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Radar Aeroecology

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Aeroecology

Abstract

Aeroecology takes an integrative approach across several scientific disciplines to help further our understanding of biological patterns and processes. The use of radar systems to observe and monitor the airborne animals individually, as small groups, or as large-scale collective ensembles provides one example of this modality. Radar systems scanning the atmosphere are primarily used to monitor weather conditions and track the location and movements of aircraft. However, radar echoes regularly contain signals from other sources, such as airborne birds, bats, and arthropods. We briefly discuss how radar observations can be and have been used to study a variety of airborne organisms and examine some of the many potential benefits likely to arise from radar aeroecology for meteorological and biological research over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. We also provide a brief background covering the fundamentals of radar operations and signal processing followed by a summary of the various radar systems commonly used for aeroecology. Throughout the chapter, we provide examples of biological scatter as detected by radar and describe how these observations can be used to provide meaningful biological information. Radar systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated with the advent of innovative signal processing and polarimetric capabilities. These capabilities are being harnessed to both promote meteorological and aeroecological research and explore the interface between these two broad disciplines.

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Acknowledgements

Research presented in this chapter was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (Award # 1340921 from Macrosystems Biology) and the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA-AFRI-003536). PBC is grateful to the support and accommodations from the Swiss Ornithological Institute during his sabbatical leave, which facilitated work on the chapter. Moreover, PBC acknowledges travel support from the European Network for the Radar surveillance of Animal Movement (ENRAM) program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Meteorology, Advanced Radar Research Center, and Center for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling, Norman, OK, USA

    Phillip B. Chilson & Phillip M. Stepanian

  2. Oklahoma Biological Survey and Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Jeffrey F. Kelly

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  1. Phillip B. Chilson
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  2. Phillip M. Stepanian
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  3. Jeffrey F. Kelly
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Correspondence to Phillip B. Chilson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Meteorology, Advanced Radar Research Laboratory, and Center for Autonomous Sensing and Sampling, Norman, Oklahoma, USA

    Phillip B. Chilson

  2. Senior Director of Conservation Science, Bat Conservation International, Austin, Texas, USA

    Winifred F. Frick

  3. Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA

    Jeffrey F. Kelly

  4. Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland

    Felix Liechti

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Chilson, P.B., Stepanian, P.M., Kelly, J.F. (2017). Radar Aeroecology. In: Chilson, P., Frick, W., Kelly, J., Liechti, F. (eds) Aeroecology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68576-2_12

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