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Analysis of Bird Habitat-Based Biodiversity Metrics at a National Scale
Citation:
Boykin, K., W. Kepner, A. Neale, AND K. Gergely. Analysis of Bird Habitat-Based Biodiversity Metrics at a National Scale . To be Presented at A Community on Ecosystem Services (ACES): Linking Science, Practice, and Decision, Washington, DC, December 08 - 12, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
Presenting the project to ACES community. The project is being conducted at multiple scales in a phased approach, starting with place-based studies, then multi-state regional areas, culminating in the national-level EnviroAtlas.
Description:
Ecosystem services have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national interests for integrating ecology with economics to help understand the effects of human policies and actions and their subsequent impacts on both ecosystem function and human well-being. Some characteristics of biodiversity are valued by humans in varied ways, and thus are important to include in any assessment that seeks to identify and quantify the benefits of ecosystems to humans. Some biodiversity metrics clearly reflect ecosystem services (e.g., abundance and diversity of game species), whereas others reflect indirect and difficult to quantify relationships to services (e.g., relevance of species diversity to ecosystem resilience, cultural value of native species). Wildlife habitat has been modeled at broad spatial scales and can be used to map a number of biodiversity metrics. In the present study, we map metrics reflecting ecosystem services or biodiversity features derived from US Geological Survey Gap Analysis Program data for land cover and habitat models for bird species. Metrics include species richness for all birds, harvestable species (i.e., small game), NatureServe conservation status (G1-G3) species, birds of conservation concern, and threatened and endangered species. We also present results of metrics focusing on species identified by federal and state agencies or non-governmental organizations as species of interest based on conservation or climate vulnerability. The project is being conducted at multiple scales in a phased approach, starting with place-based studies, then multi-state regional areas, culminating in the national-level EnviroAtlas. As an example of this incremental approach, we provide results for the contiguous United States. Geographic patterns differed among metrics across the study area.