High‐Resolution Satellite Imagery Reveals Landscape‐Scale Benthic Habitat Changes in a Turbid Coral Reef

IF 5.2 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation Pub Date : 2026-10-07 DOI:10.1002/rse2.70112

Thais Andrade Galvão de Medeiros,Maria Laura Zoffoli,Gabriel Moiano,Vittorio Brando,Milton Kampel

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Coral reefs are under increasing threat from local and global stressors, resulting in changes to the composition and spatial structure of benthic habitats. This study uses high‐spatial resolution satellite imagery and landscape metrics to analyse changes to the shallow, turbid reef at Sebastião Gomes on the Abrolhos Bank in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean between 2010 and 2024. Benthic habitats were classified using a Random Forest model, which was trained using in situ observations and the following predictors: reflectance bands, spectral indices, texture metrics and satellite‐derived bathymetry from WorldView‐2 and WorldView‐3 imagery. This produced an overall classification accuracy of 91.9% (2010) and 88.3% (2024), although these values should be interpreted in the light of the temporal limitations of the dataset. Change detection analyses revealed a 77.1% decline in coral‐dominated habitats over 14 years, accompanied by a 25.4% increase in macroalgae and a 173.4% increase in zoanthids. This suggests a shift away from coral dominance. Landscape metrics revealed a spatial reorganisation of the reef. Coral habitats showed reductions in class area and largest patch size, as well as increased fragmentation and greater spatial isolation. In contrast, algal habitats expanded in a manner consistent with patch coalescence and spatial consolidation. This resulted in increasingly homogeneous benthic landscapes. Zoanthids displayed intermediate behaviour, expanding into newly available substrates without forming extensive, continuous patches. By integrating classification, change detection and landscape metrics, this study provides a comprehensive, spatially explicit assessment of reef structural change. The results highlight not only the loss of coral dominance, but also the reconfiguration of spatial complexity, which are critical for reef resilience and recovery after disturbance. This framework demonstrates the value of combining remote sensing and landscape ecology to monitor and interpret environmental change in turbid coral reef systems, supporting the development of spatially informed conservation and management strategies.

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高分辨率卫星图像揭示了浑浊珊瑚礁中景观尺度底栖生物栖息地的变化

珊瑚礁正受到越来越多的局部和全球压力的威胁，导致底栖生物栖息地的组成和空间结构发生变化。本研究使用高空间分辨率卫星图像和景观指标分析了2010年至2024年间西南大西洋Abrolhos岸sebasti o Gomes浅水浑浊珊瑚礁的变化。使用随机森林模型对底栖生物栖息地进行分类，该模型使用现场观测和以下预测因子进行训练：反射带、光谱指数、纹理指标和来自WorldView‐2和WorldView‐3图像的卫星衍生水深测量。这产生了91.9%（2010年）和88.3%（2024年）的总体分类精度，尽管这些值应该根据数据集的时间限制来解释。变化检测分析显示，在过去14年中，珊瑚主导的栖息地减少了77.1%，同时大型藻类增加了25.4%，虫纲动物增加了173.4%。这表明珊瑚主导地位的转变。景观指标揭示了珊瑚礁的空间重组。珊瑚生境的分类面积和最大斑块面积减少，破碎化程度增加，空间隔离程度提高。与此相反，藻类生境的扩展方式与斑块合并和空间固结相一致。这导致了越来越同质的底栖生物景观。Zoanthids表现出中间行为，扩展到新的可用基质，而不形成广泛的，连续的斑块。通过综合分类、变化检测和景观指标，本研究提供了一个全面的、空间明确的珊瑚礁结构变化评估。研究结果不仅表明了珊瑚优势地位的丧失，而且表明了空间复杂性的重新配置，这对干扰后珊瑚礁的恢复能力和恢复至关重要。该框架展示了遥感与景观生态学相结合的价值，以监测和解释浑浊珊瑚礁系统的环境变化，支持空间知情保护和管理战略的发展。

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来源期刊

Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation Earth and Planetary Sciences-Computers in Earth Sciences

CiteScore

9.80

自引率

5.50%

发文量

审稿时长

18 weeks

期刊介绍： emote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation provides a forum for rapid, peer-reviewed publication of novel, multidisciplinary research at the interface between remote sensing science and ecology and conservation. The journal prioritizes findings that advance the scientific basis of ecology and conservation, promoting the development of remote-sensing based methods relevant to the management of land use and biological systems at all levels, from populations and species to ecosystems and biomes. The journal defines remote sensing in its broadest sense, including data acquisition by hand-held and fixed ground-based sensors, such as camera traps and acoustic recorders, and sensors on airplanes and satellites. The intended journal’s audience includes ecologists, conservation scientists, policy makers, managers of terrestrial and aquatic systems, remote sensing scientists, and students. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation is a fully open access journal from Wiley and the Zoological Society of London. Remote sensing has enormous potential as to provide information on the state of, and pressures on, biological diversity and ecosystem services, at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This new publication provides a forum for multidisciplinary research in remote sensing science, ecological research and conservation science.