Audrey+Harpy+Eagles+in+Belize

I attended the Wake Audubon Society monthly meeting at the Museum of Natural Science. Jamie Rotenberg was invited and talked about his findings of the Harpy Eagle in Belize. Dr. Rotenberg is a professor at UNC-W and has spent many years in Belize studying Harpy Eagles.

Harpy Eagles are a large species of birds that hunt prey. Their population has declined significantly across Mexico and Central America due to habitat loss and hunting. In Belize, they are considered extremely rare and are an endangered species, In 2000, they were thought to be extirpated, but were rediscovered in 2005.To learn more about these birds, Dr. Rotenberg and his team used remote sensing techniques and drones to learn more about the Harpy Eagles' habitat and their lifestyle. These drones helped them survey the breeding territory of Harpy Eagles and collected images that allowed them to make comparisons of forest structure and health.

This event relates to environmental science because we learned about how the use of drones and remote sensing can be used to collect data at scales that include ecosystems and biomes. After collecting data, the scientists organized the data they gathered and performed analyses of the region, which is an example of geographic information systems.