fbc overview for #ucdcitsci workshop

Fresno Bird Count - Citizen Science for a changing world

Madhusudan KattiFresno Bird CountDepartment of Biology, California State University, Fresnowww.fresnobirds.org

23 January 2012, UC Davis Citizen Science WorkshopMonday, January 23, 12

http://www.fresnobirds.org

http://www.fresnobirds.org

• More humans now live in cities than ever before

• But we continue to look outside cities for wildlife

• urban ecology remains a relatively “new” discipline

• Urban areas are replacing not only natural habitats, but also other human landscapes such as farmland

• Understanding what happens to other species under urbanization is therefore critical

Whither biodiversity in an urbanizing world?

Monday, January 23, 12

Challenges and Data Needs for Urban Ecology• Urban habitats are highly variable

• many different land uses• rapid changes over short distances• need many sites for precision in data

• Many species of birds• Measurements must be repeatable at

same sites over years


Fresno Bird Count - Census SitesMonday, January 23, 12

• 460 sites on a 1Km X 1Km grid• each site located randomly within a single grid cell

• Grouped into 58 clusters (routes) of 7-8 sites each• possible to cover all sites in a single morning

• Counts must be conducted within 4 hours after sunrise• Point Count

• 5-minute duration• count all birds seen & heard • within a 40m-radius circle while standing at center point• record number of individuals seen for each species• supplementary observations - birds outside circle / time window

Fresno Bird Count - April 15-May 15:Survey Design & Census Methodology


Study Area & Sampling DesignFresno Clovis Metropolitan Area (FCMA)

Fresno Bird Count Study Area

Censused in 2008 (N=184)

FBC site (N=460)

Habitat surveyed in 2008 (N=38)

Fresno

Fresno County

Clovis

Madera County

Fresno County

California

B. Schleder, 2010. M.S. Thesis, California State University, Fresno


• Volunteers include local birdwatchers, students, and faculty from CSU Fresno

• recruited via Fresno Audubon, county bird listserv, flyers on campus/in town

• Motivation for participation

• Interest in birds and the environment

• Concern for local water policy issues

• Academic interest (thesis, class project, etc.)

• What do they get out of it?

• we have only just begun to evaluate this systematically, but...

• most seem to enjoy the field work, bring friends along;

• are intrigued by results we have so far, judging by attendance at public talks and response to articles in newsletters and blog posts.

• are likely to become more engaged in urban policy & management efforts.

Fresno Bird Count: Public Participants’ Perspective


Bird Species Richness in the FCMA

1"3$spp$ 3"6$spp$ 6"9$spp$ 9"12$spp$

• In 2008

• 186 points surveyed by 30 volunteers

• 68 bird species recorded

• 3,263 total birds

• Average species richness per site 5.13 ± 0.16 SE



Urban Long-Term Research Area Fresno And Clovis Ecosocial Study

urban-faces.org Monday, January 23, 12

Http://urban-faces.org

Http://urban-faces.org

One set of pathways examined

• Irrigation rate will be positively correlated to the socioeconomics of a neighborhood.

• Vegetative cover will be partially correlated with an increase in irrigation.• Bird species richness will be partially positively correlated with areas containing

increased vegetative cover.• Foraging guild richness will be partially correlated to areas of higher irrigation.



Multivariate drivers of bird species richness

Model No. Param AICc ∆AICc R2

% Bldg, (% Poverty*Irrigation) 2 156.85 3.26 0.293

% Bldg, (% Poverty*%Grass), (% Poverty*Irrigation) 3 154.32 0.73 0.383

% Bldg, (% Poverty*%Grass), (% Poverty*Grass Height), (% Poverty*Irrigation) 4 153.59 0 0.438

% Grass, % Bldg, (% Poverty*%Grass), (% Poverty*Grass Height), (% Poverty*Irrigation) 5 154.54 0.95 0.46

% Grass, % Bldg, Grass Height, (% Poverty*%Grass), (% Poverty*Grass Height), (% Poverty*Irrigation) 6 156.07 2.48 0.49

Relative performance of alternative models with human (socioeconomic/demographic/behavioral) and ecological (cover, biotic/abiotic) variables to predict bird species richness. Models with ∆AICc < 7 are shown (per: Burnham et al 2011).

Schleder 2010. MS Thesis.


Poverty, irrigation, & bird diversity

• Residential irrigation decreased significantly with increased % poverty.• Species Diversity: Multivariate results indicate that poverty has strong indirect

effects on bird species diversity through intermediate variables including irrigation, % grass, % open canopy, and mean grass height.

• Guild Diversity: Poverty and Irrigation significantly affects bird guild diversity. Multivariate results show that both poverty and irrigation have strong effects on bird guild diversity through intermediate variables including mean grass height and % grass.



Other pathways being studied

• Same sampling scheme as FBC• Tree Diversity and Habitat Cover• Social Survey of individual

households (first round complete)• Interviews of institutional actors (key

policy makers & implementers in city govt; in progress)

• Land Use Land Cover (LULC) analysis (preliminary)


It takes a village to study the city...

• Citizen Scientists of the Fresno Bird Count!

• Graduate students: Bradley Schleder, Seth Reid, Jenny Phillips, Pedro Garcia

• Paying the bills:

• Fresno Audubon Society

• Robert and Norma Craig Foundation

• CSU Fresno: Provost, College of Science and Mathematics, Division of Graduate Studies

• National Science Foundation & U.S. Forest Service (ULTRA-Ex Award # 0949036)

• Tucson Bird Count, NiJeL for database management

• City of Fresno, City of Clovis, Fresno County NiJeL Monday, January 23, 12

fbc overview for #ucdcitsci workshop

Education