hydrography to Ecology: mapping Coastal and deep sea habitats
INTEGRATED MAPPING OF BENTHIC HABITATS USING REMOTE SENSING
COASTAL HABITATS: A large portion of the seafloor has yet to be mapped to highest resolution that we are capable of producing with the current technology and this is largely due to the fact that the ocean is quite large. Not only is it massive, but due to the properties of water it makes it rather difficult to map. Unlike other planets in our solar system that have atmospheres that can be ‘seen’ with different wavelengths of light, the density and sheer amount of water creates a formidable challenge in ascertaining what exactly the seafloor looks like and what habitats are formed on it. Remote sensing tools of sonar, lidar and satellite are tools that are capable of collecting large swaths of data that can be used to map and characterize benthic habitats. However, it fails to capture finer morphological details of the habitat or species that imagery can capture. Consequently, we map and characterize benthic habitats using a 2-prong approach. The first uses remote sensing tools of lidar, sonar or satellites to differentiate among habitats and the second uses underwater video footage, still images or modelling to capture finer details of the spatial structure of the habitat or of individual species.
This work is in collaboration with Chris Parrish (Oregon State University), Semme Dijkstra (CCOM), Yuri Rhaznov (CCOM) Colin Ware (CCOM), Erich Bartels and Ian Combs (Mote Marine Laboratory), Tony Lyons (CCOM), Kim Lowell (CCOM)
DEEP SEA: The deep sea is characterized by multiple topographically complex features, ideal for examining coarse and fine scale differences and similarities in benthic assemblage structure. We are using underwater footage video collected by the NOAA vessel, Okeanos Explorer, and other vessels, acoustic bathymetry and backscatter, to characterize the substrate, species and assemblages on Seamounts and Canyons found in the Northwestern Atlantic and Northeast Pacific Oceans. These studies provide valuable information on the effects of warming oceans on species distribution and assemblages in the deep-sea. Their locations also add utility to the extended continental shelf datasets by extracting further information from them that can be of use to multiple stakeholders.
This work is in collaboration with Derek Sowers (Ocean Exploration Trust), Mashkoor Malik (Ocean Exploration), Les Watling (University of Hawaii), and Larry Mayer (University of New Hampshire), Chris Parrish (Oregon State University)
This work is in collaboration with Chris Parrish (Oregon State University), Semme Dijkstra (CCOM), Yuri Rhaznov (CCOM) Colin Ware (CCOM), Erich Bartels and Ian Combs (Mote Marine Laboratory), Tony Lyons (CCOM), Kim Lowell (CCOM)
DEEP SEA: The deep sea is characterized by multiple topographically complex features, ideal for examining coarse and fine scale differences and similarities in benthic assemblage structure. We are using underwater footage video collected by the NOAA vessel, Okeanos Explorer, and other vessels, acoustic bathymetry and backscatter, to characterize the substrate, species and assemblages on Seamounts and Canyons found in the Northwestern Atlantic and Northeast Pacific Oceans. These studies provide valuable information on the effects of warming oceans on species distribution and assemblages in the deep-sea. Their locations also add utility to the extended continental shelf datasets by extracting further information from them that can be of use to multiple stakeholders.
This work is in collaboration with Derek Sowers (Ocean Exploration Trust), Mashkoor Malik (Ocean Exploration), Les Watling (University of Hawaii), and Larry Mayer (University of New Hampshire), Chris Parrish (Oregon State University)
RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS
Coastal
JP Pierce, Y Rzhanov, K Lowell, JA Dijkstra, "Reducing Annotation Times: Semantic Segmentation of Coral Reef Survey Images", Global Oceans 2020: Singapore–US Gulf Coast, 1-9, 2020.
J.A. Dijkstra, A. Litterer**, K. Mello, B. O'Brien*, Y. Rzhanov, “Temperature, phenology, and turf macroalgae drive seascape change: Connections to mid-trophic level species”, Ecosphere, vol. 10(11). Ecological Society of America, p. e02923, 2019.
N. Wilson, C.E. Parrish, T. Battista, C.W. Wright, B. Costa, R. Slocum, J.A. Dijkstra, M.T. Tyler*. Mapping seafloor relative reflectance and assessing coral reef morphology with EAARL-B topobathymetric lidar waveforms. Estuaries and Coasts, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00652-9
C. Ware, J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, A.H. Stevens*, B. O'Brien*, W. Ikedo**. A novel three dimensional analysis of the functional architecture that describe the properties of macroalgae as refuge. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 608: 93-103, 2019.
D. Sowers*, J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, G. Masetti, M. Malik, L.A. Mayer, Application of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard to Gosnold Seamount, North Atlantic Ocean. Eds. P. Harris and E. Baker, in Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat: GeoHab Atlas of Seafloor Geomorphic Features and Benthic Habitat, 2nd Elsevier Inc, 2019, p. 1076, 2019.
P.T. Etnoyer, M.A. Malik, D. Sowers, C. Ruby, R. Bassett, J.A. Dijkstra, N. Pawlenko, S. Gottfried, K. Mello, M. Finkbeiner, A. Sallis. Working with video to improve deep-sea habitat characterization. Oceanography 31(1) supplement:64-67, 2018.
B. Costa, B. Walker, J.A. Dijkstra, Spatial patterning in the sea: Mapping and quantifying seascape patterns. In Seascape Ecology: Taking landscape ecology into the sea. Ed. Simon Pittman, Wiley, pp. 1-21, 2017. (Invited Book Chapter).
C.E. Parrish, J.A. Dijkstra, J.P.M. O’Neil-Dunne, L. McKenna, S. Pe’eri, Post-Sandy benthic habitat mapping using new topographic-bathymetric lidar technology and object-based image classification. Journal of Coastal Research 76:20-208, 2016.
DEEP SEA
K. Mello-Rafter, D. Sowers, M. Malik, L.A. Mayer, J. A. Dijkstra, Environmental and geomorphological effects on the distribution of deep-sea canyons and seamount communities in the Northwest Atlantic. Frontiers in Marine Science, 1326, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.691668
J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, D. Sowers, M. Malik, L. Watling, L.A. Mayer, Fine-scale mapping of deep-sea habitat-forming species densities reveals taxonomic specific environmental drivers. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13287. 2021
D. Sowers*, J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, G. Masetti, M. Malik, L.A. Mayer, Application of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard to Gosnold Seamount, North Atlantic Ocean. Eds. P. Harris and E. Baker, in Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat: GeoHab Atlas of Seafloor Geomorphic Features and Benthic Habitat, 2nd Elsevier Inc, 2019, p. 1076, 2019.
P.T. Etnoyer, M.A. Malik, D. Sowers*, C. Ruby, R. Bassett, J.A. Dijkstra, N. Pawlenko, S. Gottfried, K. Mello, M. Finkbeiner, A. Sallis. Working with video to improve deep-sea habitat characterization. Oceanography 31(1) supplement:64-67, 2018.
*Graduate student author
Results from this project are highlighted in Oceanography volume 31 (page 66).
JP Pierce, Y Rzhanov, K Lowell, JA Dijkstra, "Reducing Annotation Times: Semantic Segmentation of Coral Reef Survey Images", Global Oceans 2020: Singapore–US Gulf Coast, 1-9, 2020.
J.A. Dijkstra, A. Litterer**, K. Mello, B. O'Brien*, Y. Rzhanov, “Temperature, phenology, and turf macroalgae drive seascape change: Connections to mid-trophic level species”, Ecosphere, vol. 10(11). Ecological Society of America, p. e02923, 2019.
N. Wilson, C.E. Parrish, T. Battista, C.W. Wright, B. Costa, R. Slocum, J.A. Dijkstra, M.T. Tyler*. Mapping seafloor relative reflectance and assessing coral reef morphology with EAARL-B topobathymetric lidar waveforms. Estuaries and Coasts, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00652-9
C. Ware, J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, A.H. Stevens*, B. O'Brien*, W. Ikedo**. A novel three dimensional analysis of the functional architecture that describe the properties of macroalgae as refuge. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 608: 93-103, 2019.
D. Sowers*, J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, G. Masetti, M. Malik, L.A. Mayer, Application of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard to Gosnold Seamount, North Atlantic Ocean. Eds. P. Harris and E. Baker, in Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat: GeoHab Atlas of Seafloor Geomorphic Features and Benthic Habitat, 2nd Elsevier Inc, 2019, p. 1076, 2019.
P.T. Etnoyer, M.A. Malik, D. Sowers, C. Ruby, R. Bassett, J.A. Dijkstra, N. Pawlenko, S. Gottfried, K. Mello, M. Finkbeiner, A. Sallis. Working with video to improve deep-sea habitat characterization. Oceanography 31(1) supplement:64-67, 2018.
B. Costa, B. Walker, J.A. Dijkstra, Spatial patterning in the sea: Mapping and quantifying seascape patterns. In Seascape Ecology: Taking landscape ecology into the sea. Ed. Simon Pittman, Wiley, pp. 1-21, 2017. (Invited Book Chapter).
C.E. Parrish, J.A. Dijkstra, J.P.M. O’Neil-Dunne, L. McKenna, S. Pe’eri, Post-Sandy benthic habitat mapping using new topographic-bathymetric lidar technology and object-based image classification. Journal of Coastal Research 76:20-208, 2016.
DEEP SEA
K. Mello-Rafter, D. Sowers, M. Malik, L.A. Mayer, J. A. Dijkstra, Environmental and geomorphological effects on the distribution of deep-sea canyons and seamount communities in the Northwest Atlantic. Frontiers in Marine Science, 1326, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.691668
J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, D. Sowers, M. Malik, L. Watling, L.A. Mayer, Fine-scale mapping of deep-sea habitat-forming species densities reveals taxonomic specific environmental drivers. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13287. 2021
D. Sowers*, J.A. Dijkstra, K. Mello, G. Masetti, M. Malik, L.A. Mayer, Application of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard to Gosnold Seamount, North Atlantic Ocean. Eds. P. Harris and E. Baker, in Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat: GeoHab Atlas of Seafloor Geomorphic Features and Benthic Habitat, 2nd Elsevier Inc, 2019, p. 1076, 2019.
P.T. Etnoyer, M.A. Malik, D. Sowers*, C. Ruby, R. Bassett, J.A. Dijkstra, N. Pawlenko, S. Gottfried, K. Mello, M. Finkbeiner, A. Sallis. Working with video to improve deep-sea habitat characterization. Oceanography 31(1) supplement:64-67, 2018.
*Graduate student author
Results from this project are highlighted in Oceanography volume 31 (page 66).
