Distance Based Sampling of Birds at York University’s Keele Campus

Distance based sampling was used to survey bird species at the Danby Forest at York University. 25m belt transects were set in 5 locations in the woodlot and 5 locations in the adjacent grassland. The researcher walked along the transect and observed the surrounding area for birds. Data for spotted birds included frequency of species, bird common name, wind speed and distance to the bird. Frequency of species was recorded by counting number of birds that were flying together in a group. The common name of the bird was determined by observing the bird's morphology and in reference to a bird guide. Wind speed was recorded using the Beaufort scale into 13 different categories from 0 (no wind) to 12 (strongest winds).

本研究采用基于距离的采样法，对约克大学(York University)丹比森林内的鸟类物种开展调查。在林地区块的5个点位以及邻近草地的5个点位，布设了25米长的带状样带(belt transect)。研究人员沿样带行进，对周边区域的鸟类进行观测。所记录的目击鸟类数据包含物种出现频次、鸟类通用名、风速以及观测者与鸟类之间的距离。其中，物种出现频次通过统计集群飞行的鸟类个体总数进行记录；鸟类通用名通过观测其形态特征，并对照鸟类图鉴(bird guide)予以确定。风速采用蒲福风级(Beaufort scale)进行记录，共分为0级（无风）至12级（最大风力）共计13个等级。