Bothersome birds gate-crash pest-proof safe sanctuaries

Publicly released:
New Zealand
Photo by Finn IJspeert on Unsplash
Photo by Finn IJspeert on Unsplash

Every evening at sunset, large numbers of communal roosting birds such as starlings and sparrows are flying into wildlife sanctuaries to spend the night in safe, predator-free spaces. As these populations increase, so does the amount of faeces which can be damaging to ecosystems such as wetlands. Knowing how many birds there are will help to manage this issue, and now Kiwi researchers have come up with a new method for estimating large numbers of congregating birds - by using gridded plates to gather guano, and sound recorders to measure the "acoustic cacophony".

Media release

From:

Journal/
conference:
New Zealand Journal of Ecology
Research:Paper
Organisation/s: Wintec, National Wetland Trust, Predator Free Hauraki Coromandel Community Trust
Funder: n/a
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