Environmental Factors Influencing Turkey Vulture Distribution and Abundance: A Geographic Information System Application Study
Abstract
The objective of this study was to use physiographic, geographic, and climatic correlates to describes and interpret the breeding and wintering distribution and abundance patterns of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) in the continental United States. Thirty years of data from the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count and the National Biological Survey's Breeding Bird Survey were correlated with remotely sensed and ground sampled environmental data in a raster-based geographic information system. Environmental factors evaluated include elevation, hydrography, thermal reflectance, temperature, precipitation, snow cover, number of frost-free days, vegetation types, and ecoregions, for each l Km2 block of the continental United States. A geographic information system overlay process was used to determine statistical relationships between individual and combinations of environmental factors, and sampled vulture data
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA281898
Entities
People
- Russell P. Defusco
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology