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Distribution of woodpecker activity relative to wooden utility structure usage in the southeastern United States

Woodpeckers are a group of avian species that cause damage to wooden power utility structures. In the southeastern United States, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), has accrued an estimated $5 million USD annually from woodpecker damage. Previous work has focused on effectiveness of reactive mitigation and restoration efforts with little investigation of preventative methods. To address this knowledge gap, this study will i) use species distribution model techniques to predict damage suitability across the TVA service area, ii) use Bayesian hierarchical community model techniques to estimate species richness of the woodpecker community in the service area, and iii) recommend target areas for increased preventative measures in the service area. The suitability map indicated that damage was most likely to occur in the southwestern portions of the TVA service area. Woodpecker species richness was stable across the environmental covariate values estimated with 2-3 species found throughout the service area.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-6215
Date06 August 2021
CreatorsWright, Hannah Chelsea
PublisherScholars Junction
Source SetsMississippi State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations

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