TY - JOUR
T1 - Field validation of radar systems for monitoring bird migration
AU - Nilsson, Cecilia
AU - Dokter, Adriaan M.
AU - Schmid, Baptiste
AU - Scacco, Martina
AU - Verlinden, Liesbeth
AU - Bäckman, Johan
AU - Haase, Günther
AU - Dell'Omo, Giacomo
AU - Chapman, Jason W.
AU - Leijnse, Hidde
AU - Liechti, Felix
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Advances in information technology are increasing the use of radar as a tool to investigate and monitor bird migration movements. We set up a field campaign to compare and validate outputs from different radar systems. Here we compare the pattern of nocturnal bird migration movements recorded by four different radar systems at a site in southern Sweden. Within the range of the weather radar (WR) Ängelholm, we operated a "BirdScan" (BS) dedicated bird radar, a standard marine radar (MR), and a tracking radar (TR). The measures of nightly migration intensities, provided by three of the radars (WR, BS, MR), corresponded well with respect to the relative seasonal course of migration, while absolute migration intensity agreed reasonably only between WR and BS. Flight directions derived from WR, BS and TR corresponded very well, despite very different sample sizes. Estimated mean ground speeds differed among all four systems. The correspondence among systems was highest under clear sky conditions and at high altitudes. Synthesis and applications. While different radar systems can provide useful information on nocturnal bird migration, they have distinct strengths and weaknesses, and all require supporting data to allow for species level inference. Weather radars continuously detect avian biomass flows across a wide altitude band, making them a useful tool for monitoring and predictive applications at regional to continental scales that do not rely on resolving individuals. BirdScan and marine radar's strengths are in local and low altitude applications, such as collision risks with man-made structures and airport safety, although marine radars should not be trusted for absolute intensities of movement. In quantifying flight behaviour of individuals, tracking radars are the most informative.
AB - Advances in information technology are increasing the use of radar as a tool to investigate and monitor bird migration movements. We set up a field campaign to compare and validate outputs from different radar systems. Here we compare the pattern of nocturnal bird migration movements recorded by four different radar systems at a site in southern Sweden. Within the range of the weather radar (WR) Ängelholm, we operated a "BirdScan" (BS) dedicated bird radar, a standard marine radar (MR), and a tracking radar (TR). The measures of nightly migration intensities, provided by three of the radars (WR, BS, MR), corresponded well with respect to the relative seasonal course of migration, while absolute migration intensity agreed reasonably only between WR and BS. Flight directions derived from WR, BS and TR corresponded very well, despite very different sample sizes. Estimated mean ground speeds differed among all four systems. The correspondence among systems was highest under clear sky conditions and at high altitudes. Synthesis and applications. While different radar systems can provide useful information on nocturnal bird migration, they have distinct strengths and weaknesses, and all require supporting data to allow for species level inference. Weather radars continuously detect avian biomass flows across a wide altitude band, making them a useful tool for monitoring and predictive applications at regional to continental scales that do not rely on resolving individuals. BirdScan and marine radar's strengths are in local and low altitude applications, such as collision risks with man-made structures and airport safety, although marine radars should not be trusted for absolute intensities of movement. In quantifying flight behaviour of individuals, tracking radars are the most informative.
KW - Bird migration
KW - Environmental assessment studies
KW - Flight behaviour
KW - Ground speed
KW - Migration traffic rate
KW - Nocturnal migration
KW - Radar monitoring
KW - Weather radar
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047802856&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1365-2664.13174
DO - 10.1111/1365-2664.13174
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85047802856
VL - 55
SP - 2552
EP - 2564
JO - Journal of Applied Ecology
JF - Journal of Applied Ecology
SN - 1365-2664
IS - 6
ER -