The Effects Of Management Strategies On Warbler Biodiversity: Glacier National Park vs. National Forests

Abstract

There has been a recent interest in the study and preservation of biodiversity, both in the United States and in tropical regions of the world. This study attempts to identify and classify similar habitats in Glacier National Park and the adjoining National Forests and correlate the habitat data to the presence of “biodiversity indicators,” in the case, warblers. Geographically, Glacier National Park and the National Forests share similarities in elevation, exposure, latitude, and weather patterns. However, they differ markedly in management strategies. In general, the number of individual warblers per species in Glacier vs. National Forests indicated a clear trend for more warblers of each species to be found in Glacier. There were a mean of 27.667 warblers in Glacier per sample time while there was a mean of 15.033 warblers in the National Forests, a statistically significant finding with a p value < 0.05. In terms of habitat assessment, there is relative continuity between Glacier and the National Forests with no statistically significant deviations. Many variables, including landscape ecology patchiness and sampling techniques, may have contributed to the data. Further study is indicated.