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Development Of An Avian Index Of Biological Integrity For Kentucky Wetlands, Kaitlyn Kelly
Development Of An Avian Index Of Biological Integrity For Kentucky Wetlands, Kaitlyn Kelly
Online Theses and Dissertations
Bird communities are frequently used as bioindicators to assess environmental conditions, including in wetland habitats. I developed an avian index of biological integrity (IBI) for wetlands of Kentucky as an intensive assessment method to supplement an existing rapid assessment method used in regulatory programs. Birds are useful indicators because they are sensitive to environmental changes, abundant in various landscapes, occupy higher trophic levels, and can be sampled in a cost-effective manner. Breeding bird point count data from 103 sites were used to calculate a set of 49 avian community metrics. Avian metrics were tested for correlation with independent landscape, hydrology …