Clustering Community Science Data to Infer Migratory Connectivity Patterns for Migratory Songbirds in the Western Hemisphere

Migratory connectivity describes the spatial linkage between individuals through time and is necessary for full annual cycle conservation. However, conventional methods used to study migratory connectivity can be expensive and expertise intensive. In Chapter 2, we infer migratory connectivity patterns for songbirds using relative abundance models created from eBird, a global community science program, and an underlying broad-scale parallel migration assumption. We compare migratory connectivity inferences for two species with previously described connectivity estimates from the literature. We find that our method is a fast and inexpensive way to infer broad patterns on connectivity for these two species, though it cannot predict leapfrog migration or extreme deviations from parallel migration. In Chapter 3, a literature review of migration patterns shows that broad-scale parallel migration is commonly observed for songbirds in the Western hemisphere, and thus the methodology presented in Chapter 2 should be widely applicable to other species.