A Multi-scale Approach to Understanding Spatial and Population Variability in Emperor Penguins

For a subset of the colonies, population estimates derived from high-resolution satellite images will be compared with those determined by aerial surveys - these results have been uploaded to MAPPPD (penguinmap.com) and are freely available for use.

This validated information will be used to determine population estimates for all emperor penguin colonies through iterations of supervised classification and maximum likelihood calculations on the high-resolution imagery. The effect of spatial, geophysical, and environmental variables on population size and decadal-scale trends will be assessed using generalized linear models. This research will result in a first ever empirical result for emperor penguin population trends and habitat suitability, and will leverage currently-funded NSF infrastructure and hosting sites to publish results in near-real time to the public.