Photos by Peter LaTourrette and PRBO

The California Avian Data Center (CADC) User Survey:Results and Trends

The CADC Development Team, PRBO

July 30, 2008

Working to conserve birds,

other wildlife and their ecosystems

through innovative

scientific research and outreach.

PRBO – Our Mission

Original drawing by Sophie Webb-American Redstart, Blue-winged Teal, Black-necked Stilt, Black Tern.

CADC Survey: In the Beginning

• CADC 1.0 releasedhttp://www.prbo.org/cadc

• Developed survey

• Online and In-person

CADC Survey: In the Beginning

• Learn about CADC users

• Who are they?

• What are their needs?

CADC Survey: Contact List

• 161 contacts

• Variety of CA Stakeholders

• 18% Federal Agencies

• 18% Conservation Groups

• 15% Academic Institutions

CADC Survey: Structure

• 19 questions

• Anonymous*

• Takes less than 10 minutes

CADC Survey: Email Invitation

• Segmented contacts into two lists: 1 GB, 1 non-GB

• Used Constant Contact email program

• Sent HTML email

• Re-sent email to unopeneds

CADC Survey: Email Invitation

• High open rates: 55% GB, 42% non-GB

• Note “Personalization Effect”: open rates

• Negligible bounce rate

• No spam complaints

Success!

CADC Survey: Who took it?

• 58 started the survey

• 51 completed the survey

• Almost 40%: Federal Agencies

• Conservation Districts

• State Agencies

Organization Types Represented

Federal Agency37%

Conservation District17%

State Agency15%

Conservation Group11%

Land Trust/Conservancy8%

Academic Institution4%

Other NGO4%

County/Local Agency4%

CADC Survey: Job Title

Program/Project Manager42%

Scientist34%

Executive Director/Agency Lead11%

Habitat/Land Manager9%

Stewardship Mgr or Director

2%

Citizen Scientist2%

CADC Survey: Bioregions Studied

29

20

13

1110

9 98 8

76

4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Bay

Delta

Cent

ral C

oast

Sacr

amen

to V

alley

Sier

ra

Offsho

re C

A

San

Joaq

uin

Valle

y

Colora

do D

eser

t

Klam

ath

Sout

h Co

ast

Outsid

e CA

Mojav

e

Mod

oc

# o

f R

esp

on

ses

Total Voters: 53

total votes: 134

CADC Survey: Ecosystems Studied

4139

37

32

2826

1513 13

7

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Ripa

rian

Oak W

oodl

ands

Grass

land

s

Wet

land

/Tid

al

Coas

tal S

crub

& C

happ

aral

Coni

fero

us For

ests

Mar

ine

Deser

ts

Sage

brus

h

Alpi

ne

# o

f re

sp

on

ses

Total Voters: 53

total votes: 251

CADC Survey: Geographic Units Used

36

34

25

22

19

10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Watersheds Parcels/Properties Counties Management Zones Bioregions Statewide

# o

f re

sp

on

ses

Total Voters: 53

total votes: 146

CADC Survey: Were You Previously Familiar with CADC?

• Most were not familiar with CADC (60% no, 40% yes)

Of those who visited in the past:

• 79% visited site a few times per year or less

• 14% visited > 1x/month (8 people)

• 7% visited once a month (4 people)

1 or 2X Per Year58%

A few times a year21%

More than once a month14%

Once a month7%

CADC Survey: Why you visited the site in the past

8

5 5 5

3

1 1 1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

General CABird info

Interactivemaps & Apps

Learn fieldresearchmethods

Download fieldresearchmaterials

Enter fieldresearch data

See what itwas & howorganized

querying data& downloading

raw data

Databasedesign &interfaceconcepts

# o

f re

sp

on

den

ts

Total Voters: 53

total votes: 29

CADC Survey: How do you need or use avian science information?

Most respondents believe:

• Birds are important indicators of ecosystem health (98%)

• Information about birds is critical to their work (80%)

CADC Survey: How do you need or use avian science information?

Most respondents:

• Would like better access to bird info (90%)

• Would like to use more bird information

and:

• Less than 1/2 use bird info “most days”

Which factors are extremely important in conservation decisions?

Over 1/3 said:

• Bird population trends (both current and predicted)

• Species distributions (both current and predicted)

• Biodiversity (to a lesser extent)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Bird P

op T

rend

s

Curre

nt S

pecie

s Dist

Predic

ted

Specie

s Dist

afte

r Cha

nge

Predic

ted

Bird P

op T

rend

s af

ter C

hang

e

Biodive

rsity

Site-s

pecif

ic co

nser

vatio

n pla

ns

State

wide h

abita

t con

s pla

ns

Specie

s Rich

ness

Peer-r

evie

wed m

anus

cript

s

Raw O

bser

vatio

n Dat

a

Not Important

Neither Important nor Unimportant

Important

Very Imp't

Extremely Imp't

Relative Importance of Factors to Conservation Decisions

Birds of Greatest Interest

• Threatened and endangered birds

• Species of special concern

• Landbirds

• Raptors

• Songbirds

Birds of Greatest Interest: Chart

4039

3534

31

24

16

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Thre

aten

ed/E

ndan

gere

d Bi

rds

Spec

ies of

Spe

cial C

once

rn

Land

bird

s (g

ener

al)

Rapt

ors

Song

bird

s

Shor

ebird

s

Mar

ine

Bird

s

# r

esp

on

ses

Total Voters: 47

total votes: 219

Threats of Greatest Concern

40

31

2423

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Habitat Degradation (man-made changes)

Invasive speciesencroachment

Natural environmentalchanges

Climate-induced changes

# o

f re

sp

on

ses

Total Voters: 47

total votes: 118

Impacts and Relationships

CONTAMINANTS (e.g. mercury)

HUMAN DISTURBANCE on SFBay species & seabird colonies

INTERRUPTION of Migratory Bird Paths

URBAN & FRAGMENTED HABITATS on breeding success

Impacts and Relationships

Where are the PREDATORS (e.g. Corvids) located?

Impact of EXOTIC SPECIES

Impact of GULLS and RAPTORS on SFBay species

General RELATIONSHIPS between Bird Species

Impacts and Relationships

Impacts and Relationships

Effects of EXOTIC SPECIES

Important BIRD/PLANT relationships

Species type needs what VEGETATION TYPE? (Manual of CA Vegetation)

Impacts and Relationships

THE PAST: History of Bird Declines

• What factors contributed to their decline?• To their recovery?

What are the types and distributions of habitats in California?

How important are these different habitat types to biodiversity?

“It would be beneficial to have a GIS database showing types and distributions of natural communities and habitats in CA.”

This would be driven by soils and hydrology.”

Comments from Survey Takers

What are the habitat requirements to maintain, enhance or restore avian biodiversity over different scales?

“I work in a small park. What is the minimum habitat patch size that will

support breeding of native birds?”

How do birds respond to habitat restoration?

• How do different species respond to RIPARIAN restoration in COASTAL CA?• How do bird populations, distributions and species richness change as a result of different FOREST treatments?

What protocols should I use to measure habitat enhancement?

General Questions: Tools You Find Useful in Your Work

45

27

2524

19

1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Mapping andvisualization tools

Publication searchtools

Decision supporttools

Data analysis tools Onlinebibliographies

Downloadablepublications, GISmaps, database

Total Voters: 47

total votes: 141

How would you like the data presented?

4139

35

27

22

1816 15

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Downl

oada

ble

Map

/GIS

Dat

a

Prin

tabl

e on

line

Inte

ract

ive

Map

s/GIS

Figur

es/g

raph

s fo

r doc

umen

t

Downl

oada

ble

tabu

lar d

ata

for u

se in

spr

eads

heet

Publ

ished

har

d co

py

Decisi

on sup

port

tools

Verb

al (c

onve

rsat

ion

or p

rese

ntat

ion)

# o

f re

sp

on

ses

Total Voters: 48

total votes: 213

How would you like to receive CADC updates?

43

27

5

1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Periodic email digest ofWhat's New

What's New section on CADChome page

Printed newsletter RSS feeds

# o

f re

sp

on

ses

Total Voters: 48

total votes: 76

What is the finest resolution of data you require?19

11

10

7

3

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1-10 hectares I don't know less than 1 hectare 10-100 hectares 100-1000 hectares

# r

esp

on

ses

Total Voters: 50

Comments from Survey Takers

“It’s all about scale.”

-- program manager, local agency

“We need finer resolution data.”

“It’s great to see a site like this.”

-- program manager, local agency

Better access to data

View past/present/future

Identify threats to birds (and habitat relationships) Map future impacts (especially anthropogenic)

Print-/Downloadable maps

Periodic updates via email

Survey Respondents’ Wish List

Next Steps: In-Person Interviews