Data Owner

PRBO Conservation Science

Data Access: Level 4

The data are freely available to all interested in accordance with PRBO's data-sharing policy.

Metadata download: sgml  html  txt

Data download: Database Query Tool

Abstract

The capture of birds in nets can give the biologist an insight into the health and demographics of the population of the birds being studied. For instance, the proportion of young birds captured in mist nets has been shown to be a good measure of the productivity of birds during the previous few weeks. The sex ratio of a population can be used to assess the species' differential survivorship the previous year and the ability of the population to increase. The mist net capture rate gives a measure of the number surviving during the previous winter. The marking of individuals gives the biologist insight into degree of dispersal between different habitats and survivorship between years. Finally, weight, when compared to measures of body size such as wing length, can give a measure of individual fitness.

Purpose

Mist netting surveys measure bird abundance and diversity and can be used to measure population trends, and condition of individual birds.

Contact

• Grant Ballard: gballard@prbo.org