Human Settlement Impacts on Bird Diversity in Ecuador
Event Type
Research Presentation
Academic Department
Environmental Studies
Location
Dana Science Building, 2nd floor
Start Date
26-4-2024 1:30 PM
End Date
26-4-2024 3:00 PM
Description
Under the direction of Dr. Renee Godard
Though only the size of Colorado, Ecuador ranks fifth in the world for avian diversity, supporting more than a thousand species of bird. We explored the impacts of human settlement on avian diversity by conducting repeated 30 minute surveys of bird diversity in four different locations (suburban, peri-urban, rural cluster, uninhabited). Human settlement characteristics were determined using satellite imagery along with data from the Global Human Settlement Layer. We found that overall bird diversity and the number of novel species between observations decreased with increasing human settlement. Human population growth and the expansion of extractive practices are likely to impact bird diversity and populations in the future.
Human Settlement Impacts on Bird Diversity in Ecuador
Dana Science Building, 2nd floor
Under the direction of Dr. Renee Godard
Though only the size of Colorado, Ecuador ranks fifth in the world for avian diversity, supporting more than a thousand species of bird. We explored the impacts of human settlement on avian diversity by conducting repeated 30 minute surveys of bird diversity in four different locations (suburban, peri-urban, rural cluster, uninhabited). Human settlement characteristics were determined using satellite imagery along with data from the Global Human Settlement Layer. We found that overall bird diversity and the number of novel species between observations decreased with increasing human settlement. Human population growth and the expansion of extractive practices are likely to impact bird diversity and populations in the future.