North American bird declines are greatest where species are most abundant
Creators
- 1. University of St Andrews
- 2. Cornell University
- 3. American Bird Conservancy
Description
Efforts to address declines of North American birds have been constrained by limited availability of fine-scale information about population change. Using participatory science data from eBird, we estimated continental population change and relative abundance at 27 km resolution for 495 bird species from 2007-2021. Results reveal high and previously undetected spatial heterogeneity in trends; although 75% of species were declining, 97% of species showed separate areas of significantly increasing and decreasing populations. Populations tended to decline most steeply in strongholds where species were most abundant, yet they fared better where species were least abundant. These high-resolution trends improve our ability to understand population dynamics, prioritize recovery efforts, and guide conservation at a time when action is urgently needed.
Notes
Funding provided by: Leon Levy Foundation
ROR ID: https://ror.org/033hnyq61
Award Number:
Funding provided by: Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation
ROR ID: https://ror.org/03m95az28
Award Number:
Funding provided by: U.S. National Science Foundation
ROR ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62
Award Number: DBI-1939187
Funding provided by: U.S. National Science Foundation
ROR ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62
Award Number: CNS-1059284
Funding provided by: U.S. National Science Foundation
ROR ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62
Award Number: CCF-1522054
Methods
The data files in this archive provide estimates of population change and relative abundance at 27 km resolution for 495 bird species from 2007-2021 using participatory science data from eBird. Additional data files are included in the archive that provide simulation-based model performance metrics. For further details, consult the associated paper North American bird declines are greatest where species are most abundant (Johnston et al. 2025).
Files
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Additional details
Related works
- Is derived from
- 10.5281/zenodo.14883008 (DOI)
- Is source of
- 10.5061/dryad.5qfttdzhq (DOI)