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Satellite remote sensing of breeding habitat for an African weaver-bird

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Abstract

Data derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board the NOAA series of operational, polar orbiting, meteorological satellites have previously been shown to be quite useful for monitoring vegetation dynamics at scales ranging from regional (104 km2) to global. In this report, we demonstrate that these same data can be used to monitor potential breeding habitat for a highly mobile, granivorous African weaver-bird, the red-billed quelea (Quelea quelea). This species is often considered to be an agricultural pest, affecting cereal production throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The temporal resolution and very large (continental) spatial coverage provided by these data can provide a unique context within which to examine species distribution and abundance patterns.

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Author notes

  1. David O. Wallin

    Present address: Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Peavy Hall 154, 97331, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall, University of Virginia, 22903, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

    David O. Wallin & Herman H. Shugart

  2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, AGOE, Via delle Termi di Caracalla, 00100, Rome, Italy

    Clive C. H. Elliott

  3. Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics, Code 923, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center, 20771, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA

    Compton J. Tucker

  4. Albertstrasse 28, 6750, Kaiserslautern, West Germany

    Friedrich Wilhelmi

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  1. David O. Wallin
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  2. Clive C. H. Elliott
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  3. Herman H. Shugart
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  4. Compton J. Tucker
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  5. Friedrich Wilhelmi
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Wallin, D.O., Elliott, C.C.H., Shugart, H.H. et al. Satellite remote sensing of breeding habitat for an African weaver-bird. Landscape Ecol 7, 87–99 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02418940

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