Kelp-bed dynamics across scales: Enhancing mapping capability with remote sensing and GIS

Kelp are important drivers of productivity and biodiversity patterns in cold-water and nutrient-rich rocky reefs. Scuba- and boat-based methods are routinely used to study submerged kelp beds. However, these time-consuming and labor-intensive methods enable monitoring of beds or the factors and processes that control their distribution over only small spatial (few 100s of m(2)) and temporal (< 5 years) scales. Remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies are increasingly used to compare marine species distribution over multiple spatiotemporal scales. However, there is currently no clear framework and limited demonstration of their potential for studies of broad-scale changes in completely submerged kelp beds. The present study aims to establish the foundation of a simple, accessible, and robust set of remote sensing and GIS-based methods to address key questions about the stability of subtidal kelp beds across multiple spatial and temporal scales. It tests the suitability of conventional image classification methods for mapping kelp from digital aerial (acquired on board a helicopter) and satellite (SPOT 7) imagery of similar to 250 ha of seabed around four islands in the Mingan Archipelago (northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada). Three classification methods are compared: 1) a software-led unsupervised classification in which pixels are grouped into clusters based on similarity in spectral signature among pixels; 2) a software-led supervised classification in which pixels are assigned to categories based on similarity in the spectral signature of pixels and that of reference data from each category; and 3) a visual classification carried out by a trained observer. Supervised classification of satellite imagery and visual classification of aerial imagery were the top methods to map kelp, with overall accuracies of 89% and 90%, respectively. Unsupervised classification of both types of imagery showed poor discrimination between kelp and non-kelp benthic classes. Kelp bed edges were more difficult to identify on satellite than aerial imagery because the former presented poorer contrasts and a lower spatial resolution. Kelp bed edges identified with visual classification appeared artificially jagged for both types of imagery, mainly because of the coarse (225-m(2)) spatial units used for this classification. Kelp bed edges were smoother on maps created with the unsupervised and supervised classifications, which used 1-m-pixel images. The present study demonstrates that conventional remote sensing and GIS methods can accurately map submerged kelp beds over large spatial domains in the Mingan Archipelago or in other benthic systems with similar oceanic conditions and a largely dichotomous (kelp-barrens) biological makeup.