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THE INTEGRATION OF GPS DATA INTO 
A GIS LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY MODEL DATABASE FOR ASSESSING 
NEOTROPICAL BIRD STOPOVER HABITAT IN BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK 
Lawrence R. Handley 
Arturo Calix 
William Jones 
and 
Wylie Barrow 
National Biological Service 
Southern Science Center 
700 Cajundome Boulevard 
Lafayette, Louisiana 70506 
(318) 266-8556 
Kevin Gutzwiller 
Department of Biology 
Baylor University 
ABSTRACT 
Big Bend National Park is on the route of numerous neotropical birds migrating from summer 
breeding grounds in North America to wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. The 
National Biological Service, the National Park Service, and Baylor University are assessing Big Bend 
National Park's potential as stopover habitat through a three year study of neotropical bird 
occurrences within the park during the spring migratory season. Seventy-two locations within the 
park have been surveyed using Global Positioning System (GPS). The corrected GPS locations have 
been loaded into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to be integrated with spatial files of the 
park's vegetation, roads, boundaries, trails, springs, and elevations. Integration of these files with 1 
and 2 kilometer circles buffered around each survey site and the measurement of 97 parameters of 
habitat types, integrity, porosity, size, orientation, and shape will provide the data to model the 
landscape ecology of the park. Incorporation of the neotropical bird survey data during the spring 
migratory season with the landscape ecology data will provide a measure of habitat usage. The results 
of the study will help the National Park Service in developing plans to manage certain habitats to 
facilitate neotropical bird stopover, and to provide permanent sites for the long-term monitoring of 
vegetation, breeding birds, song birds, and other wildlife.