Stochastic dynamics of bird communities

The aim of the present project is to develop stochastic community models and statistical tools to estimate the model parameters. Such models will be of great practical use for detecting changes in community composition e.g. due anthropogenic influences or when trying to calculate areas necessary for preserving a given proportion of the species currently present. The models and methods will be applied on a data set of temporal changes in composition of bird communities in Scandinavia. This approach will al so enable us to quantitatively examine the validity of the assumption of neutrality in such communities.