Monday, April 15, 2019

How Human Activities Can Harm Bird Communities



There is a great diversity of vertebrate animals in the world, which includes the bird taxa. This Class of vertebrates consist of about 10,000 species, making it the most diverse Class of terrestrial vertebrates. Birds have many important ecological roles which includes: important predators and prey within the food web, pollination of plants, dispersal of seeds, and some birds are important keystone species. Woodpeckers, for example, are very important keystone species because they create cavities that other animals such as squirrels and owls use as nests (Ecological roles of birds, 2011). Birds also serve as important indicator species when we evaluate the habitat quality and pollution levels of habitats, especially wetlands (Birds as Environmental Indicators). However, at least 40 percent of all of the world’s bird species are in major decline (What You Need to Know About Declining Species, 2019). This global decline of bird species can lead to serious environmental issues since these animals have important ecological roles as previously mentioned. This huge decline in the numbers of birds is related to the activities of man. Thus, many of the activities of man have been causing the global decline of many bird communities that have very important ecological roles.

In one particular, the population of Sooty Terns of Ascension Island, Britain has decreased by 80%, from several million birds to a few hundred thousand birds (Gabbatiss 2019). This decline of birds is due to low quality of food from the increase of industrial fishing and climate change, which has driven the birds’ normal prey away (Gabbatiss 2019). This in turn, has caused them to consume low nutrient food such as squid, snails and locusts (Gabbatiss 2019). As seen below on the left is a picture of a starving Sooty Tern. Besides this, many other species of marine birds are in decline due to the pollution of plastics, especially within the Pacific Ocean. Many marine animals, including marine birds will mistake the plastics for food which can cause the animals to die (Coalgate, 2019). As seen below in the picture on the right, is a dead marine bird with plastics found inside of it, which lead to its death. It is predicted that by 2050 that 99% of all marine birds will have ingested plastic (Coalgate, 2019). Both issues can obviously can cause serious declines in marine bird communities, which could dramatically impact the marine food web since these birds are mostly carnivorous, meaning that they are top-down controllers of the marine food web.





It is more than just the marine birds that face the risk of extinction, there are many terrestrial birds that face this risk as well. The Golden-Cheeked warbler is a songbird that breeds in Central Texas, that is at risk of becoming extinct sometime soon despite the establishment of the Baker Sanctuary (Bora, 2019). A picture of this species of bird can be seen below. This Sanctuary is supposed to serve as a preserve for the bird, but their populations are still declining since they spend a big portion of the year in Central America, where habitat loss is dramatic and there are no protected areas (Bora, 2019). It also, doesn’t help that the preserve is very small and how the life history characteristics of the songbird conflict with each other. Such characteristics include highly territorial, and each breeding pair require 7-12 acres of land (Bora, 2019). So, it is most likely this songbird will become extinct within our lifetime, despite our efforts. Many warbler species are insect eaters, which means that they help control insect populations from overgrowing. If warbler populations, such as the Golden-Cheeked warbler, some insect populations can overgrow and could become pests, or can out-compete other wildlife.



 There are other parts of the world that birds are at risk due to habitat loss. Malaysia is home to about 700 bird species and many other vertebrates, however, many of these species are at risk of becoming extinct due to overexploitation of the natural resources and an increase in agricultural activity (Leoi, 2019). The deforestation rate within Malaysia has increased to 14.4% by 2012 (Leoi, 2019). This in turn has obviously further decreased the amount of available habitat for the birds. There are also other areas that could face potential habitat destruction that would cause serious decline of many bird communities, which include waterfowl. Teshekpuk Lake, located in Alaska, is 320 square miles and is surrounded by many ponds and wetlands, and provides a safe haven for over 600,000 breeding shorebirds that migrate from five continents including Greater White-fronted Geese, Brant, Cackling Geese, and Snow (McGlashen, 2018). In 2013 the U.S. Department of the Interior came up with a management plan for the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) so that way there is a balance between protecting the wildlife and extracting oil (McGlashen, 2018). However, the Trump administration is likely preparing a new management plan to extract more oil from this area which threatens the integrity of the ecosystem and its wildlife (McGlashen, 2018). This in turn would decrease the health of the local environment.

Because many bird species face the threat of extinction it is important that we collaborate to conserve such species and especially conserve/protect their habitats from the activities of man. One might suggest to accomplish this that every nation should be on board with the “Deal for Nature” conversation organization, with the conference taking place in Beijing in 2020. The goal of this organization is to preserve the world’s biodiversity and protect us from ourselves as well (Dinerstein, 2017). The Global Deal with Nature proposes that half of the world’s environment/resources be set aside and protected for Earth’s wildlife while the other half we set aside for our own development and livelihoods (Dinerstein, 2017). This plan could protect the habitats of many ecologically and economically important bird species as well as other important organisms.

 
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 24, 2019 at 6:43 PM

    It is totally shocking to hear the prediction that by 2050, 99% of all marine birds will have ingested plastic. It is honestly so sad that our failure to clean up after ourselves is harming so many organisms.

    It also really stuck out to me how you said we have to protect us from ourselves. That statement sounds so absurd but yet it is so true! For my blog post I chose to write about air pollution and I found the same thing; our own actions are causing so much harm to the environment that people are actually dying prematurely from the effects of the toxic smog. This is just one of many other examples of how we need to protect ourselves from our own actions. It is important to note though, that if we are the ones causing these detrimental effects, we are also the ones that can change it. So why are we so slow to change? I guess people just get into habits that they cannot break. One bad habit that I regularly notice is people placing an item that is recyclable in the garbage, when the garbage can is sitting right next to the recycling bin! Clearly, more people need to care more about the environment. Reading about this decline in bird species in your blog post was really eye-opening, but what more will it take to open the eyes of more people?

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 25, 2019 at 9:42 AM

      To answer your last question, we could educate the public the importance the natural world has and how it relates to us. If more of the public knows the importance of the environment, more people are likely to contribute to conservation efforts or reduce actions that influence such air toxins. Get more people to develop an appreciation for being outside instead of staying inside all day playing on their phones.

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  2. Nathan RoblinApril 25, 2019 at 4:57 PM

    This is quite shocking! As a concerned citizen, what would you say is the best way to get involved in bird conservation? You said that by 2050, 99% of marine birds will have ingested plastic; is this based upon the current trends, or is there hope that this figure may go down if we can increase or clean ups of the oceans?

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  3. Patty SaundersMay 7, 2019 at 10:09 AM

    Increased protection of natural land areas can help many species, but you also explain that marine-oriented species are impacted by global overfishing and plastic pollution. What are the best options for protection of those species? Are there regions with less plastic pollution and therefore less uptake by seabirds?

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