LAB EXERCISE #2 – Defining the Landscape

Let’s say that we are in the planning stages of a study on the effects of forest loss and fragmentation on breeding birds in the Connecticut River valley. The overall purpose of this study is to determine the effects of forest loss and fragmentation caused by urban and residential development on breeding bird community structure and the abundances of several bird species associated with forested habitat. We are particularly interested in determining whether thresholds exist in avian response to habitat loss and fragmentation and to determine if the existence and nature of any threshold response to habitat loss is effected by habitat configuration (i.e., fragmentation).