Effects of habitat restoration on bird diversity and abundance in the Whatcom Creek corridor
Presentation Abstract
In Bellingham, Washington on June 10th, 1999 a ruptured pipeline spilled and ignited over 200,000 gallons of gasoline into Whatcom and Cemetery creeks. Profound damage was inflicted on >25 acres of land, most of which were close to the stream bank. The City of Bellingham’s Natural Resource Division, and other groups have since conducted research and conservation projects in an effort to restore the local ecology to a healthy state. Bird data were collected in years 2007-2011. Surveys were conducted at 4 points within the Whatcom Creek corridor from March until June. Bird species, and distance of bird from the observer were recorded. The objective was to record abundance and diversity of bird species around Whatcom Creek and to characterize changes over time as conservation projects progressed. Invasive species were present at all points for all years data were collected and averaged 3-5% of total observed birds, with no upward or downward trend. All bird species were divided into 11 groups based on niche. Insect eaters were the most abundant every year at every site, followed by fruit eating and ground feeding birds. We also intend on adding data from 2013 and continuing to look for trends in invasive species percentages. We will determine if abundance of each of the 11 groups are significantly different from year to year or between sites, calculating Shannon-Weiner Diversity indexes.
Session Title
Session S-09E: Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Species: Threats and Conservation
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 5:00 PM
End Date
1-5-2014 6:30 PM
Location
Room 6C
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Birds--Effect of habitat modification on--Washington (State)--Whatcom Creek Watershed; Restoration monitoring (Ecology)--Washington (State)--Whatcom Creek Watershed
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Whatcom Creek Watershed (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Effects of habitat restoration on bird diversity and abundance in the Whatcom Creek corridor
Room 6C
In Bellingham, Washington on June 10th, 1999 a ruptured pipeline spilled and ignited over 200,000 gallons of gasoline into Whatcom and Cemetery creeks. Profound damage was inflicted on >25 acres of land, most of which were close to the stream bank. The City of Bellingham’s Natural Resource Division, and other groups have since conducted research and conservation projects in an effort to restore the local ecology to a healthy state. Bird data were collected in years 2007-2011. Surveys were conducted at 4 points within the Whatcom Creek corridor from March until June. Bird species, and distance of bird from the observer were recorded. The objective was to record abundance and diversity of bird species around Whatcom Creek and to characterize changes over time as conservation projects progressed. Invasive species were present at all points for all years data were collected and averaged 3-5% of total observed birds, with no upward or downward trend. All bird species were divided into 11 groups based on niche. Insect eaters were the most abundant every year at every site, followed by fruit eating and ground feeding birds. We also intend on adding data from 2013 and continuing to look for trends in invasive species percentages. We will determine if abundance of each of the 11 groups are significantly different from year to year or between sites, calculating Shannon-Weiner Diversity indexes.
