Conservation of forest birds: evidence of a shifting baseline in community structure.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Quantifying changes in forest bird diversity is an essential task for developing effective conservation actions. When subtle changes in diversity accumulate over time, annual comparisons may offer an incomplete perspective of changes in diversity. In this case, progressive change, the comparison of changes in diversity from a baseline condition, may offer greater insight because changes in diversity are assessed over longer periods of times. Our objectives were to determine how forest bird diversity has changed over time and whether those changes were associated with forest disturbance.

Methodology/principal findings

We used North American Breeding Bird Survey data, a time series of Landsat images classified with respect to land cover change, and mixed-effects mod

SUBMITTER: Rittenhouse CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2914041 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature