Data handling is a considerable cost in large bird surveys, such as atlases. This
applies both to individual recorders and to the process of centralizing, checking,
and computerizing the complete data set. There is clearly a potential for many of
these processes to be automated. Field recorders could log data electronically or
computerize their own records before submitting them. Locations of plots could
be logged, with great precision and less chance of map reading and transcription
errors, from a GPS. Centralized archives could harvest data over the Internet and
respond to enquiries with real time analyses and presentations of results. The
Australian atlas maps can be viewed at www2.abc.net.au/birds/mapviewer.html.
This site will also return lists for any one degree square. Observers can add their
new data electronically. Because the process is efficient (once set up), Birds
Australia intends to collect records beyond the formal period of atlas study as the
start to a monitoring program. Birdsource at http://www.birdsource.org is another
excellent example of a site which collects and displays bird survey data. A well
designed system could be much more efficient than anything seen to date
because individual records could be used for a variety of analyses both spatial and
temporal. This would contrast markedly with current approaches where most
records are used only within the framework of the study design in which they
were collected, or they reside in birdwatchers’ notebooks and are not used at all.
Such a future will be aided by the further development of electronic archives
where basic data can be deposited independently or as annexes to (electronic)
journal publication.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to Rhys Green, Ian Newton and Bill Sutherland for critical comments
on an earlier draft.
References
Bibby, C., Jones, M., and Marsden, S. (1998). Expedition Field Techniques: Bird Surveys.
Royal Geographical Society, London.
Bibby, C.J., Burgess, N.D., Hill, D.A., and Mustoe, S.H. (2000). Bird Census Techniques,
2nd ed. Academic Press, London.
BirdLife International (2000). Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife
International, Barcelona and Cambridge.
Boitani, L., Corsi, F., Reggiani, G., Sinibaldi, J., and Trapanese, P. (1999). A Databank
for the Conservation and Management of the African Mammals. Istituto di Ecologia
Applicata, Rome.
Boulinier, Nichols, Sauer, Hines, and Pollock. (1998). Estimating species richness: the
importance of heterogeneity in species delectability. Ecology, 79, 1018–1028.
14 |Bird diversity survey methods