Bird Habitat Needs in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Historically the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) was predominantly bottomland hardwood forest and most birds of conservation concern depend on bottomland hardwood forest. Past conservation planning has focused on habitat objectives with presumption that bird population goals would be met by habitat provision.
The Challenge: To estimated current bird populations, predict historical populations, and to assess capacity of current habitat to sustainably support desired avian populations.
The Science: Use Breeding Bird Survey data and trends to establish regional population goals. Use variation of historical BBS trends to estimate the minimum forest area required to sustain ≥25 breeding pairs. Predict probability of species occupancy to identify sustainable forested habitat.
The Future: Identify additional forest habitat needs for avian species in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Recommend geolocations for forest restoration that would most benefit birds with reduced restoration cost.
Historically the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) was predominantly bottomland hardwood forest and most birds of conservation concern depend on bottomland hardwood forest. Past conservation planning has focused on habitat objectives with presumption that bird population goals would be met by habitat provision.
The Challenge: To estimated current bird populations, predict historical populations, and to assess capacity of current habitat to sustainably support desired avian populations.
The Science: Use Breeding Bird Survey data and trends to establish regional population goals. Use variation of historical BBS trends to estimate the minimum forest area required to sustain ≥25 breeding pairs. Predict probability of species occupancy to identify sustainable forested habitat.
The Future: Identify additional forest habitat needs for avian species in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Recommend geolocations for forest restoration that would most benefit birds with reduced restoration cost.