Exploring Population Trends Across a Decade for Three Bird Species in the SF Bay Area
Author: Francisco J. Rico
Faculty Supervisor: Jaime A. Chaves
Department: Biology
Throughout time, a species’ population and abundance may fluctuate or change for a myriad of reasons. Understanding how these population trends shift or change throughout time is important because it can help to characterize the trajectory of these populations for the future and give insight into how the environments they inhabit may change as well. The general problem this research tackles is whether there are significant bird population trends (increase or decline) across time for bird species in the San Francisco Bay Area. For this research, I aim to study population trends in 3 bird species’ populations across a decade within the San Francisco Bay Area. The methods employed for finding population trends among species include accessing databases such as eBird and comparing these trends across a decade. Studying population trends may inform how biotic or abiotic factors affect the population patterns we observe for birds in SF. Future research endeavors would benefit from investigating the sources of these population trends. Identifying the probable causes could shed light on whether human impacts are driving these trends and whether conservation efforts should shift to focusing on these species.