Dr Matthew Brolly’s research on “foodscapes” studies the complex habitats that sustain wildlife, particularly large herbivores like deer, in Mediterranean ecosystems.
The INCREMENTO and MULTISPECTRAL projects, which focus on wild ungulate foodscapes using controlled deer populations to study their impacts, exemplify this by exploring how these animals interact with their surroundings and respond to changing vegetation availability and habitat quality.
The project uses advanced remote sensing, including hyperspectral sensors on uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV), also known as Drones, to capture detailed data on vegetation health, density, and type.
Hyperspectral technology collects data across various wavelengths, making it possible to detect changes in plant stress, water content, and nutrient availability, which are essential for understanding the foraging patterns and movements of deer.
In Mediterranean regions, where vegetation cycles are influenced by distinct wet and dry seasons, UAV-based hyperspectral data, validated using measurements on the ground, provides critical insights into how deer rely on specific plant types and how their food resources vary throughout the year.
This nuanced approach to studying wild ungulate foodscapes is essential for understanding how changes in the landscape—whether from climate variability, natural resource use, or vegetation shifts—affect deer populations. With this information, researchers can better predict shifts in ungulate distribution and make recommendations to support sustainable wildlife management in these fragile ecosystems.
Scaling these insights up to the satellite level will allow the project to monitor entire Mediterranean regions continuously, providing a long-term view of habitat changes over large landscapes. Satellite imagery, though less detailed than UAV data, allows for regular observations and captures regional trends in vegetation health, making it easier to track how factors like drought or seasonal weather patterns impact deer foodscapes at a larger scale. This broader perspective is crucial in predicting how wild ungulates will respond to changes in food availability, especially under scenarios of climate change, and can guide land management strategies that protect critical habitats and natural corridors.
Combining UAV and satellite data allows the projects to link detailed, localized findings with broader ecological patterns, creating a more comprehensive understanding of wild ungulate foodscapes.
For example, if satellite imagery reveals significant vegetation decline across a region, it can signal a potential risk to deer habitats or identify deer as being the cause. Conservation managers can then use this data to plan protective measures, such as creating migration corridors or restoring degraded habitats, ensuring that wildlife populations have access to suitable foraging areas even as environmental conditions fluctuate.
Dr Brolly and the INCREMENTO and MULTISPECTRAL team’s combined approach to wild ungulate foodscapes highlights the importance of using multidisciplinary approaches and scalable remote sensing tools to manage ecosystems sustainably.
Their work illustrates how technology can help us understand complex ecological relationships, like those between deer and their food resources, and offers insights into the dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems.
This strategy is essential in balancing conservation with environmental changes, ensuring that critical habitats remain resilient and support biodiversity. As we face new challenges from climate variability and habitat fragmentation, the research insights will provide valuable data for wildlife conservation and sustainable ecosystem management, serving as a model for using technology to support natural habitats in diverse landscapes.
Figure 1. Study area in South Eastern Spain. Red, Green, Blue, 2m spatial resolution Multispectral image acquired by the satellite Pleiades. Enclosures for studying deer population density effects are found within the central gridded area.
Figure 2. Near-infrared, Red, Green, 2m spatial resolution Multispectral image acquired by the satellite Pleiades. The zoomed-in version of Figure 1 focused on the central gridded area. Red colour emphasises healthier vegetation.
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