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Description:
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The Fort Bliss Military Reservation wishes to open the McGregor Missile Firing Range in south -central New Mexico to tracked vehicle maneuvers . The McGregor Range is comprised primarily of Chihuahuan Desert habitat . Arroyos punctuate the Range and provide important riparian stop -over and nesting habitat for migratory and resident birds . In this study , I determine the use of arroyo -riparian and surrounding upland habitat by both Neotropical migrants and resident breeding species , on the McGregor Missile Firing Range , Fort Bliss , Texas , in 1993 and 1994 .
I sampled migrating birds using mist -nets during March and April , and surveyed breeding birds using variable circular plot point counts during May and June , 1993 and 1994 . I conducted nest searches during May and June , and sampled vegetation at bird survey points , nest sites and non -use nest sites . I evaluated the relationship between bird species diversity , species richness , and bird density with structural diversity of the vegetation as well as individual shrub species . I also compared vegetation between use and non -use nest sites to determine differences among macrohabitats . |