten hours a day in stretches
  of two to four hours at any time
• Bottom rest wherever, even in man-made canals

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Goals, Objectives, Hypotheses

• Goal 1 To characterize manatee resting holes
• Objective Characterize resting holes by
  collecting quantitative data such as depth,
  salinities, and currents, and by analyzing this
  data in a Geographical Information System (GIS).
  
• Hypothesis 1 Manatee resting holes will have
  lower currents than other areas of the mangrove
  cayes.
• Hypothesis 2 Manatee resting holes will be
  characterized by reverse thermoclines.

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Goals, Objectives, Hypotheses

• Goal 2 To document diurnal and nocturnal
  presence and behaviors of manatees in the Drowned
  Cayes.
• Objective Conduct daily and nightly 30-minute
  site scans at four resting holes in the Drowned
  Cayes while recording sightings of manatees and
  associated environmental parameters.
• Hypothesis 1 - There is a difference between
  daily and nightly resting hole use by Antillean
  manatees in the Drowned Cayes.
• Hypothesis 2 - Environmental parameters have an
  effect on daily and nightly presence of Antillean
  manatees in four resting holes in the Drowned
  Cayes.

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Experiment with Use of Side-Scan Sonar
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New 2007 Efforts

• Working with students from University of Redlands
  (MS_GIS Program) and LLU Geoinformatics
• Building a local-level SDI (Spatial Data
  Infrastructure) for use by community, government,
  and researchers, Earthwatch, Spanish Lookout Caye
  research station, and local land managers.

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Manatees in Honduras

• Daniel Gonzalez, LLU

Contract with USAID/MIRA Project and UNAH
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Antillean Manatees in Honduras
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Table 3. Summary of results from aerial surveys
of mayor rivers and lagoons on the North Coast
of Honduras
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Figure 10. Average Manatee Sightings per Survey
Figure 11. Average Number of Manatee Sightings
per Survey Hour
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Figure 12. Average manatee Sightings per Survey
by Location for 2006 and 1979-80
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Dead Manatee found in fishermens nets
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CONCLUSIONS

• The number of manatees on the north coast
  appears to have
• decreased since 1979-80.
• Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge is still the
  major hot spot for manatees in this area,
  although we sighted a significant number of
  animals in Rio Chapagua and Rio Aguan.
• We recommend that more surveys be conducted in
  this area to determine if there is a resident
  population.
• There appears to be ample habitat for manatees
  and the limiting factor may be a low starting
  population and an increase of human disturbance
  along the coast.

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Conclusions - continued

• We highly encourage that the rest of the Honduran
  coast be surveyed as soon as possible as well as
  yearly surveys of both Cuero y Salado Wildlife
  Refuge and the Rios Aguan and Chapagua.
• Based on the numbers that we sighted in our
  aerial surveys in March and April of 2006 we
  estimate the abundance of the whole north coast
  at 10-25 animals.
• Of those we estimate 6-15 are found in Cuero y
  Salado Wildlife Refuge.

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Recent Efforts2006-2007

• Collaboration with Mexican scientists
  (Villahermosa and Quintana Roo) on use of sonar.
• Held first region-wide symposium on manatee
  research in Guatemala (Dec. 2006)
• Setup Mesoamerican manatee working group to
  coordinate research efforts across countries.
• Training of partners in Costa Rica and Panama
  (April 2007) to use new sonar.
• April 2007 aerial survey in La Mosquitia - first
  since 1979.

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ContactDaniel Gonzalez-Socoloske

• dgonzalez01x_at_llu.edu

Thesis Status and Distribution of Manatees in
Honduras and the Use of Side-Scan Sonar (PDF).
LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY, School of Science and
Technology in conjunction with the Faculty of
Graduate Studies. June 2007.
http//resweb.llu.edu/rford/research/Manatees/Gonz
alez_Daniel_MSTHESIS_LLU_2007.pdf
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Gulf of Fonseca Herpetofauna ProjectPacific Dry
Tropical Forest
In January 2006, LLU-SST and UNAH conducted the
first of two rapid ecological inventories of
two protected areas and preliminary
investigation of a third protected area. We have
used these inventory assessments and their
results to build capacity in distinct but
integrated ways with our local partners see
Interim Report below.
http//resweb.llu.edu/rford/courses/ESSC5xx/hondur
as_herps.html
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Herpetofauna Survey Team Honduras USA
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Assessment of a Fragile Ecosystem Photos from the
Field
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Satellite Imagery
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La Botija Protected Area Southern Honduras
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Isla del Tigre and Port of Amapala
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Digital Globe Image Interpretation
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Participants

• Rob Lovich Loma Linda University
  (rlovich_at_gmail.com)
• Mason Ryan Tropical Forestry Initiative
  (barleymoe_at_yahoo.com)
• Norman Scott (reptile_at_tcsn.net)
• Thomas Akre, PhD. Longwood College
  (takre_at_earthlink.net)
• Tony Robison trobisonus_at_yahoo.com
• Gustavo Cruz, Professor of Biology (and other
  students and biologists at UNAH Sofia Nunez,
  Ileana Luque, Saul Flores, Cesar Rodriguez, Wil
  Cid and Adan Flores)
• Gerardo Borjas, Professor of Biology, UNAH (and
  his student Walther Monge)
• Robert E. Ford, Coordinator with USAID and
  Logistics, (rford_at_llu.edu) (http//resweb.llu.edu/
  rford/ )

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Purpose

• Determine baseline herpetofauna list for the
  following areas
• Area de Manejo de Habitat y de Especies (AMHE)
  Cerro Guanacaure , Isla del Tigre, and La Botija
• Build a vertebrate herpetofauna collection form
  the tropical dry forests of Honduras at UNAH, and
  at-large.
• generate reliable information related to
  natural history, population distribution,
  abundance, and density for application in the
  development of environmental interpretation
  materials and for improved management in
  protected areas.

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Results

• 2000 km driven
• 700 man-hours of pure field effort
• 1500 total man-hours (including specimen
  preparation and data management)
• 371 total specimens
• 43 species
• Also gathered a wealth of GPS and natural history
  data

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Survey Methods

• Wide Geographical Area
• Cerro Guanacaure Protected Area
• La Botija Protected Area
• Isla del Tigre Protected Area
• Visual encounter surveys
• Person/Hours of Effort see next Table

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Conservation Status Threats

• Habitat loss
• Agriculture
• Water extraction
• Grazing
• Timber extraction
• Bd (Chytrid fungus, pandemic among neotropical
  amphibians)
• Species persecution/hunting/eradication efforts
  (e.g. snakes of all species are especially
  persecuted)
• Greatest threatlack of understanding and
  research in the region

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Updates June 2007

• May 2007 - La Tribuna (Honduras newspaper) cites
  LLU work and calls for creation of a peace park
  with Nicaragua and implementation of real
  protection laws.
• Yale School of Forestry and COHDEFOR (Honduras
  forestry agency) starting study on park with
  Peace Corp, LLU, and local partners
• More field work planned for July 2007 to start
  follow-up assessments.
• Book chapter and articles coming out soon on
  Reptiles of Honduras.

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CONTACTRob Lovich

• rlovich_at_gmail.com

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LLU-ESSE21LULC Learning ModuleWeb Resources
Overview
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Virtual Tours...for beginners and more advanced
users..... and a... PRE-TEST
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Pico Bonito La Ceiba Virtual Tour
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After the Virtual Tours....

• A more advanced 30-page learning guide on gt
• How to do Change Detection

 
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Core Science Concepts
LULC researchers are asking fundamental science
questions such as What forces drive land
use/land cover change? What impacts -- direct
and indirect, now and in the future do these
changes have on the environment and on human
society? and lastly, How can we respond to
these changes most effectively?
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KEY TOOLS CONCEPTS
LCCS Manual
LCCS Manual
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Sample of LULC analysis
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Web-Mapping gt Google Earth
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Web-Mapping ArcGIS Server
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Mapping Trails for Ecotourism
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Building on ICRAN-MAR project with USGS
WRIWatershed Analysis for the Mesoamerican Reef

http//www.wri.org/biodiv/project_description2.cfm
?pid212
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Modeling Sedimentation from Watersheds in
Honduras Using NOAA N-SPECT Tool The Non-Point
Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool
(N-SPECT)
http//www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/cwq/nspect.html
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N-SPECT - NOAA
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Target Zones
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Where to Find theLearning Module
http//resweb.llu.edu/rford/ESSE21/LUCCModule/
www.essedesignguide.org
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Lessons Learned from Working with students and
partners...

• Issues to discuss
• Finances
• Infrastructure
• Logistics
• Research
• Institutional relations
• Academic learning....
• Overall....Was it worth it? -YES

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Thank you
CONTACT
Email rford_at_llu.edu
Tel. [phone]
LLU-ESSE21 homepage http//resweb.
llu.edu/rford/ESSE21/