Intern designs graphic showing how USGS collects and releases bird species checklist data to the public

This is a graphical abstract depicting the process that the USGS Alaska Science Center uses for compiling and releasing bird species checklist data to the public via USGS and eBird.  Scientists from the USGS Alaska Science Center regularly work in remote field camps, often for days or weeks at a time. Though not the primary research focus of these camps, many researchers maintain daily checklists of all bird species encountered during field work. These checklists can provide documentation of the presence, distribution, timing of arrival and departure, and breeding chronology of species at each field camp. The graphic describes the process that USGS uses to document bird species presence and how the data are ultimately shared with the public through eBird.  The bird in the upper part of the graphic is a Pacific Loon and the map shows the relative distribution of Pacific Loons in summer months based on eBird data for the year 2020.  

Thanks to Nicole Hudson for her assistance in data management aspects of this project for USGS through the Virtual Student Federal Service Program.