research project details
Project Title: 2nd Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas Planning, 2002-2003 Design Phase
Investigator(s): Robert Brooks
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Game Commission
Environmental Problem Addressed:
Document the composition, distribution and abundance of Pennsylvania’s avifauna in order to help insure its future conservation.
Research Project Objectives:
The objective of this research project is to design sampling protocols to allow rigorous statistical comparisons of distribution and abundance for all breeding birds in Pennsylvania using data collected by volunteers and staff as part of the 2nd Breeding Bird Survey.
Background:
Pennsylvania's 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas Project is scheduled to begin January 1, 2004. In order to incorporate the newest technology and take into consideration the significant advancements in bird monitoring methodology, the first stage of the 2nd Atlas will be a project design process. Features such as web-based data entry, stratification of point counts, and priority sampling will employ technical capabilities unavailable to the previous atlas.
The goal of the project design process is to ensure that the 2nd Atlas generates the most important information on bird distributions that can reasonably be obtained in a manner which is scientifically indisputable, employing the volunteer birding community and staff. This project will not implement the atlas survey, but is intended to develop the features and infrastructure needed to organize a successful Breeding Bird Atlas Project.
The 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas will provide an updated database presenting the current distribution of all nesting bird species. It will provide a comparison with the first effort, and with the new features, provide a new look at distribution patterns as they relate to species abundance. Similar to the first atlas, the 2nd effort will update historic locations of species of special concern statewide, providing new information for conservation. The atlas project will provide new levels of understanding of bird patterns that will ensure their future conservation.
This effort is needed to design the next bird atlas project in a way that will maximize the state’s resources, both volunteer and financial. This project will utilize the best ornithological expertise, and GIS, Internet, and statistical technology available to establish a solid foundation for the next volunteer-based bird atlas effort.