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Field validation of radar systems for monitoring bird migration

Nilsson, Cecilia LU orcid ; Dokter, Adriaan M. ; Schmid, Baptiste ; Scacco, Martina ; Verlinden, Liesbeth ; Bäckman, Johan LU orcid ; Haase, Günther ; Dell'Omo, Giacomo ; Chapman, Jason W. and Leijnse, Hidde , et al. (2018) In Journal of Applied Ecology 55(6). p.2552-2564
Abstract

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... (More)

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.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bird migration, Environmental assessment studies, Flight behaviour, Ground speed, Migration traffic rate, Nocturnal migration, Radar monitoring, Weather radar
in
Journal of Applied Ecology
volume
55
issue
6
pages
2552 - 2564
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85047802856
ISSN
0021-8901
DOI
10.1111/1365-2664.13174
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
865c76db-d9b2-478b-ad01-eaa4a549a4c8
date added to LUP
2018-06-15 15:35:44
date last changed
2022-04-02 00:48:41
@article{865c76db-d9b2-478b-ad01-eaa4a549a4c8,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Cecilia and Dokter, Adriaan M. and Schmid, Baptiste and Scacco, Martina and Verlinden, Liesbeth and Bäckman, Johan and Haase, Günther and Dell'Omo, Giacomo and Chapman, Jason W. and Leijnse, Hidde and Liechti, Felix}},
  issn         = {{0021-8901}},
  keywords     = {{Bird migration; Environmental assessment studies; Flight behaviour; Ground speed; Migration traffic rate; Nocturnal migration; Radar monitoring; Weather radar}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{2552--2564}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Journal of Applied Ecology}},
  title        = {{Field validation of radar systems for monitoring bird migration}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13174}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/1365-2664.13174}},
  volume       = {{55}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}