Effects of Observer Variability in the Analysis of Landbird Audio Recordings.

摘要

The Southeast Coast Network uses automated recording devices (ARDs) as a tool for monitoring landbird and vocal anuran communities in the Southeast. Many advantages exist for using ARDs as a monitoring tool. First, ARDs can be deployed for long periods of time and programmed to collect data on multiple occasions without requiring any repeat visits beyond retrieving the device upon completion. Second, hazards associated with field work in remote and potentially unsafe urban areas are mitigated by not visiting sampling locations during early morning (i.e., for landbirds) or late evening (i.e., for vocal anurans). Third, unlike point-count surveys, recordings create a permanent record of the bird-monitoring event that can be evaluated and confirmed by multiple experts, while also characterizing the soundscape that can be used to address future questions.