Volume 1 Seabird Biodiversity And Human Activities

Seabirds are global travellers connecting oceans and seas all over the world, and facing multiple threats at local and global scales. Seabirds are long-lived top predators, reflecting changes at lower trophic levels, and are good models to assess ecological changes produced by human societies. Thus, world-wide collaborations are needed to understand seabird ecology and to develop effective conservation measures benefitting both humans and seabird populations. This book provides a modern overview on seabird biodiversity studies: it begins by covering the most up-to-date techniques to study seabirds, and then focus on pragmatic issues related with interactions between seabirds and humans, the use of seabirds as ecological indicators and conservation of seabirds. It gives an updated insight on all these topics and highlights gaps that need further development for a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between seabirds and human actions. This book covers the response of the seabird research community to a biodiversity crisis aiming to contribute towards environmental sustainability. It should provide inspiration to a wide range of professionals and students, including the much needed world-wide collaboration between research groups and practitioners. In this way seabird research and conservation provide an inspiration for the solution of global issues such as climate change.

This book covers all modern issues related with the study of seabirds and their conservation. It provides a comprehensive review of modern techniques to study seabirds, from biologging to stable isotopes. It addresses and discusses in detail modern and conflicting issues between seabirds and humans including fisheries, the use of seabirds as sentinels of marine pollution and climate change, urban seabirds, marine reserves and policy, habitat management and science outreach

Seabirds are global travellers connecting oceans and seas all over the world, and facing multiple threats at local and global scales. Seabirds are long-lived top predators, reflecting changes at lower trophic levels, and are good models to assess ecological changes produced by human societies. Thus, world-wide collaborations are needed to understand seabird ecology and to develop effective conservation measures benefitting both humans and seabird populations. This book provides a modern overview on seabird biodiversity studies: it begins by covering the most up-to-date techniques to study seabirds, and then focus on pragmatic issues related with interactions between seabirds and humans, the use of seabirds as ecological indicators and conservation of seabirds. It gives an updated insight on all these topics and highlights gaps that need further development for a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between seabirds and human actions. This book covers the response of the seabird research community to a biodiversity crisis aiming to contribute towards environmental sustainability. It should provide inspiration to a wide range of professionals and students, including the much needed world-wide collaboration between research groups and practitioners. In this way seabird research and conservation provide an inspiration for the solution of global issues such as climate change.

Humans have altered and created entirely new environments to which animals have either adapted or been extirpated. Urban environments are one of the most extreme examples of how humans have changed previous habitats. Urban environments present massive challenges for birds living in these spaces and the impacts can be seen on all aspects of their behavior including how they communicate with one another. This book discusses how seabirds and songbirds have adapted for life in urban areas, how it has impacted their migratory behavior, and also examines the ecology and conservation of these two species.

In the last few years there has been an excltmg upsurge in seabird research. There are several reasons for this. Man's increased ex ploitation of natural resources has led to a greater awareness of the potential conflicts with seabirds, and of the use of seabirds to indicate the damage we might be doing to our environment. Many seabird populations have increased dramatically in numbers and so seem more likely to conflict with man, for example through competition for food or transmission of diseases. Oil exploration and production has resulted in major studies of seabird distributions and ecology in relation to oil pollution. The possibility that seabirds may provide information on fish stock biology is now being critically investigated. Some seabird species have suffered serious declines in numbers and require conservation action to be taken to reduce the chances that they will become extinct. This requires an understanding of the factors determining their population size and dynamics.