Long‐term bird population studies in the United States

Abstract

Long‐term population studies of birds in the United States have been less species‐oriented and more concept‐oriented than in Britain. The demographics of North American species do not differ grossly from those of species elsewhere in the world, but polygamy has been relatively more frequently studied in U.S. species than elsewhere. Subjects that have been particularly explored in long‐term studies in the United States include the determinants of cooperative breeding in birds, the effects of the spatial scale on what is learned, and correlates of regional and national declines in bird populations. Other areas of developing interest include the potential uses of monitoring data, the relative value of longitudinal and cross‐sectional studies in analysing slow processes, and the significance of episodic events in shaping population patterns.