27th Annual Student Research Conference
An Ecogrographic Analysis of the Avifauna on Indio Mountains Research Station, Hudspeth County, Texas
Allison R. Hanna
Dr. Jason Luscier and Dr. Jerry Johnson (University of Texas at El Paso), Faculty Mentors
Initiatives in understanding bird habitat use patterns are important in order to plan subsequent studies and better inform conservation strategies. Augmenting a current ecogeographic study, we analyzed avian preference of habitats from 3 June-28 July 2013 in a Chihuahuan Desert landscape on Indio Mountain Research Station, Hudspeth County, Texas. We wanted to investigate variation in species richness among sites, if similarity between sites would decrease from permanent to temporary wetlands, and if the Headquarters had higher species richness than the other sites. In data analysis, pair-wise similarity in bird species among all sites was measured using Simpsons Coefficient, species richness estimates were generated using available data, and vegetation coverage was analyzed. Species richness varied among sites, but there was no distinct correlation among habitats and vegetation cover. The Headquarters and a temporary wetland had equal raw species richness of 19, which was the highest among all sites.
Keywords: Chihuahuan Desert, Species richness, avians, temporary wetlands, permanent wetlands, habitat, Simpsons Similarity Coefficient, vegetation coverage
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 4-17
Location: GEO - SUB
Time: 3:30