Cat with American Coot. Photo by Debi Shearwater
From cats to communications towers, the current issue of Avian Conservation and Ecology lays out the 9 leading sources of bird mortality associated with human activities. The editors caution readers against assuming that such mortality is compensatory (a bird would have died anyway from some other cause). They also argue for the need to determine true economic value associated with the “ecosystem services” (e.g., insect control, pollination, seed dispersal, etc.) provided by birds.
A CBC article provides a summary of the research.
