User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
For my research project, my hypothesis is that increasing levels of human presence leads to a decrease in shorebird diversity measures at the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge. This hypothesis might touch on ecological processes such as intolerance of shorebird species (local to the refuge) to urban life or human presence. Specifically, intolerance of shorebird species to human presence or urban life may arise from associated phenomena such as habitat disturbance, noise or pollution. The observation of such phenomena at the wildlife refuge and their observed correlation with observed levels of human presence or urbanization underpin this research. My initial observation of shorebird diversity decreasing across the observed increasing urbanization or human presence gradient also underpins this research.
