Using multispectral aerial imagery and GIS-based approaches to quantify juvenile salmon rearing habitat in the Kulukak River, Alaska

Abstract

Monitoring the quality and quantity of freshwater rearing habitat for Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. is essential for maintaining stocks of these species. Because field-based habitat monitoring in remote areas can be expensive, time-consuming, and/or subjective, new methods are desired. The objectives of this study were (1) to develop methods for using multispectral aerial imagery to classify juvenile rearing habitat and determine the accuracy of these methods and (2) to use these methods to quantify and map juvenile salmon habitat characteristics in two study areas in the Kulukak River, Alaska. I demonstrated that a decision-based fusion approach using images acquired in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared regions classified habitat classes important for juvenile salmon with accuracies of 82.5% and 67.5% in the respective study areas. In addition, I quantified and mapped habitat variables often used in juvenile salmon studies on several scales and created habitat-suitability maps for coho salmon O. kisutch, demonstrating that both my study areas differed in habitat quantity and quality and are most likely low-quality rearing areas. This study demonstrates that airborne images can be used to determine the quality and quantity of juvenile Pacific salmon rearing habitat in small streams and thus decision support in fisheries management.