Breeding Bird Habitat Associations on the Alaska Breeding Bird Survey
Abstract
The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is used to monitor population of ladybirds on the North American continent. Each BBS route, which is surveyed once a year, consists of 50 stops placed at 0.8-km (0.5-mi) intervals along a stretch of road. The program in Alaska has greatly expanded; observers record more than 200 species on 75 BBS routes and count about 35,000 individual birds. The BBS does not record temporal changes in habitat that could account for bird population fluctuations. Therefore, this project was begun to assess vegetation cover types along roadside routes throughout Alaska. Our purpose was to determine bird-vegetation associations and classify vegetation cover types to monitor future changes. A well-established classification scheme was used to assess vegetation cover types along 62 roadside BBS routes in Alaska. Bird count data from the BBS was used to determine the frequency of occurrence (percent of stops) of 48 land bird species (grouse, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and passerines) in dominant vegetation types. Also calculated was the average bird density (birds per stop) for three major cover classes (less than 30%, 30-60%, greater than 60%) of forest, shrub, or herbaceous vegetation cover types. Data are depicted graphically to examine relationships between vegetation cover types and bird density or occurrence within four biogeographic regions of the state. Abundance and occurrence information for each species in each biogeographic region are also presented. This information illustrates broad-scale bird-habitat associations and will serve as a foundation to compare future changes in Alaska's landscape.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA395291
Entities
People
- Brad A. Andres
- Paul A. Cotter