Scientists use eBird data to propose optimal bird conservation plan

The goal is to conserve habitat and protect migratory birds

Date: April 15, 2019

Source: Cornell University

A new paper published today in the journal Nature Communications shows a blueprint for conserving enough habitat to protect the populations of almost one-third of the warblers, orioles, tanagers, and other birds that migrate among the Americas throughout the year.

For the research, an international team of scientists used the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's global citizen science database, eBird, to calculate how to sufficiently conserve habitat across the Western Hemisphere for all the habitats these birds use throughout their annual cycle of breeding, migration, and overwintering. The study provides planners with guidance on the locations and amounts of land that must be conserved for 30 percent of the global populations for each of 117 Neotropical migratory bird species.

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