September is traditionally the month where academic routines resume their normal trajectories, and this September was no different. As Yale students settled back onto campus we took the opportunity to host an evening barbeque at our lab in New Haven to serve as a networking event for attracting new student interest. Roughly 30 people came Read more about Barbeque Social to Attract New Interest[…]
Following on the tails of demographic research and land cover research manuscripts, UHPSI recently completed a new manuscript focused on thematic map accuracy assessment. The nature of scientific research is that while investigating one’s primary area of inquiry one inevitably stumbles upon new ideas. An example of this came as we began the accuracy assessment Read more about New Manuscript Out for Review[…]
In coordination with Nathan Lindsey (Manager of Conservation and Stewardship at Apache Foundation), Charlie designed, constructed, and monitored a set of six grazing exclosures on the ranch during July and August, 2014 to begin quantifying the effects of grazing by sheep on leafy spurge. We are hoping that this on-the-ground research will help to enhance Read more about Quantifying Sheep Grazing of Leafy Spurge[…]
We had the opportunity to host Dr. Pete Raymond, Professor of Ecosystem Ecology at Yale F&ES, and his family (wife Megan and daughter Skyler) during the first week of August this summer. Dr. Raymond’s research focuses on the biogeochemistry of natural systems. He has been working closely with UHPSI’s Catherine Kuhn on understanding dissolved carbon Read more about Dr. Pete Raymond Visits Ucross[…]
Devin Routh recently led a local crowd in back-to-back events at the Raymond Plank Creative Center here at Ucross. Nearly 40 participants gathered at the Center on July 23rd for a mead making workshop in the afternoon and a dinner-presentation highlighting pollinators and their ecological roles in the evening. Mead, an ancient beverage produced by Read more about Pollinators: Learning the Value of their Protection and their Products[…]
Lindsi Seegmiller recently represented UHPSI at the 2014 ESRI User’s Conference in San Diego, California, from July 14-18. ESRI is the primary vendor of Geographic Information System software, which our research team uses on a daily basis. The conference draws between 10,000 and 15,00 people each year, and is a giant mixing pot of everything Read more about UHPSI Map Takes Third Place![…]
Hello friends and fans! UHPSI will be putting together an event on July 23rd titled “Pollinators: Learning the Value of their Protection and their Products” The session will include a hands-on mead-making workshop (an ancient beverage made from honey) in the earlier afternoon followed by a guided mead tasting and casual dinner that will accompany Read more about Join Us — Pollinators: Learning the Value of their Protection and their Products[…]
While we were out sampling for land cover around the ranch, Catherine and Lindsi happened upon this baby pronghorn! Young ungulates that are unable to escape predators are hidden by their mothers for safe keeping. During this stage they have very little scent and instinctively freeze if approached. This young guy or gal was not Read more about Baby pronghorn underfoot![…]
Our first round of work capturing the spectral signatures of leafy spurge is complete. During peak flowering period, leafy spurge is visible from far away, allowing dense patches to be identified relatively easily. Light signatures are often expressed in reflectance units, which vary from 0 to 1 (100% of light hitting the subject(s) is being Read more about Leafy Spurge from a Distance[…]
In tandem with the collection of spectral signatures (see previous post), we recently began an intensive burst of field data collection. Using a predictive model of where leafy spurge is likely to be located, we divided the Ucross ranch into five strata, each of which corresponds to a different (predicted) quantity of spurge. We then Read more about Invasive species assessment[…]
Catherine and Charlie ventured into the field last week with our portable spectrometer, courtesy of the Yale Center for Earth Observation. Our goal in these first few trips with the spectrometer was to capture spectral ‘signatures’ of leafy spurge – in other words, the unique ways in which spurge reflects light (both visible light and light Read more about First field work of the summer![…]
On Tuesday, May 13, UHPSI team members in New Haven—including Henry Glick, Lindsi Seegmiller, and Devin Routh—travelled to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to attend the Northeast Arc Users Group Conference (NEARC). The NEARC Conference describes itself as being for “anyone who wants to see the value [that] GIS technology brings to their Read more about NEARC Conference Poster Award[…]
The UHPS team recently congregated for the last time before heading our separate ways for the summer field season. Over breakfast we worked on finalizing our research agenda, identifying last-minute logistical challenges, and sharing excitement for ongoing work on the High Plains. Over the course of the summer at least five team members will spend Read more about Let the summer begin![…]
April has seen the UHPSI team diving into detailed analysis of avian acoustics. In particular, the team has focused on a sub-sample of recordings from the Big Red acoustic monitoring station during January of 2014. These winter recordings offer remarkably ‘noise’ free recordings, with crisp winter air, frozen waterways, and relatively low wind speeds. Additionally, Read more about The Eagles are Coming![…]
As the 2014 spring semester comes to a close, the UHPSI team has begun preparing for the summer field season. One of the most important pieces of equipment that the team will be taking to Wyoming is the Yale Center for Earth Observation’s (YCEO) portable spectrometer. So, what’s a spectrometer? A spectrometer is a device that Read more about Field Equipment: Spectrometer[…]