PARENT SESSION
Poster Session # 6: Urban Ecology.
Monday, August 4 Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. SITCC Exhibit Hall B.
Land use, land cover and socioeconomic variables as predictors of bird species composition in St. Louis, MO.
Walker, Amber*,1, Nilon, Charles 1, 1 University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO
ABSTRACT- Using a patch dynamics to approach to understand patterns of bird species composition and abundance in cities requires information on patch habitat features and on the characteristics of the matrix that surrounds the patch. Azerrad and Nilon (2001) studied bird species composition and abundance in 55 greenspace patches in inner city St. Louis, Missouri, finding that four patch habitat variables: percent canopy closure, canopy height, shrub stem density, and percent forb cover were the best predictors of bird species composition. Our objectives in this study are to describe the matrix surrounding these 55 habitat patches at three different scales (200m, 500m, and 1000m from patch center) and identify matrix variables that are predictors of differences among patches in bird species composition. Bird species composition and abundance for each patch were determined by Azerrad (2001) in 1998 and 1999. We are using land cover, land use, landscape pattern and socioeconomic data to characterize the matrix surrounding each patch.
Key words: bird conservation, urban ecosystems, urban birds