HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
NASA assists search for woodpecker thought to be extinct

Unlike its more famous cartoon cousin Woody the Woodpecker, the ivory-billed woodpecker is thought to be extinct, or so most experts have believed for over half a century.

But last month scientists from NASA and the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., launched a project to identify possible areas where the woodpecker might be living. Finding these habitat areas will guide future searches for the bird and help determine if it is really extinct or has survived an elusive existence.

The question of whether the species still exists started when a kayaker reported spotting the woodpecker along Arkansas' Cache River in 2004. That sighting spawned an intensive search for the species by wildlife conservationists, bird watchers, field biologists and others.

In June a research aircraft flew over delta regions of the lower Mississippi River to track possible areas of habitat suitable for the ivory-billed woodpecker, one of the largest and most regal members of the woodpecker family. The project is supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and the University of Maryland used NASA's Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS) onboard the aircraft. The instrument uses lasers that send pulses of energy to the Earth's surface. Photons of light from the lasers bounce off leaves, branches and the ground and reflect back to the instrument. By analyzing these returned signals, scientists receive a direct measurement of the height of the forest's leaf covered tree tops, the ground level below and everything in between.

"LVIS is aiding this search effort far beyond what aircraft photos or satellite images can provide in the way of just a two-dimensional rendering of what's below," said Woody Turner, Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. "The laser technology gives us the third dimension, enabling us to better
'"/>

Contact: Rob Gutro
robert.J.gutro@nasa.gov
301-286-4044
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
3-Aug-2006


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. NC State scientist assists in cracking code of dog genome
2. Gladstone Institutes assists with Exploratorium stem cell exhibit
3. INEEL-designed system assists army with chemical weapon destruction
4. NIH gives $8M to University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine for myositis research
5. Saudi Arabias KAUST names WHOI first research partner
6. Multinational research: protecting ecology means understanding people, too
7. Newly created cancer stem cells could aid breast cancer research
8. Gilbert Foundation and American Fed for Aging Research award grants on Alzheimers disease
9. Research shows skeleton to be endocrine organ
10. Carnegie Mellons Peter Adams receives EPA research grant
11. Research aims to identify markers for menopausal women at risk for deadly blood clot

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: NASA assists search for woodpecker thought extinct

(Date:5/21/2013)... that a class of pharmaceuticals can both prevent and ... known as "TSPO ligands," are currently used for certain ... of TSPO ligand in young adult mice when pathology ... when pathology was quite severe," said lead researcher Christian ... ligand reduced measures of pathology and improved behavior at ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... COLUMBIA, Mo. Cancers of all types become most ... body. Once cancer has reached this stage, it becomes ... numerous tumors that can develop. Now, researchers at the ... radioactive nanoparticles that target lymphoma tumor cells wherever they ... professor of oncology in the MU College of Veterinary ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... pharmacies and health stores, phosphatidylserine is a natural ... Proven to improve cognition and slow memory loss, ... memory impairment. Now a team headed by Prof. ... Aviv University,s Department of Human Molecular Genetics ... the functioning of genes involved in degenerative brain ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Drugs found to both prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in mice 2MU researchers develop radioactive nanoparticles that target cancer cells 2Common food supplement fights degenerative brain disorders 2
(Date:5/22/2013)... IL (PRWEB) May 22, 2013 Alton Housing ... dated May 15, 2013 said that their presence has ... other bed bug sufferers avoid such big spending, My Cleaning ... inexpensively. , It was said in the report that ... exterminator, MCP related. Apart from that, its employees also attended ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... The ability to sequence genomes has ... encode. There are now a suite of applications ... protected fragments) that dramatically expand our ability to ... Dr. Jonathan Weissman, an Investigator with the University ... Institute, who will present recent applications of their ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... , May 21, 2013  On May ... FCN ), the global business advisory firm dedicated ... value (the "Company"), announced that it has combined ... were formerly included within the Corporate Finance/Restructuring segment ... segment to form a single integrated practice whose ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... Through science fairs, workshops, kits for ... equipment, 25 organizations will continue their work to increase ... photonics in daily life with the aid of ... in 10 countries, are the first of two groups ... SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics , ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Bed Bugs Cost Alton Housing Authority $35,000; New Help, How to Kill Bed Bugs With Less Expense, Introduced by My Cleaning Products 2Monitoring Protein Synthesis One Codon at a Time Through Ribosome Profiling, a Webinar Hosted by Xtalks 2FTI Consulting Releases Realigned Segment Information Reflecting Newly Combined Health Solutions Practice 2Learning About Light: Education Outreach Projects Funded in 10 Countries Through First Round of SPIE Grants 2Learning About Light: Education Outreach Projects Funded in 10 Countries Through First Round of SPIE Grants 3
Cached News: