2_use_case_name: Quantifying the effects of land-use change and bioenergy crop production on pollinators, wildlife, a
3_agency: Department of the Interior
3_abr: DOI
4_bureau: USGS
8_topic_area: Mission-Enabling
10_commercial_ai: None of the above.
11_purpose_benefits: The annual migration of monarch butterflies in North America represents a biological phenomenon unique to our planet,
covering more than 4,000 kilometers and requiring multiple generations of monarchs to complete. The monarch was proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act in 2014 because of significant population declines and extinction risk. Disappearance of milkweed, the essential host plant for monarch larvae, has been implicated in the decline of the eastern monarch population. The objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of using uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and artificial neural networks to quantify the density of common and showy milkweed in working grasslands of Minnesota and North Dakota. First, NPWRC scientists will develop a machine learning algorithm for detecting milkweeds from UAS-collected aerial images. Second, NPWRC will validate the algorithm by comparing plot-level counts of milkweed estimated from UAS images to field count data across a range of milkweed densities. Lastly, NPWRC will take steps towards facilitating the integration of this technology into the Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program by estimating the number of spatially independent UAS images required for achieving accurate and precise estimates of milkweed across entire fields. In fiscal year 2019, preliminary UAS flights were completed; however, this project was put on hold because of a DOI ruling that grounded all UAS flights. No USGS UAS flights will be completed until this ruling is changed.
12_outputs: Outputs were not documented and DOI will update the use cases once additional data is collected from submitter
16_dev_stage: Implementation and Assessment
17_impact_type: Neither
20_date_implemented: 10/1/2018
22_dev_method: Developed in-house.
24_hisp_support: No
27_public_info: Yes
28_iqa_compliance: USGS Fundamental Science Practicies Policies
29_contains_pii: No
30_saop_review: No
31_data_catalog: Yes
33_agency_data: UAS images
34_data_docs: Documentation is complete: Documentation exists regarding the maintenance, composition, quality, and intended use of the training and evaluation data, as well as any statistical bias across model features and protected groups. 
37_custom_code: Yes
38_code_access: Yes – agency has access to source code, but it is not public.
40_has_ato: Yes
41_system_name: Science Support System (SSS)
42_dev_tools_wait: Less than 6 months
43_infra_provisioned: Yes
45_compute_request: Yes
47_timely_resources: Yes
49_existing_reuse: Use of existing data platforms: This use case is being developed on existing enterprise data and analytics platforms within the agency rather than procuring additional platforms or SaaS to operate.
50_internal_review: Documentation has been published: Complete documentation has been published to a repository or data catalog within the agency and is made accessible to other data science teams for review and feedback.
51_extension_request: No – Agency did not request an extension for this use case.