Tree Canopy Cover Influences Habitat Use of Breeding Birds at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Date of Award
4-17-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Biology
First Reader
Dr. Christin Pruett
Second Reader
Dr. Carol Carter
Third Reader
Dr. Jay Curlin
Abstract
Across the United States, bird populations have declined due to habitat loss. To better understand habitat use by birds, researchers observed populations at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area in southwest Arkansas. Students at Ouachita Baptist University surveyed 94 point count locations to estimate species diversity (total number of species observed) and species abundance (total number of individuals observed). At each point, students recorded the percentage of tree canopy cover, ground cover, midstory cover, and shrub cover. These variables were used as explanatory variables in multiple regression analyses to determine which variables were influential in explaining variation in species diversity and species abundance. Locations with higher species diversity had higher midstory cover (P=0.003) and lower canopy cover (P=0.020). Higher species abundance was found at locations with lower canopy cover (P
Understanding how to use statistics software is useful to many disciplines including the field of nursing. As a nursing student, I have learned that the statistical analysis performed in this study is applicable to research projects completed in the field of healthcare. The statistical software environment R, and its interface RStudio 2, can be used by anyone performing statistical analysis, creating tables or graphs, and analyzing data. There are many packages associated within R (R Core Team, 2020) that would be beneficial to nurses and nurse management conducting performance improvement projects where they collect and analyze data pertaining to patient care, infection rates, and patient satisfaction.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Kaleigh, "Tree Canopy Cover Influences Habitat Use of Breeding Birds at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area" (2024). Honors Theses. 927.
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/honors_theses/927
Included in
Biodiversity Commons, Forest Management Commons, Ornithology Commons