J. Michael Scott

C. John Ralph

This book was originally published in 1981 as a publication of the Cooper Ornithological Society and was based on the proceedings of a meeting of biologists and statisticians in Asilomar who gathered to examine the methods and assumptions used in estimating bird numbers. Counting birds has a long tradition. It is the currency of many ornithological studies. Bird counts have been seminal in our knowledge of bird migration, competition, ecology, population dynamics, environmental adaptation, impact of human alterations and island biogeography. Interest in estimating bird numbers remains high today but is often plagued by unasked or unanswered questions regarding sampling methods and treatment of the results. This book recorded the outcome of a meeting held to address these and other questions. It led to better understanding of what can and cannot be done with datasets. This volume remains a primary source of information on censusing of birds and other animals, and is frequently quoted in the primary literature of today. Since this volume went out of print some six years ago, demand has markedly increased for copies which are essentially unavailable, attesting to its currency today. C. John Ralph, received his Bachelors from the University of California, Berkeley and his doctorate from The Johns Hopkins University. Most of his early research was on bird migration and orientation. After a stint teaching at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, he moved to Hawaii in 1976 where he began work on endangered forest birds for the Forest Service as a Research Ecologist. In 1981 he and his family moved to Arcata to join the Forest Service's Redwood Sciences Laboratory. One of his principal research topics there has been on an old-growth dependent bird, the Marbled Murrelet, involving extensive research from Alaska to California. His other principal work is on landbird monitoring, especially involving census and constant effort mist netting. Since 1994 he has directed research at a bird monitoring station in Costa Rica, now one of the longest running stations in Latin America. Beginning in 1980 he conducted research on an island off New Zealand involving monitoring and reintroduction of native birds. He has published more than 150 scientific articles and edited several books on bird monitoring and the Marbled Murrelet.

Estimating Numbers of Terrestrial Birds

John A. Wiens

Beatrice Van Horne

Dale D. Goble

With stories about species on the brink, this book explores the causes and consequences of conservation reliance and its implications.

The Challenge of Conservation Reliance

Shepherding Nature

Charles Van Riper

A Vanishing Avifauna

Evolution, Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Hawaiian Birds

Michael L. Morrison

Patricia Heglund

Predictions about where different species are, where they are not, and how they move across a landscape or respond to human activities -- if timber is harvested, for instance, or stream flow altered -- are important aspects of the work of wildlife biologists, land managers, and the agencies and policymakers that govern natural resources. Despite the increased use and importance of model predictions, these predictions are seldom tested and have unknown levels of accuracy.Predicting Species Occurrences addresses those concerns, highlighting for managers and researchers the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches, as well as the magnitude of the research required to improve or test predictions of currently used models. The book is an outgrowth of an international symposium held in October 1999 that brought together scientists and researchers at the forefront of efforts to process information about species at different spatial and temporal scales. It is a comprehensive reference that offers an exhaustive treatment of the subject, with 65 chapters by leading experts from around the world that: review the history of the theory and practice of modeling and present a standard terminology examine temporal and spatial scales in terms of their influence on patterns and processes of species distribution offer detailed discussions of state-of-the-art modeling tools and descriptions of methods for assessing model accuracy discuss how to predict species presence and abundance present examples of how spatially explicit data on demographics can provide important information for managers An introductory chapter by Michael A. Huston examines the ecological context in which predictions of species occurrences are made, and a concluding chapter by John A. Wiens offers an insightful review and synthesis of the topics examined along with guidance for future directions and cautions regarding misuse of models. Other contributors include Michael P. Austin, Barry R. Noon, Alan H. Fielding, Michael Goodchild, Brian A. Maurer, John T. Rotenberry, Paul Angermeier, Pierre R. Vernier, and more than a hundred others.Predicting Species Occurrences offers important new information about many of the topics raised in the seminal volume Wildlife 2000 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1986) and will be the standard reference on this subject for years to come. Its state-of-the-art assessment will play a key role in guiding the continued development and application of tools for making accurate predictions and is an indispensable volume for anyone engaged in species management or conservation.

Issues of Accuracy and Scale

Predicting Species Occurrences

J. Michael Scott

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