Emily Guiles

Mentor: Dr. Nancy Seefelt
Research: Anthropogenic Impacts on Birds in a Northern Temperate Riparian Corridor

Urbanization is known to degrade habitats, leading to shifts in vegetation assemblages and increased noise pollution. To identify the impacts of these urban factors on resident and migratory birds, this study investigated avian diversity and abundance in relation to vegetation and noise level in a riparian corridor. Bird surveys were conducted using point counts at locations near to and distant from human infrastructure. In addition to bird population surveys, ambient noise level (dB) and vegetation surveys were conducted. There were no significant differences in bird assemblages between sites near to and distant from human infrastructure, nor were there any correlations between bird populations, vegetation populations and noise levels. Due to similarities across all locations, this study emphasizes the connectivity within riparian corridors despite anthropogenic factors.