Toward integrating citizen science and radar data for migrant bird conservation

摘要: Migrating birds face an array of challenging conditions and hazards during their annual movements, including novel threats mortality from anthropogenic structures, such as wind energy turbines buildings. There is a need for new data sources that can be used to create risk assessments across wide range spatial temporal scales, weather radar have shown promise in this regard. A primary limitation on the use macroscale ecology has been difficulty access processing make real-time assessments, lack species-level information. We compared two products, Level II UNQC-CREF differ several aspects. found 2D product provides similar information regarding patterns bioscatter, although not without caveats. Due its rapid availability ease use, we combined with eBird daily species counts quantify autumnal migration along one North America's major migratory routes. During autumn southward, predicted would prevailing winds favorable atmospheric time movements. Wind direction ordinal date were strong predictors variables associated inclement weather, barometric pressure ambient temperature. These suggest at coarse scale, avoid headwinds southerly movements autumn, more broadly indicate local predict pulses activity aerosphere. Our results methods could measure components avian greater scales – providing crucial conservation management faunas. Specifically, future algorithms should focus implementation bird strike mitigation, by altering facility operation nights peak flow, addition timing “lights-out” events minimize collisions existing infrastructure