Shorebird Habitat Nesting Preferences in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Ornithological nest surveys done in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in summer of 2019 determined the success or failure of over 200 nests to better understand how environmental conditions implicate the fitness of four different shorebird species. GIS and R Studio were used to find preferences within each of the four species for different vegetation-based habitat types and different seasonal temperature variations. This information will be useful to determine trends in their respective population abundances and inform future oil and gas development.