forest.birds

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Abundance of forest birds in 56 forest patches in Australia

Description

These data are part of a larger study on the effects of habitat fragmentation, the process in which land development disrupts the native habitat of certin species. The dataset has variables on forest bird abundance in a forest patch (typically the response of interest) and features of patch.

Usage

data("forest.birds")

Format

A data frame with 56 observations on the following 8 variables.

abundance

Numeric vector. Average number of forest birds observed in the patch, as calculated from several independent 20-minute counting sessions.

patch.area

Numeric vector. The area of the patch. Areas were measured in hectares; 1 hectare is 10,000 square meters and approximately 2.47 acres.

year.of.isolation

The year the patch was isolated by fragmentation of local environment.

dist.nearest

Numeric vector. Distance to the nearest patch, measured in kilometers.

dist.larger

Numeric vector. Distance to the nearest patch that is larger than the current patch, measured in kilometers.

grazing.intensity

Factor. A score indicating the extent of livestock grazing. The categories are: "light", "less than average", "average", "moderately heavy", "heavy".

altitude

Numeric vector. Altitude of the patch, measured in meters.

yrs.isolation

Numeric vector. Number of years of isolation at the time study was conducted (1983).

Source

The original data from the study appears in Loyn (1987). Nature Conservation: The Role of Remnants of Native Vegetation. Saunders DA, Arnold GW, Burbridge AA, and Hopkins AJM eds. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, 65-77

The data in this package is based in data used in Logan, 2010, Biostatistical Design and Analysis Using R: A Practical Guide.

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