TOPIC: Scope of GIS in field of Zoology

(ASSIGNMENT#1 SMESTER SPRING-2022)

Submission Date
BY
ROLL#
A Geographical Information System (GEO-416)
BS ZOOLOGY (A)
Submitted To
SIR ZAIN UL ABAEDIN
Department Of Zoology

Sr. TABLE OF CONTENTS Pg.#

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1. What is GIS ............................................................................................................... 3

2. The role of GIS………………………………………………………....................... 3

3. Scope of GIS in field of zoology…………………………………………………… 4

 In field of wildlife management……………………………......................... 4

 In forest fire hazard management………………………………………….. 4

 In conservation of biodiversity……………………………………………... 5

 Land use and land change…………………………………………………... 5

 In wildlife research and conservation………………………………………. 5

4. Enhancing public participation in conservation planning with GIS……………….. 6

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 What is GIS?

A geographic information system (GIS) is a system that creates, manages,

analyzes, and maps all types of data. GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data
(where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). This
provides a foundation for mapping and analysis that is used in science and almost every industry.
GIS helps users understand patterns, relationships, and geographic context. The benefits include
improved communication and efficiency as well as better management and decision making.

The technology is applicable to remarkably diverse applications ranging from resource

management to emergency response and disaster recovery, from political districting to forestry
and marine studies, from mass marketing to urban infrastructure management, and from local
studies through regional analysis to global change research.

The role of GIS:

When the habitat requirements of a species includes several factors,

the information about habitat requirements may be combined by computer maps of each required
habitat characteristic, using geographic information systems. This allows us to see the habitat
patches as perceived by the species. In various case studies, we used this approach to model
metapopulations of threatened species.

Current GIS applications in conservation biology and wildlife management include various
aspects of habitat description, delineation and monitoring. Conservation biologists and wildlife
managers are concerned with questions that involve predicting the future of endangered and
threatened species.

To use GIS to determine the spatial structure with this approach, first it is necessary to
distinguish the habitat characteristics important for the species. That can be done by collecting
habitat and species occurrence data at a large number of locations in the landscape. The data then
may be analyzed with multiple regressions, which gives a function (called the habitat suitability
function) that links the habitat characteristics to the suitability of the habitat.

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 Scope of GIS in field of Zoology

Geographic Information System (GIS) can aid in analyzing potential biological

species invasions by modeling the spatial spread of exotic species. In addition, the rate of
expansion can be further analyzed to look at the effect of potential temporal obstacles and
perpetuators. Geographic Information System is used to visualize and present suitable data to get
the highest rate to determine the biodiversity which is important to balance social and economic
needs with their habitat. The distribution of animal species across the world recognizes the
boundaries to analyze their geographic feature. The development of Geo Information System is
capable for delivering the organization of complexity of species to meet the needs of necessity
for conservation of animals.

GIS enables conservation professionals to access and utilize current, historical, and time series
information relevant to conservation, including data on species occurrences, ecosystem
conditions, watershed boundaries, and land-use patterns. When using GIS, data are contained in
layers that can be overlaid with one another to identify relationships between wildlife and
landscape patterns. This enables resource managers and public and private landowners to
visualize where sensitive habitats occur, where conservation practices may need to be
implemented and ultimately what protection strategies are effective.

 GIS in the field of Wildlife management:

Man-made destruction such as habitat loss, pollution, invasive

species introduction, and climate change, are all threats to wildlife health and
biodiversity. GIS technology is an effective tool for managing, analyzing, and
visualizing wildlife data to target areas where international management practices are
needed and to monitor their effectiveness. GIS helps wildlife management professionals
examine and envision.

 GIS In forest fire hazard management:

Forest is one of the important element of the nature. It plays an

important role in the local climate. Forest fires caused extensive damage to our

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communities and environmental resource base. GIS can effectively use for the forest fire
hazard zone mapping and also for the loss estimation. GIS also help to capture real time
monitoring of fire prone areas. This is achieved by the help of GNSS and satellite
Remote Sensing.
Wildfire agencies use GIS to • Determine areas vulnerable to intense fire behavior. Identify
critical values at risk. ... Factors such as vegetation types, slopes, aspects, natural or man-made
barriers, and historical weather patterns can be overlaid to determine fire hazards based on
modeling potential fire behavior.

 GIS in conservation of biodiversity:

An important tool for monitoring biodiversity is a  geographic

information system (GIS), which accommodates large varieties of spatial and a spatial (attribute)
data. Data on species and habitat distribution from different dates allow monitoring of the
location and the extent of change.

It involves data on species and habitat distribution from different dates.it allows monitoring of
location and the extent of change.

 Land use and land change:

Land cover means the feature that is covering the barren

surface .Land use means the area in the surface utilized for particular use. The role of
GIS technology in land use and land cover applications is that we can determine land
use/land cover changes in the different areas. Also it can detect and estimate the changes
in the land use/ land cover pattern within time. It enables to find out sudden changes in
land use and land cover either by natural forces or by other activities like deforestation.
Land use refers to the purpose the land serves, for example, recreation, wildlife habitat, or
agriculture.

 Role of GIS in wildlife research and conservation:

Therefore, the application of remote sensing (RS) and geographic

information system (GIS) in the wildlife management and conservation aids in data collection

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and analysis of wildlife abundance, their distribution as well as providing data suitable for
conservation planning and management.

Monitoring and studying wildlife habitats have long been a keys focus within GIS. Recent
volumes, for instance, have focused on habitat and how changes to the environment could be
understood using remote sensing and census data for different species in Order to understand
how they are affected by environment change. This includes how different regions are more
likely to be affected by different environmental threats, using such methods as auto correction
and statistical modeling.

Enhancing Public Participation in Conservation Planning with GIS

Given that conservation and mitigation are needed to combat threats to wildlife,
one novel approach has been to get the public more involved. In effect, this entails using the
public as a stakeholder on where they would like to see specie conservation to occur for
particular animals and plants. These locations, selected by the public, are then compared with
experts in wildlife. A study showed a strong, significant correlation between expert and public
opinions, suggesting that conservation satisfying public desires could help better protect species
while also allowing the public to enjoy seeing those species or at least having the knowledge
they are conserved.

There is a large need for GIS to play an important part in understanding risk to wildlife and help
create methods for better conservation. Increasingly, the merger of public interest, including in
water quality and wanting to see species conserved, has highlighted the need to develop complex
plans that address stakeholder interests.

Many governmental agencies and private organizations are beginning to use GIS to improve
their services, assist in managing resources, and provide support for more informed decision
making and policy planning activities. GIS is useful because drafting maps is easier, direct
analysis of movements from GIS data is possible using the Animal Movement extension,
visualization of trends (years, individuals, behaviors) is made easy, and query searches make
finding the trends easy.

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 References:

1. For more on automated design model (ADM) used for corridor creation for conservation,
see:  Perkl, R.M. (2016) Geodesigning landscape linkages: Coupling GIS with wildlife
corridor design in conservation planning. Landscape and Urban Planning. [Online] 156,
44–58.
2. [4] For an example, see the state of Idaho’s mitigation plans along its
roads:  https://ntl.bts.gov/lib/59000/59200/59234/RP229Final.pdf
3. [5] For more on this study focused on conservation efforts, see:  Shanee, S., Tello-
Alvarado, J.C., Vermeer, J. & Bóveda-Penalba, A.J. (2013) GIS Risk Assessment and
GAP Analysis for the Andean Titi Monkey ( Callicebus oenanthe ). Primate
Conservation. [Online] 26 (1), 17–23.

4.  Sinton, Diana Stuart; Lund, Jennifer J., eds. (2007). Understanding place: GIS and
mapping across the curriculum. Redlands, CA: ESRI
Press. ISBN 9781589481497. OCLC 70866933.
5. Tomlin, C. Dana (1990). Geographic information systems and cartographic modeling.
Prentice Hall series in geographic information science. Prentice Hall. Retrieved 5
January 2017.

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