Remote Survey of Herpetofaunal Habitat in Western Kansas

Authors

Sean Rogers, Fort Hays State UniversityFollow

Award Level

3rd Place - Non-empirical Graduate

Classification

Non-empirical Graduate

Abstract

Ground surveys are the primary means of conducting habitat assessments and landscape monitoring. However, these methods are temporally and financially expensive, and can be difficult to conduct in remote areas. Aerial photographs overcome some of these issues, but there are problems associated with poor resolution and are produced at too low of frequency for proper analysis and monitoring. With the introduction of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and high resolution sensors, monitoring efforts of landscapes can be obtained at high frequencies with high image resolution. Texas horned lizards (P. cornutum) and Lesser earless lizards (H. maculata) are ideal organisms to study habitat composition within a landscape due to their low mobility and occupy a specific habitat niche. The objective of this study is to monitor herpetofauna communities in western Kansas, and gather data using UAS technology to characterize microhabitat structure and presence patterns.

Faculty Advisor

Dr. William J. Stark

Department/Program

Biology

Submission Type

in-person poster

DOI

10.58809/JXNT6491

Date

5-3-2017

Rights

Copyright the Author(s)

Comments

For questions contact ScholarsRepository@fhsu.edu

Recommended Citation

Rogers, Sean (2017) "Remote Survey of Herpetofaunal Habitat in Western Kansas," SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days: Vol. 2017, Article 6.
DOI: 10.58809/JXNT6491
Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/sacad/vol2017/iss2017/6