Assessment of the saline biotope state of the North-Western Pryazovia as breeding sites of Glareola pratincola with the help of remote sensing data

Abstract

Given the biology features of the pratincola (Glareola pratancola), the possibilities of using remote sensing data were studied for the assessment of the species breeding habitats. Sentinel-2 images allowed analyzing a number of vegetation indexes reflecting such specific habitat characteristics as humidity and vegetation cover. The surface temperature is also was investigated. Moreover, the GIS analysis revealed spatial distribution of the collared pratincola breeding colonies, primarily in relation to water sources, settlements and roads. Glareola pratancola chooses saline areas as breeding habitats, which are characterized by a wide range of values of vegetation indices: NDVI is from 0.143246 to 0.365503, MSI is from 0.987138 to 1.3531. All saline areas suitable for breeding were located in close proximity to the water body (not more than 300m). The possible impact of the proximity of settlements and roads on the location of breeding colonies was not found. The salt marshes used by pratincoles for breeding were situated at an average distance of 1405 ± 386m from settlements and 1714 ± 274m from roads. The main disturbance factor is potentially cattle grazing. Accoding to results the North-Western Pryazovia is a significant breeding place for Glareola pratincola on the Azov-Black Sea coast of Ukraine. The obtained data can be used to determine an ecological niche of the collared pratincole and to develop its conservation strategy in North-Western Pryazovia.