Species abundance estimates based on eBird improve conservation and management application

Background/Question/Methods

Information about the relative abundance of species can reveal much about the patterns, processes, and dynamics that underlie natural systems. To date, most species distribution models describe probability of occurrence, whereas descriptions of spatial variation in abundance relate more directly to many measures of species vulnerability and therefore conservation priorities. Here we present models for describing variation in relative abundance across broad spatial and temporal extents. Our data come from eBird, a large-scale citizen science dataset, which contains counts of bird species with location and effort information.

Results/Conclusions

We discuss how modeling abundance reveals both spatial and temporal patterns and processes that are not evident when modeling occurrence or occupancy. As an example, we show how relative abundance data can describe the weekly patterns of waterfowl distribution within the Central Valley of California, which appear to be driven by anthropogenic factors in the region. We illustrate how results from these models of citizen-science data can be used to inform full life-cycle conservation management decisions and aid the prioritization of habitat provision in time and space.