Why Birds Matter : Avian Ecological Function and Ecosystem Services / Çagan H. Sekercioglu, Daniel G. Wenny, Christopher J. Whelan.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

S̜ekercioğlu, C̜ağan, Editor.

Wenny, Daniel G., Editor.

Whelan, Christopher J. (Christopher John), 1958- Editor.

Series:

Chicago scholarship online.

Chicago scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Birds--Ecology.

Birds.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (398 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2016]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

For over one hundred years, ornithologists and amateur birders have jointly campaigned for the conservation of bird species, documenting not only birds' beauty and extraordinary diversity, but also their importance to ecosystems worldwide. But while these avian enthusiasts have noted that birds eat fruit, carrion, and pests; spread seed and fertilizer; and pollinate plants, among other services, they have rarely asked what birds are worth in economic terms. In Why Birds Matter, an international collection of ornithologists, botanists, ecologists, conservation biologists, and environmental economists seeks to quantify avian ecosystem services-the myriad benefits that birds provide to humans. The first book to approach ecosystem services from an ornithological perspective, Why Birds Matter asks what economic value we can ascribe to those services, if any, and how this value should inform conservation. Chapters explore the role of birds in such important ecological dynamics as scavenging, nutrient cycling, food chains, and plant-animal interactions-all seen through the lens of human well-being-to show that quantifying avian ecosystem services is crucial when formulating contemporary conservation strategies. Both elucidating challenges and providing examples of specific ecosystem valuations and guidance for calculation, the contributors propose that in order to advance avian conservation, we need to appeal not only to hearts and minds, but also to wallets.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1. Bird Ecosystem Services: Economic Ornithology for the 21st Century

Chapter 2. Why Birds Matter Economically: Values, Markets, and Policies

Chapter 3. Trophic Interaction Networks and Ecosystem Services

Chapter 4. Pollination by Birds: A Functional Evaluation

Chapter 5. Seed Dispersal by Fruit-Eating Birds

Chapter 6. Dispersal of Plants by Waterbirds

Chapter 7. Seed Dispersal by Corvids: Birds That Build Forests

Chapter 8. Ecosystem Services Provided by Avian Scavengers

Chapter 9. Nutrient Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling by Birds

Chapter 10. Avian Ecosystem Engineers: Birds That Excavate Cavities

Chapter 11. Avian Ecological Functions and Ecosystem Services in the Tropics

Chapter 12. Why Birds Matter: Bird Ecosystem Services That Promote Biodiversity and Support Human Well-Being

Contributors

Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2016.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780226382777

022638277X

OCLC:

956376527