SECN Landbird 2023 Cumulative Data Package

The National Park Service (NPS) operates 32 Inventory Monitoring (IM) networks across the United States encompassing over 280 parks. Each IM network has established "vital signs" monitoring in its parks. These vital signs represent elements and processes in park ecosystems that help indicate the overall health or condition of park resources. Just as people monitor their vital signs such as blood pressure and pulse, the parks monitor selected vital signs to help them understand the condition and trends of park natural resources. Network personnel monitor physical resources and processes (such as air, water, climate, fire, erosion), biological attributes (such as species and biological communities), and ecological processes (such as disturbance and productivity). The Southeast Coast Network (SECN) contains 15 parks containing natural resources, located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.Each spring, SECN collects audio recording data during implementation of the SECN's Landbird Community Monitoring Protocol. Automated recording devices (ARDs) are used to capture landbird vocalizations every second morning between March and June at up to 30 spatially-balanced random sampling locations per park. Five of the SECN's 15 parks are sampled each year on a three-year rotation. All discernable bird vocalizations are reviewed from selected recordings and classified to species. These data address the following protocol objectives: (1) evaluate status of landbird community species richness during the spring breeding season and (2) assess landbird occupancy and spatial distribution at sampling locations during the breeding season.