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American Breeding Bird Survey (american + breeding_bird_survey)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences50%

Kinds of American Breeding Bird Survey

  • north american breeding bird survey
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    Selected Abstracts

    On the estimation of species richness based on the accumulation of previously unrecorded species

    ECOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2002
    Emmanuelle Cam
    Estimation of species richness of local communities has become an important topic in community ecology and monitoring. Investigators can seldom enumerate all the species present in the area of interest during sampling sessions. If the location of interest is sampled repeatedly within a short time period, the number of new species recorded is typically largest in the initial sample and decreases as sampling proceeds, but new species may be detected if sampling sessions are added. The question is how to estimate the total number of species. The data collected by sampling the area of interest repeatedly can be used to build species accumulation curves: the cumulative number of species recorded as a function of the number of sampling sessions (which we refer to as "species accumulation data"). A classic approach used to compute total species richness is to fit curves to the data on species accumulation with sampling effort. This approach does not rest on direct estimation of the probability of detecting species during sampling sessions and has no underlying basis regarding the sampling process that gave rise to the data. Here we recommend a probabilistic, nonparametric estimator for species richness for use with species accumulation data. We use estimators of population size that were developed for capture-recapture data, but that can be used to estimate the size of species assemblages using species accumulation data. Models of detection probability account for the underlying sampling process. They permit variation in detection probability among species. We illustrate this approach using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). We describe other situations where species accumulation data are collected under different designs (e.g., over longer periods of time, or over spatial replicates) and that lend themselves to of use capture-recapture models for estimating the size of the community of interest. We discuss the assumptions and interpretations corresponding to each situation. [source]

    The rapid spread of invasive Eurasian Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto in the continental USA follows human-altered habitats

    IBIS, Issue 3 2010
    IKUKO FUJISAKI
    Understanding factors related to the range expansion trajectory of a successful invasive species may provide insights into environmental variables that favour additional expansion or guide monitoring and survey efforts for this and other invasive species. We examined the relationship of presence and abundance of Eurasian Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto to environmental factors using recent data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey to understand factors influencing its expansion into the continental USA. A zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) model was used to account for excess zero observations because this species was not observed on the majority of survey routes, despite its large geographical range. Model fit was improved when we included environmental covariates as compared with the null model, which only included distance from the route where this species was first observed. Probability of zero count was positively related to the distance from the first route and road density and was inversely related to minimum temperature and distance to coast. Abundance of the species was positively related to road density and was inversely related to annual precipitation and distance to coast. Random intercept by land-cover type also improved model fit. Model fit was improved with the ZIP model over the standard Poisson model, suggesting that presence and abundance of this species are characterized by different environmental factors. However, overall low accuracy of model-predicted presence/absence and abundance with the independent validation dataset may indicate either that there are other explanatory factors or that there is great uncertainty in the species' colonization process. Our large-scale study provides additional evidence that the range expansion of this species tends to follow human-altered landscapes such as road and agricultural areas as well as responding to general geographical features such as coastlines or thermal clines. Such patterns may hold true for other invasive species and may provide guidelines for monitoring and assessment activities in other invasive taxa. [source]

    A probability-based analysis of temporal and spatial co-occurrence in grassland birds

    JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 12 2006
    Joseph A. Veech
    Abstract Aim, To test for non-random co-occurrence in 36 species of grassland birds using a new metric and the C -score. The analysis used presence,absence data of birds distributed among 305 sites (or landscapes) over a period of 35 years. This analysis departs from traditional analyses of species co-occurrence in its use of temporal data and of individual species' probabilities of occurrence to derive analytically the expected co-occurrence between paired species. Location, Great Plains region, USA. Methods, Presence,absence data for the bird species were obtained from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The analysis was restricted to species pairs whose geographic ranges overlapped. Each of 541 species pairs was classified as a positive, negative, or non-significant association depending on the mean difference between the observed and expected frequencies of co-occurrence over the 35-year time-span. Results, Of the 541 species pairs that were examined, 202 to 293 (37,54%) were positively associated, depending on which of two null models was used. However, only a few species pairs (<5%) were negatively associated. An additional 89 species pairs did not have overlapping ranges and hence represented de facto negative associations. The results from analyses based on C -scores generally agreed with the analyses based on the difference between observed and expected co-occurrence, although the latter analyses were slightly more powerful. Main conclusions, Grassland birds within the Great Plains region are primarily distributed among landscapes either independently or in conjunction with one another. Only a few species pairs exhibited repulsed or segregated distributions. This indicates that the shared preference for grassland habitat may be more important in producing coexistence than are negative species interactions in preventing it. The large number of non-significant associations may represent random associations and thereby indicate that the presence/absence of other grassland bird species may have little effect on whether a given focal species is also found within the landscape. In a broader context, the probability-based approach used in this study may be useful in future studies of species co-occurrence. [source]

    Comparative dynamics of avian communities across edges and interiors of North American ecoregions

    JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2006
    Krithi K. Karanth
    Abstract Aim, Based on a priori hypotheses, we developed predictions about how avian communities might differ at the edges vs. interiors of ecoregions. Specifically, we predicted lower species richness and greater local turnover and extinction probabilities for regional edges. We tested these predictions using North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data across nine ecoregions over a 20-year time period. Location, Data from 2238 BBS routes within nine ecoregions of the United States were used. Methods, The estimation methods used accounted for species detection probabilities < 1. Parameter estimates for species richness, local turnover and extinction probabilities were obtained using the program COMDYN. We examined the difference in community-level parameters estimated from within exterior edges (the habitat interface between ecoregions), interior edges (the habitat interface between two bird conservation regions within the same ecoregion) and interior (habitat excluding interfaces). General linear models were constructed to examine sources of variation in community parameters for five ecoregions (containing all three habitat types) and all nine ecoregions (containing two habitat types). Results, Analyses provided evidence that interior habitats and interior edges had on average higher bird species richness than exterior edges, providing some evidence of reduced species richness near habitat edges. Lower average extinction probabilities and turnover rates in interior habitats (five-region analysis) provided some support for our predictions about these quantities. However, analyses directed at all three response variables, i.e. species richness, local turnover, and local extinction probability, provided evidence of an interaction between habitat and region, indicating that the relationships did not hold in all regions. Main conclusions, The overall predictions of lower species richness, higher local turnover and extinction probabilities in regional edge habitats, as opposed to interior habitats, were generally supported. However, these predicted tendencies did not hold in all regions. [source]