James Dawber

University of Canterbury

An applied analysis of bird counts using generalised additive models

This is joint work with Jennifer Brown (University of Canterbury) and Ian Westbrooke (DOC)

Bird counts are regularly collected across New Zealand in an attempt to understand the abundance of certain bird species. Analysing such data accurately becomes an important role in describing the nature and dynamics of these bird populations. The application of Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) to such datasets is one possibly effective way in producing good models. The application of GAMs on bird counts was explored using real life data, as part of a restoration project lead by DOC in Nelson Lakes National Park. The advantages of using such models on count data are explained, along with the issues and drawbacks that were encountered in the modeling process.