My PhD explored how a time series of airborne laser scanning (ALS) structural and Landsat spectral metrics can be used to understand bird habitat, occurrence, and niche across multiple UK woodlands.

I successfully defended my thesis and submitted my dissertation in April 2025. My oral exam presentation is included below, along with a link to my full disseratation. This research would not have been possible without guidance from my supervisors, Paul Treitz (Queen’s University, Canada) and Ross Hill (Bournemouth University, UK), feedback from my collaborators, Paul Bellamy (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Centre for Conservation Science), Shelley Hinsley (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology), Ailidh Barnes (British Trust for Ornithology), Richard Broughton (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) and Markus Melin (Natural Resources Institute Finland), and funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral).

My work focused on four species with different habitat preferences: the habitat generalists Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), and the specialists Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) and Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus). These species occurred within six woodland patches in Cambridgeshire, UK, including ancient remnant woodlands (Gamsey, Lady’s, Raveley, and Riddy Woods) and at sites undergoing succession via passive rewilding (Old Wilderness and New Wildnerss) adjacent to Monks Wood National Nature Reserve. A time series of bird survey (2000-2, 2005-7, 2012-14, 2015-17) and remote sensing data (2000, 2005, 2012/2013, 2015) were used.

In my first chapter, I characterized woodland vegetation structure using ALS and developed species distribution models and habitat suitability indices. Generalist species were widespread, while specialists were more restricted and sensitive to forest structure. My second chapter evaluated how fusing ALS and Landsat data at pixel and object levels affected predictions of forest structure and species occurrence. ALS data generally provided the most accurate predictions for specialist species, while generalists were well captured by Landsat. Finally, I examined whether species’ ecological niches were conserved or diverged across successional stages in my third chapter. Most species showed niche conservatism, though Chiffchaff displayed some niche expansion and flexibility.

Overall, this research demonstrates that remote sensing time series capture ecologically meaningful habitat attributes and provide valuable insights into bird ecology, while also offering guidance for modelling species occurrence and niche dynamics.

Defense presentation

Publications

Thesis

Kuzmich, R. J. (2025). The Changing Forest for the Birds: Using Remote Sensing Time Series to Examine Bird Habitat, Occurrence and Niche. PhD Thesis

Presentations

Kuzmich, R., Hill, R., Hinsley, S. Bellamy, P., Broughton, R., Barnes, A., Melin, M., and Treitz, P. (2025). The Influence of Abundance on Within-Patch Breeding Season Habitat Characteristics for Chiffchaff. British Ornithologists’ Union 2025: Frontiers in Ornithology, Nottingham, UK.

Kuzmich, R., Hill, R., Treitz, P., Bellamy, P., and Hinsley, S. (2023). Combining Spectral and Structural Remote Sensing Data Time Series to Examine Bird Habitat. GeoBon, Montreal, Canada.

Kuzmich, R., Hill, R., Treitz, P., Bellamy, P., and Hinsley, S. (2023) Changes to the Availability of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler Habitat with Passive Rewilding. SilviLaser, London, UK/virtual.

Kuzmich, R. (2019) Understanding Bird Habitat Using Airborne Laser Scanning. Geographical Imaginations Geography Graduate Symposium, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.

Public events

Kuzmich, R. (2025) The Changing Forest for the Birds: Using Remote Sensing Time Series to Examine Bird Habitat, Occurrence and Niche. PhD Thesis Exam, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.

Kuzmich, R. (2023). The Forest for the Birds with Remote Sensing. Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, Spring Birding Festival, Prince Edward, Canada. Kuzmich, R. (2019) Finding Where Forest Birds Live – With Lasers! / Déterminer l’Habitat des Oiseaux – Avec les Lasers! Curiosity on Stage at the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa, Canada.