Cross-biome scale data of summer bird assemblages across various habitat types in Alberta, western Canada

Abstract

Alberta covers diverse types of ecosystems including boreal forests, Rocky Mountain subalpine forests, as well as temperate grasslands in western Canada. The location of Alberta at the convergence of the Pacific and Central Flyways highlights its importance for bird conservation. However, recent climate change is altering vegetation, reducing wetlands, which can influence habitat niche availability of birds. While there are certain efforts of bird monitoring, public data are often limited to checklists or species presence, community-level datasets of birds collected consistently across biomes is rarely available. Here I conducted large-scale summer surveys of breeding birds across Alberta’s six major ecoregions (Northern Rockies conifer forests, Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests, Mid-Canada Boreal Plains forests, Canadian Aspen forests and parklands, Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands, and Northern Shortgrass prairie). These surveys span woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, farmlands, and urban areas, providing a comprehensive bird species inventory. This preliminary dataset establishes a baseline for understanding avian biodiversity across Alberta and supports future research and conservation strategies aimed at mitigating climate-induced habitat changes.