POSSIBLE MIGRATION ROUTES THROUGH MAINE BY VERNAL MIGRANTS

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Possible Migration Routes Through Maine by Vernal Migrants

In this study we evaluate the possibility of two routes of migration into the state of Maine. The first possible route would be for migrants to continue along the coast, north of the Maine/New Hampshire border, and later swinging inland across the interior. The second path is for migrants who come up the east coast and straight into Maine, spreading across the state as they move north. In order to evaluate these possible routes we utilize a citizen-science project that measures the spring arrival dates of migrants according to the biophysical regions of Maine (Wilson 2007). Independent t-Tests and maps indicate that there is a trend of birds continuing along the coast before moving inland; six of the nine species show this pattern. Of the nine birds studied, only the eastern phoebe showed a significant trend of moving directly inland and moving across the state. Two birds show non-significant patterns of migration which could indicate insufficient data, or random migration patterns. The results are not conclusive because several of the biophysical regions have less reporting, and so the relationships among regions regarding arrival dates are skewed. Continued data collection and analysis is recommended.

Urban Sprawl: Population Migration from 1990-2003

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DRAFT PROPOSED PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ROUTES FOR WATERVILLE, ME

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A SPATIAL COMPARISON OF SHORT AND LONG TERM MIGRATION TRENDS IN CHINA

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Draft Proposed Public Transportation Routes for Waterville, ME

Currently, there is a public bus transportation route in Waterville, Maine. However, this system could be improved. Our goal was to use GIS to find optimal public transportation routes throughout the city based on given points of interest and high population density areas. Three different groups of points of interest were created in the North, West, and South sections of Waterville. Using the Network Analyst tool, which calculates optimal routes, using existing street data, based on the input of stops, barriers, and impedance, we ran an analysis of what we thought would be the routes that best served the greatest number of people. Two different sets of routes were found: one with length as the impedance (the shortest length between the selected stops was favored), and one with population density as the impedance (the roads with the highest population density were favored). Finally, the times of the resulting routes (given a constant speed limit of 25 mph) were calculated and evaluated.

A Spatial Comparison of Short and Long Term Migration Trends in China

China’s floating population, those individuals who have migrated between counties or provinces for a period of longer than 6 months, account for 79 million individuals. If intracounty migration is also included, the number jumps to 145 million individuals or over 11% of the total population. This study examines the geographical differences in short and long term migration using ArcGIS to manipulate the spatial GIS data. The study shows that both short and long term migration (in absolute numbers) occurs more frequently near cities and in coastal regions. However, by normalizing the data by population size, the study eliminates the problems of population size on the size of the migrants. Using this normalized data, the study finds that western and northern counties have a large number of migrants present relative to the size of the population. Determining where this floating population migrates helps explain regional inequalities in employment opportunities.