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UCT PARTNERS WITH NASA
FOR FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND
BIODIVERSITY SURVEY
BioSCape will see scientists from the United States and South
Africa collaborating to map marine, freshwater and terrestrial
species and ecosystems.
Dr Jasper Slingsby, a senior lecturer in Plant
Ecology and Global Change Biology at UCT,
is part of the project team coordinating the
roll-out starting in 2023.
“The campaign involves NASA coming
here with two of their planes and the latest
and greatest in sensor technology to capture
hyperspectral images of key focal areas within
the region,” he said.
Apart from collecting ultraviolet, visual and
thermal imagery, the height and structure of
vegetation will also be measured using light
distance and ranging (LiDAR) technology.
Satellites will gather additional data, while
teams on the ground make observations at
locations of particular interest, logging any
plants and animals they detect.
Using these data, the team will map the
region’s biodiversity, providing estimates of
the distribution and abundance of species, and
of the boundaries of ecosystems. Ultimately,
the campaign will help scientists understand
the structure, function and composition of
ecosystems in the study area.
The project has implications that go beyond
science, said Slingsby. “NASA is a household
name that conjures images of rockets and
walking on the moon, yet they want to come
to the Cape. When most people think of
botany or zoology, they don’t imagine you
could end up working with NASA, but there
you are!”
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