Falling through the policy cracks: implementing a roadmap to conserve aerial insectivores in North America

• Published in: Avian conservation and ecology 2020-06, Vol.15 (1), p.23, Article art23
• Main Authors: Nebel, Silke, Casey, James, Cyr, Marc-André, Kardynal, Kevin J., Krebs, Elizabeth A., Purves, Elisabeth F., Bélisle, Marc, Brigham, R. Mark, Knight, Elly C., Morrissey, Christy, Clark, Robert G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: aerial insectivores; Agricultural land; agriculture; Annual cycles; Anthropogenic factors; Breeding; changement climatique; changement d'affectation des terres; climate change; COVID-19; Cracks; Environmental degradation; failles entre les politiques; Foraging; Foraging habitats; foresterie; forestry; Grasslands; Habitat loss; Human influences; insectes; Insectivores; insectivores aériens; insects; Land use; land use change; Pandemics; pesticides; policy gaps mots clés: agriculture; Urban agriculture; Urban areas
• ISSN: 1712-6568; 1712-6568
• DOI: 10.5751/ACE-01618-150123

Nebel et al discusses the implementation of a roadmap to conserve aerial insectivores in North America. Aerial insectivores are subject to myriad anthropogenic stressors across their annual cycles but there is little evidence that a single factor explains the fluctuations observed among populations and species. The expansion of intensive agricultural and urban land use especially over the last 30 years has introduced a range of threats impacting both habitat quantity and quality. Direct impacts include habitat loss and degradation, particularly of wetlands, grasslands, and forests, and indirect impacts of stressors that reduce the quality of breeding, foraging, and roosting sites. The response by Canadians to the COVID-19 pandemic amply demonstrates that rapid changes are possible when we work together to surmount challenges.