Abstract
In 2004, the Atlantic Ecology Division of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development began an annual winter waterfowl survey of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay. Herein, we explore the survey data gathered from 2004 to 2011 in order to establish a benchmark understanding of the Narragansett Bay’s waterfowl communities and to establish a statistical framework for future environmental monitoring. Abundance and diversity of Narragansett Bay’s wintering waterfowl were relatively stable during the initial years of this survey, except in 2010 when there was a large spike in abundance and a reciprocal fall in diversity. There was no significant change in ranked abundance of most waterfowl species, with only Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) and Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucllatus) showing a slight yet significant upward trend during the course of our survey period. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling was used to examine the community structure of wintering waterfowl in Narragansett Bay. The results of the Nonmetric multidimensional scaling indicate that there is a spatial structure to the waterfowl communities of Narragansett Bay and this structure has remained relatively stable since the survey began. Our Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis helps to solidify what is known anecdotally about Narragansett Bay’s waterfowl ecology, and provides a formalized benchmark for long-term monitoring of Narragansett Bay’s waterfowl communities. Birds, including waterfowl, are preferred bioindicators and we propose using our multivariate approach to monitor the future health of Narragansett Bay.
Highlights
As modern environmental pressures continue to adversely impact natural habitats, global waterfowl populations are declining at accelerated rates
A total of 23 waterfowl taxa were recorded and included in the analysis presented within this study (Table 2)
Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) as a monitoring tool in conjunction with the baseline conditions identified in this study could be useful in identifying any future changes in waterfowl community structure in this region and change in the Bay’s overall health
Summary
As modern environmental pressures continue to adversely impact natural habitats, global waterfowl populations are declining at accelerated rates. The main purpose of the introduction was to argue the need for baseline monitoring data for waterfowl communities. The authors do achieve this objective in first and fourth paragraphs, leading to the purpose of study in the last sentence of the fifth paragraph of the introduction. While the authors do a great job in explaining why waterfowl are logical candidates for monitoring environmental health, I found the excessive references of the citations in the fourth paragraph a bit distracting. Doing so along with moving the information from the second and third paragraphs to the methods would help streamline the introduction
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