Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Western Snowy Plover Nesting at Ormond Beach, Ca.

These are Western Snowy Plover (WSP) nests from Ventura County California from 2003-2013.  Each dot represents a nest that was initiated, however many nests failed to hatch.     The view is centered on Ormond Beach at the south end of the county.  It begins with the viewer's back to the ocean and rotates around the nesting area ~ 225 degrees so that you are on the opposite side looking toward the ocean, then swings over the top looking downward and then back to the starting place.  During the animation the nests from Hollywood Beach and the Ca State Parks beaches can be seen in the far background.

This animation was created in ArcScene. The data was plotted using year as the Z-value, so each line of dots represents a different year (legend above).

The purpose of this 3D animation is to examine how WSP utilized the habitat throughout the 11 year time period.   By separating annual data, yet displaying it together, it is possible to visualize both spatial dispersal patterns and temporal patterns.  A static picture of a 3D plot is still only a 2D image, so to appreciate the 3 dimensionality of this concept it must be viewed as an animation.

This animation was created as part of the final project for the fall 2013, Geography 653 Spatial Analysis course at the University of Maryland, Dept of Geography, GIS MPS program.