ZO 501 Ornithology - Spring 2012
Lab Information
Date Topics Covered Location Notes Deadlines Waterfowl Raleigh Meet at Vans at 8:00 AM Bird Identification Yates Mill Pond Meet at Vans at 8:00 AM Sampling Methods 105 Scott Hall 08:00 - 11:00 Project site descriptions due Sampling Methods Lake Raleigh Meet at Vans at 8:00 AM Specimen Preparation Museum of Natural Sciences Meet at Vans at 8:00 AM Turn in Field Notes for Review Taxonomy Museum of Natural Sciences Meet at Vans at 8:00 AM Sampling write-ups due Coastal Field Trip Outer Banks Meet at Vans at 6:30 AM Coastal Field Trip Outer Banks Return by 11:00 PM Nesting Bald Eagles Jordan Lake Meet at Vans at 8:00 AM Methods/analysis section due Open Lab to work on lab projects Contact TA's or Dr. Simons to meet Spring Break Birding Umstead State Park Meet at Vans at 7:30 AM Introduction and Literature Review due NC Zoo (optional) Asheboro Meet at Vans at 7:30 AM RCW's Weymouth Woods Meet at Vans at 6:30 AM Zoo project write-ups due Mistnetting MAPS Program Howell Woods Meet at Vans at 6:30 AM Data Summary and Results sections due Holiday Field Identification Test Campus and Pullen Park Meet in DCL Lobby at 7:00 AM Turn in Field Notebooks and Discussion and Abstract Lab Project Poster Presentations Hallway by 287 DCL Meet in hallway by 287 at 8:00 AM Battery Island Southport, NC Meet at Vans at 6:00 AM
Detectability Lab Handouts
- Sampling designs handout
- Detection probability lab handout
- Introduction and Distance Sampling
- Program Distance example data files
- Model selection exercise
- Program Presence example data files
- Multiple observers presentation
- Field exercise presentation
- Field exercise lab handout
- Field exercise Excel spreadsheet
- Field exercise data sheet
- Field exercise keys
Detectability/Methods Lab Write-up (10 points)
Send a copy of your summarized data from the visual points to your TA by the end of the day on Friday. Be sure to include the names of both partners with your data. The compiled results from all pairs of observers will be posted on the website. Write up a 1-2 page synopsis of your findings to turn in the following week. Use the Excel spreadsheet provided to calculate an average population and detectability estimate for each “species” at each point. Review the material we went over in lab last week and consider the factors affecting detection probability and how they can alter the interpretation of sampling data. Review the lab handouts and other related materials for more information.
Each write up should include:
1. A summary of your results and a summary of the class results.
2. A comparison of your results to the true results, as well as to other members of your class. You could also compare this year's data to 2009's data or 2010's data (found in the Excel spreadsheet).
3. A discussion of the factors that affected your ability to detect "birds" on visual point counts.
4. Your thoughts about other factors that may affect detection probabilities on real point counts.Here is the spreadsheet with data for this class, as well as 2010 and 2009 for comparison.
The field notebook will be used as a bird identification learning tool. Many of the birds that we see will not allow close approach or perch cooperatively in the open so that you can observe them easily. Frequently, you will have to make identifications quickly, based on fleeting or distant views. Keeping a field notebook will help you to make systematic, detailed observations of birds in the field. The mere act of writing your observations down will help you to memorize important field marks, and the notebook will provide you with a quick reference for common species. The discipline of keeping careful field notes is a basic skill for all biologists which will serve you well in the future.
We would like your notebook entries to be organized into three categories each time you go into the field: a daily journal, a species list, and identification notes for individual species. The daily journal is a brief summary of who, what, when, where, and why you were out, as well as a description of the weather conditions. The species list is simply a running list of species seen with time and location noted. Identification notes include detailed observations, notes, and sketches of birds not previously recorded in the notebook.
Daily Journal. For each trip into the field, you should make a separate entry. The entry should begin with the journal section. Include the following:
1. Date and time of day
2. Name of the place visited
3. Weather conditions
4. Major habitats
5. Who was with you (i.e. were you alone, with your project group, or on a lab field trip?)Species List. The species list section is a list of each of the species that you see on each trip noting your location and time. You can use either common names or scientific names and abbreviations are acceptable as long as they are clearly defined within the notebook.
Identification Notes. Your identification notes contain information on natural history, habitat, behavior, field markings, and sketches. The first time you encounter a bird in the field, you should enter a species account for that species in addition to listing that species in the catalog list. Future comments can be added to the account during subsequent sightings or an additional account can be made to include further notes on a particular species.
When describing a bird in your notes, try to be systematic. One approach is to start with the head and work toward the back along the dorsal side. Next, return to the front end and describe the ventral side - throat, breast, sides, and belly. Throughout your descriptions, use the terms associated with bird topography. Describe anything distinctive about behavior. For example, note where and how the bird forages, whether it flicks its tail, what sounds the bird makes, etc.
You can record your notes into any size or style of notebook that you wish. You should record notes directly into your notebook while you are in the field. You should record notes either in pencil or permanent ink. Sketches greatly improve field notes. It is usually faster and easier to describe a bird by drawing it than by describing it in words. Simple drawings by connecting two ovals, one for the head and the other for the body can be used to place field marks (e.g. wing bars, eye ring). The field notebook is worth 25 points and will handed in on the last lab period.
Zoo projects will involve an observational study of one or more bird species using "focal animal sampling." The project is worth 25 extra credit points and will be due one week after the trip to the North Carolina Zoo. The write-up should be written in scientific paper format with an abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and literature cited sections. The paper is to be a maximum of 5 pages (including tables and figures, but excluding raw data sheets).
Your study should be based on behavioral observations collected over about a two hour period. After choosing your study subject, spend about a half an hour to define your objectives and the behaviors you are going to measure. Possible comparisons would include terrestrial vs. aquatic birds, large vs. small birds, or raptors vs. nectivores. You are free to team up with a partner if you wish. You might, for example, decide to compare the activity budgets of two species in the alcid exhibit. Behaviors you might measure would include: swimming under water, swimming on the surface, preening, feeding, resting, sleeping, walking, vocalizing, etc. You will want to quantify the bird's behavior in a systematic way so you can quantify differences in behavioral frequencies. By picking one or several focal animals and recording their behavior every 30 or 60 seconds for an hour or more you will begin to generate the data necessary to make these comparisons.
Resources:
An old but useful Handout on Methods of Observational Research in a Zoo Setting.
Examples of project write-ups from previous classes.
A sample Data Sheet for recording behavioral observations.
A recent Study that used scan sampling to quantify Coot behavior.