Desert Uplands Plot Network: Bird Count Data, Northern Queensland, Australia, 2006 - 2016

Abstract: The Desert Uplands Plot Network Bird Count Data contains bird fauna data collected at 60 1-hectare plots spanning 2006 to 2016. This is part of a larger dataset that spans from 2004 to 2016. The CSIRO permanent plots are situated in Tropical Ironbark Woodlands, and extend across four leasehold cattle properties that lie within an area approximately 50 km by 50 km. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are removed); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred. Within each 1 ha site, eight five-minute diurnal bird counts are conducted over a four day period. Two counts are completed per day at each site: one count in the morning within three hours of sunrise and the other a minimum of three hours after this period and before sunset.

The Desert Uplands research plots commenced in 2004, and have been revisited in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2014 and 2016. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Desert Uplands Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c343f9e98336. Sampling method: The specific location of the 1 ha survey sites were selected on the basis that they were situated in large contiguous areas that were considered typical or characteristic of the respective vegetation management strategy. Within each property, sites are generally a minimum of 1 km apart but may be within 500 m of one another in some cases. At the property scale, sites are spread across a 10-15 km radius on each property. Sites are located a minimum of 500 m from any water point, commonly 50-100 m from the nearest access track and that the demarcation used for site selection within the “Unmodified vegetation management” class (30-45% vs. 45-60% canopy cover), was made using crown canopy mapping based on 1996 1:250 000 aerial photography. Sites are broadly situated within the same broad Ironbark woodland community (Eucalyptus whitei, E. melanophloia). Two Queensland land zones are mapped across the four properties with sandy plains and alluvial systems each represented by two properties. One of the leaseholders (with five thinned and five unmodified sites), withdrew from the study following the July 2008 survey leaving 50 sites distributed across three leasehold properties remaining in the study. Study extent: These plots have been visited six times so far – June 2004, May 2005, August 2006, July 2008, June-July 2013, October 2014 and May-August 2016. The 10 KALL sites were not surveyed post-2008. Project funding: Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and funded through the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
Type
collection
Title
Desert Uplands Plot Network: Bird Count Data, Northern Queensland, Australia, 2006 - 2016
Alternate Title
Desert Uplands Plot Network: Bird Counts, 2006+
Collection Type
Dataset
Access Privileges
Long Term Ecological Research Network
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/5c3d527f8defb
Website Address
https://datacommons.anu.edu.au/
Metadata Language
English
Data Language
English
Brief Description
The Desert Uplands Plot Network Bird Count Data contains bird fauna data collected at 60 1-hectare plots spanning 2006 to 2016. This is part of a larger dataset that spans from 2004 to 2016. The CSIRO permanent plots are situated in Tropical Ironbark Woodlands, and extend across four leasehold cattle properties that lie within an area approximately 50 km by 50 km. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are removed); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred. Within each 1 ha site, eight five-minute diurnal bird counts are conducted over a four day period. Two counts are completed per day at each site: one count in the morning within three hours of sunrise and the other a minimum of three hours after this period and before sunset.

The Desert Uplands research plots commenced in 2004, and have been revisited in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2014 and 2016. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Desert Uplands Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c343f9e98336.
Full Description
Abstract: The Desert Uplands Plot Network Bird Count Data contains bird fauna data collected at 60 1-hectare plots spanning 2006 to 2016. This is part of a larger dataset that spans from 2004 to 2016. The CSIRO permanent plots are situated in Tropical Ironbark Woodlands, and extend across four leasehold cattle properties that lie within an area approximately 50 km by 50 km. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are removed); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred. Within each 1 ha site, eight five-minute diurnal bird counts are conducted over a four day period. Two counts are completed per day at each site: one count in the morning within three hours of sunrise and the other a minimum of three hours after this period and before sunset.

The Desert Uplands research plots commenced in 2004, and have been revisited in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2014 and 2016. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Desert Uplands Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c343f9e98336. Sampling method: The specific location of the 1 ha survey sites were selected on the basis that they were situated in large contiguous areas that were considered typical or characteristic of the respective vegetation management strategy. Within each property, sites are generally a minimum of 1 km apart but may be within 500 m of one another in some cases. At the property scale, sites are spread across a 10-15 km radius on each property. Sites are located a minimum of 500 m from any water point, commonly 50-100 m from the nearest access track and that the demarcation used for site selection within the “Unmodified vegetation management” class (30-45% vs. 45-60% canopy cover), was made using crown canopy mapping based on 1996 1:250 000 aerial photography. Sites are broadly situated within the same broad Ironbark woodland community (Eucalyptus whitei, E. melanophloia). Two Queensland land zones are mapped across the four properties with sandy plains and alluvial systems each represented by two properties. One of the leaseholders (with five thinned and five unmodified sites), withdrew from the study following the July 2008 survey leaving 50 sites distributed across three leasehold properties remaining in the study. Study extent: These plots have been visited six times so far – June 2004, May 2005, August 2006, July 2008, June-July 2013, October 2014 and May-August 2016. The 10 KALL sites were not surveyed post-2008. Project funding: Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and funded through the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
Methods
Plot set-up
1
10 X 42 Binoculars
60 permanent 1 hectare plots were set up in Northern Queensland. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are removed); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred. Cleared sites had been chain-cleared and sown with buffel grass between 1995 and 1999.
The sites are spread across four properties. The total number of sites within each category are as follows: a) cleared vegetation (n = 10 ), b) thinned vegetation (n = 10) and c) unmodified vegetation (n = 40).
As of September 2014 four of the previously cleared sites, which contained regrowth vegetation, have been re-cleared.
Bird Count Surveys
2
10 X 42 Binoculars
Each of the Desert Uplands bird monitoring plots is 1 ha in size, and located at least 1 km from any other site, 500 m from any water point, and 50 m from the nearest access track. Plots are stratified according to vegetation management history: 1. Cleared (vegetation has been pulled, removing all trees and shrubs); 2. Thinned (sub-canopy vegetation has been largely removed by the use of a mechanical device called a "crocodile", which is towed behind a tractor and removes vegetation such as Currant Bush, Carissa species, which is normally prevalent in the woodlands); and 3. Unmodified woodlands. Within each 1 ha site, eight timed diurnal bird counts are conducted over a four day period. Each count is of 5 minutes duration. Two counts are completed per day at each site: one count in the morning within three hours of sunrise and the other a minimum of three hours after this period and before sunset. Each count is completed by a single observer walking through the 1 ha plot. A predefined path is not followed; however, the observer attempts to cover all of the 1 ha plot area. Birds are located and identified and, where possible counted, by both sound and sight.
File Descriptions
mdup_bird_counts_2006+_p855t1161.csv
abundance
definitionAbundance score. Number observed during a standardised count. Zeros (0) in a column means the animal was recorded near the site, within the same habitat type, but not within the monitoring hectare. Ranges from 0 to infinity, but in practice, highest number is a few hundred.
ratio number typewhole
ratio standard unitnumber
common_name
definitionCommon name of species
nominal text definitioncharacter
date
date time formatYYYY-MM-DD
definitionDate of observation
dist_id
definitionDistance from observer when first observed. Missing values = value not recorded.
nominal enumeration codes
0<10 m
10-25 m
225-50 m
3> 50 m
family
definitionSpecies family name
nominal text definitioncharacter
fauna_id
definitionSpecies identification number
nominal text definitioncharacter
mixf_no
definitionIndicates record was observed as part of a mixed species feeding flock. Number indicates ID of mixed flock. Missing value = single species only
nominal text definitionCharacter
number of records10694
quadrat_id
definitionPlot identification number
nominal text definitioncharacter
sci_name
definitionScientific name of species
nominal text definitioncharacter
seen_or_heard
definitionThe type of observation. i.e. whether the animal was seen or heard as the first detection method. Missing values = data not recorded.
nominal text definitioncharacter
strata_id
definitionThe stratum in the vegetation where the bird is located. T1 = tree layer 1 T2 = tree layer 2 T3 = tree layer 3 AE = aerial GR = ground SH = shrub Missing values = value not recorded
nominal text definitioncharacter
time
date time formathh:mm
definitionTime of observation. Missing value = data not recorded.
Contact Email
dan.metcalfe@csiro.au
Contact Address
CSIRO 41 Boggo Road Dutton Park, QLD, 4102 Australia
Contact Phone Number
+61 7 3833 5529; +61 427 766 704
Principal Investigator
Dan Metcalfe
Supervisors
Dan Metcalfe
Collaborators
Chris Pavey; Eric Vanderduys
Fields of Research
0501 - Ecological Applications; 0602 - Ecology
Keywords
GCMD:Earth Science > Biological Classification > Animals/Vertebrates > Birds; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Birds; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Grazing domestic livestock; Desert Uplands; Bird Counts
Type of Research Activity
Strategic basic research
Date Coverage
2016
2006
Geospatial Location
Northern Queensland, Australia
text
northlimit = -20.762424; southlimit = -21.235266; westlimit = 144.688969; eastLimit = 145.191784
iso19139dcmiBox
Date of data creation
2018-10-26
Year of data publication
2018
Creator(s) for Citation
Metcalfe
Daniel
Publisher for Citation
The Australian National University Data Commons
Other Related Identifiers
MorphoId:ltern9.49; PackageId:855
Access Rights Type
Open
Rights held in and over the data
Creative Commons Licence (CC BY- Attribution) is assigned to this data. Details of the licence can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Licence Type
CC-BY - Attribution (Version 4)
Licence
LTERN Deed: 21 Date of execution: 2014-08-08 Restrictions: To mitigate risks associated with threatened species, LTERN's Policy is to mediate access to spatial data. As such, data publications under these Deeds will be divided into tables containing observation records which will be published open access and spatial data which will be mediated.
Data Location
https://datacommons.anu.edu.au
Retention Period
Indefinitely
Data Management Plan
No
Status: Published
Published to:
  • Australian National University
  • Australian National Data Service
Related items