Publications

@article{WOS:000561429000001,

title = {Correlates of bird collisions with buildings across three North American  countries},

author = {Jared A. Elmore and Stephen B. Hager and Bradley J. Cosentino and Timothy J. O'Connell and Corey S. Riding and Michelle L. Anderson and Marja H. Bakermans and Than J. Boves and David Brandes and Eric M. Butler and Michael W. Butler and Nicolette L. Cagle and Rafael Calderon-Parra and Angelo P. Capparella and Anqi Chen and Kendra Cipollini and April A. T. Conkey and Thomas A. Contreras and Rebecca I Cooper and Clay E. Corbin and Robert L. Curry and Jerald J. Dosch and Karen L. Dyson and Erin E. Fraser and Ross A. Furbush and Natasha D. G. Hagemeyer and Kristine N. Hopfensperger and Daniel Jr. Klem and Elizabeth A. Lago and Ally S. Lahey and Craig S. Machtans and Jessa M. Madosky and Terri J. Maness and Kelly J. McKay and Sean B. Menke and Natalia Ocampo-Penuela and Ruben Ortega-Alvarez and Amber L. Pitt and Aura Puga-Caballero and John E. Quinn and Amber M. Roth and Ryan T. Schmitz and Jaclyn L. Schnurr and Matthew E. Simmons and Alexis D. Smith and Claire W. Varian-Ramos and Eric L. Walters and Lindsey A. Walters and Jason T. Weir and Kathy Winnett-Murray and Iriana Zuria and Jesse Vigliotti and Scott R. Loss},

url = {https://www.ericlwalters.org/Elmore_et_al_2021.pdf, PDF link},

doi = {10.1111/cobi.13569},

issn = {0888-8892},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-04-01},

urldate = {2021-04-01},

journal = {CONSERVATION BIOLOGY},

volume = {35},

number = {2},

pages = {654-665},

abstract = {Collisions with buildings cause up to 1 billion bird fatalities annually in the United States and Canada. However, efforts to reduce collisions would benefit from studies conducted at large spatial scales across multiple study sites with standardized methods and consideration of species- and life-history-related variation and correlates of collisions. We addressed these research needs through coordinated collection of data on bird collisions with buildings at sites in the United States (35), Canada (3), and Mexico (2). We collected all carcasses and identified species. After removing records for unidentified carcasses, species lacking distribution-wide population estimates, and species with distributions overlapping fewer than 10 sites, we retained 269 carcasses of 64 species for analysis. We estimated collision vulnerability for 40 bird species with ≥2 fatalities based on their North American population abundance, distribution overlap in study sites, and sampling effort. Of 10 species we identified as most vulnerable to collisions, some have been identified previously (e.g., Black-throated Blue Warbler [Setophaga caerulescens]), whereas others emerged for the first time (e.g., White-breasted Nuthatch [Sitta carolinensis]), possibly because we used a more standardized sampling approach than past studies. Building size and glass area were positively associated with number of collisions for 5 of 8 species with enough observations to analyze independently. Vegetation around buildings influenced collisions for only 1 of those 8 species (Swainson's Thrush [Catharus ustulatus]). Life history predicted collisions; numbers of collisions were greatest for migratory, insectivorous, and woodland-inhabiting species. Our results provide new insight into the species most vulnerable to building collisions, making them potentially in greatest need of conservation attention to reduce collisions and into species- and life-history-related variation and correlates of building collisions, information that can help refine collision management.},

keywords = {peer-reviewed, window kills},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{WOS:000407186000023,

title = {Continent-wide analysis of how urbanization affects bird-window  collision mortality in North America},

author = {Stephen B. Hager and Bradley J. Cosentino and Miguel A. Aguilar-Gomez and Michelle L. Anderson and Marja Bakermans and Than J. Boves and David Brandes and Michael W. Butler and Eric M. Butler and Nicolette L. Cagle and Rafael Calderon-Parra and Angelo P. Capparella and Anqi Chen and Kendra Cipollini and April A. T. Conkey and Thomas A. Contreras and Rebecca I. Cooper and Clay E. Corbin and Robert L. Curry and Jerald J. Dosch and Martina G. Drew and Karen Dyson and Carolyn Foster and Clinton D. Francis and Erin Fraser and Ross Furbush and Natasha D. G. Hagemeyer and Kristine N. Hopfensperger and Daniel Jr. Klem and Elizabeth Lago and Ally Lahey and Kevin Lamp and Greg Lewis and Scott R. Loss and Craig S. Machtans and Jessa Madosky and Terri J. Maness and Kelly J. McKay and Sean B. Menke and Katherine E. Muma and Natalia Ocampo-Penuela and Timothy J. O'Connell and Ruben Ortega-Alvarezk and Amber L. Pitt and Aura L. Puga-Caballero and John E. Quinn and Claire W. Varian-Ramos and Corey S. Riding and Amber M. Roth and Peter G. Saenger and Ryan T. Schmitz and Jaclyn Schnurr and Matthew Simmons and Alexis D. Smith and Devin R. Sokoloski and Jesse Vigliotti and Eric L. Walters and Lindsey A. Walters and J. T. Weir and Kathy Winnett-Murray and John C. Withey and Iriana Zuria},

url = {https://www.ericlwalters.org/Hager_et_al_2017.pdf, PDF link},

doi = {10.1016/j.biocon.2017.06.014},

issn = {0006-3207},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-08-01},

urldate = {2017-08-01},

journal = {BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION},

volume = {212},

number = {A},

pages = {209-215},

abstract = {Characteristics of buildings and land cover surrounding buildings influence the number of bird-window collisions, yet little is known about whether bird-window collisions are associated with urbanization at large spatial scales. We initiated a continent-wide study in North America to assess how bird-window collision mortality is influenced by building characteristics, landscaping around buildings, and regional urbanization. In autumn 2014, researchers at 40 sites (N = 281 buildings) used standardized protocols to document collision mortality of birds, evaluate building characteristics, and measure local land cover and regional urbanization. Overall, 324 bird carcasses were observed (range = 0–34 per site) representing 71 species. Consistent with previous studies, we found that building size had a strong positive effect on bird-window collision mortality, but the strength of the effect on mortality depended on regional urbanization. The positive relationship between collision mortality and building size was greatest at large buildings in regions of low urbanization, locally extensive lawns, and low-density structures. Collision mortality was consistently low for small buildings, regardless of large-scale urbanization. The mechanisms shaping broad-scale variation in collision mortality during seasonal migration may be related to habitat selection at a hierarchy of scales and behavioral divergence between urban and rural bird populations. These results suggest that collision prevention measures should be prioritized at large buildings in regions of low urbanization throughout North America.},

keywords = {peer-reviewed, window kills},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{WOS:000378796700008,

title = {Local avian density influences risk of mortality from window strikes},

author = {Ann M. Sabo and Natasha D. G. Hagemeyer and Ally S. Lahey and Eric L. Walters},

url = {https://www.ericlwalters.org/Sabo_et_al_2016.pdf, PDF link},

doi = {10.7717/peerj.2170},

issn = {2167-8359},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-06-01},

urldate = {2016-06-01},

journal = {PEERJ},

volume = {4},

abstract = {Up to a billion birds die per year in North America as a result of striking windows. Both transparent and reflective glass panes are a cause for concern, misleading birds by either acting as invisible, impenetrable barriers to desired resources, or reflecting those resources over a large surface area. A high number of window strikes occur during migration, but little is known about the factors of susceptibility, or whether particular avian taxa are more vulnerable than others. We report on a study of window strikes and mist-netting data at the Virginia Zoological Park (Norfolk, Virginia, USA), conducted in the autumn of 2013 and 2014. We focused on three factors likely to contribute to an individual’s predisposition to collide with windows: (i) taxonomic classification, (ii) age, and (iii) migrant vs. resident status. Thrushes, dominated by the partial migrant American Robin (Turdus migratorius), were significantly less likely to strike glass than be sampled in mist nets (χ2 = 9.21, p = 0.002), while wood-warblers (Parulidae) were more likely to strike than expected (χ2 = 13.55, p < 0.001). The proportion of juveniles striking windows (45.4%) was not significantly different (χ2 = 0.05, p = 0.827) than the population of juvenile birds naturally occurring at the zoo (48.8%). Migrants, however, were significantly more susceptible to window strikes than residents (χ2 = 6.35, p = 0.012). Our results suggest that resident birds are able to learn to avoid and thus reduce their likelihood of striking windows; this intrinsic risk factor may help explain the apparent susceptibility of certain taxa to window strikes.},

keywords = {peer-reviewed, window kills},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}