Topic - Biodiversity and ecosystem loss

What are the causes and consequences of bird population decline?

Introduction:
Nowadays, our planet experiences a broad variety of global problems:
economic, social, cultural. But one of the most important concerns is biodiversity and
ecosystem loss. Issues within this topic affect both people and the wildlife. The Earth
is a home to millions of bird species, however due to human activity their population
declines, which leads to biodiversity loss. This is a global issue that already has had
profound consequences. I chose this topic for the two following reasons. Firstly, it is
my personal interest in researching bird life and problems related to it. The reason is,
that previously I have had a parrot which died early due to an untreatable disease.
Secondly, I do not think that people around the world pay enough attention to the
bird population decline and what issues it can cause. Therefore, I decided to conduct
this research to bring awareness to the others as well as educate myself.

The causes:
One of the causes for bird population decline and biodiversity loss is human
interference to wildlife. The US Fishing and Wildlife Service states that it is the
urbanization that destroys birds’ natural habitats1. Urban development includes
expansion of cities, construction of highways and other ways people transform rural
areas into urban2. For example, when cities massively started building skyscrapers
and tall office blocks, it became a big problem. Turns out, they appear to be deadlier
than most would think. According to an article from “The Guardian” which is an
independent and reliable newspaper, every year from 100 million to 1 billion birds
die in the US only because they crash into skyscrapers, especially the ones that are
fully covered with glass3. The surface of those buildings is highly reflective, so
sometimes birds do not notice them, which causes the feathered ones to
disorientate and crash. Scientists mentioned in the same article, consider Chicago to
be the most dangerous city for the birds as they must fly through the city every fall
and spring. Moreover, the cities produce a lot of noise which negatively affects
psychological health of the animals which leads to bird population decline 4. Noise
pollution can affect nesting cycle of birds and make them less sensitive.

1
US F&W Service, 2017
2
Birdlife, 2022
3
The Guardian, 2019
4
Sabuko, 2020
 Another cause for biodiversity loss and bird population decline is invasive
species. According to an NGO The National Wildlife Federation, “Approximately 42
percent of threatened or endangered species are at risk due to invasive species”5.
Invasive species are animals or plants that are non-native to an environment, where
they are being introduced. It can happen because of climate change or humans
forcefully transport a species into another area. Birdlife organization states, that one
of the dangers of invasive species is that they can spread rapidly due to the lack of
predators. Birdlife is an NGO making it a trustworthy source which provides reliable
information. They break the balance in nature by dominating another species 6.
Consequently, making a certain type of bird become endangered or even extinct. It is
extremely hard to stop as the dominating species reproduce very quickly.
Most probably, the most global and the biggest cause of biodiversity loss is
development of aviation. As the aviation industry expands, the amount of waste
emitted constantly increases. This includes not only emissions while flying, but also
when the aircraft is being manufactured. According to the Environmental and Energy
Study Institute, in 2018 across the entire world aviation produced 2.4% of all the CO 2
emissions7. And this number is predicted to increase in the future, more exactly triple
by 2050. Therefore, it is a rising problem that affects birds’ health. The study
conducted in Spain mentions that birds suffer from air pollution just like humans do 8.
They get respiratory problems such as lung failure. Tiny particles in polluted air
infiltrate into birds’ lungs and stay there causing severe diseases. Furthermore,
pollution causes global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer, which is
another cause. Regarding aviation, there is another threat of birds hitting airplanes.
Usually, it ends the victim's life and can cause some serious issues for the airplane.
Because of that risk, airports use pyrotechnics and ultrasound to scare away the
birds9. According to the Federal Aviation Administration over 16000 incidents occur
every year only in the US10 11. However, this source is not very reliable because the
reports are voluntary which means there might be an underestimation of the
statistics.

The consequences:
One of the consequences of bird population decline is pollination and seed
dispersal decline. Even though bees are considered the biggest pollinators, birds still
take part in this activity. For example, hummingbirds, which are one of the most

5
NWF
6
Birdlife
7
EESI, 2022
8
Audubon, 2015
9
Traveler, 2022
10
SimpleFlying, 2021
11
FAA
common bird pollinator species12. So, a decline in bird population would cause a
decrease in pollination of several species of plants. Consequently, reducing
agricultural production (e.g., bananas, nutmeg, papaya) and making certain types of
plants endangered13. Birds.com states that “If it were not for the assistance of our
feathered friends, many plant species would be in danger of extinction". This
increases the rate of biodiversity loss as certain species could be threatened as they
would not be able to disperse seeds properly. At the same time, worsening food
production. Output of the agricultural production may decrease drastically if birds
stop playing a role as pollinators. The harm that people have made would be
reversed on us by nature.
Another consequence of the decline in bird population is human health risk.
First of all, listening to birds singing in the forest, interacting with them or just any
bird-related activity positively affects our moral state. For example, having a parrot
and talking or petting it. According to a study mentioned in a Green Network article
presence of birds often corresponds to happiness, relief, and stressfulness 14.
Moreover, most birds are predators of insects, so they control huge insect
population. Wikipedia page about insects, states that the total insect population is
around 10 quintillion, however Wikipedia is not a very trustworthy source so I would
not fully believe this number15. If bird population declines, it would cause the insect
population to grow uncontrollably which potentially can harm crops. The
consequence of that can be a massive fall in agricultural production which would
result in global food shortages. On the other hand, birds exterminate many insects
that carry dangerous diseases. Birds can also spread infection to insects, killing them
like that16.
Finally, the consequence perhaps with the most global effects - disruption of
the food chain. Food chain is a model in which all of the animals and insects play a
role in each other’s diets. There are multiple chains in nature, however they all are
interconnected and make up a food web17. So, if one component disappears (goes
extinct) it would cause a chain reaction affecting many other species. Birds have
many roles in the food chain18. They are predators, victims, pollinators, and other
roles. Therefore, extinction of birds would allow the number of insects to grow
rapidly while bigger animals would suffer from hunger. That breaks the food chain
and the balance in nature which can lead to huge global problems. A good example

12
Birds, 2020
13
Audubon, 2016
14
GreenNetwork, 2022
15
Wikipedia
16
NationaZool, 2017
17
NationalGeographic
18
PubMed
would be “Four pests” in China which was a law passed in 1959 that included a
demand to kill all of the sparrows in China19.Chairman Mao Zedong was sure that
each sparrow stole 4 pounds of rice annually. But in reality, sparrows also consumed
locusts with the grain which protected the rice. Consequently, there was no one who
could stop insects from spreading and it caused a huge decline in food production
which led to The Great Famine in 1960.

Courses of action:
One of the ways to slow down the decline in bird population is to protect or
restore their natural habitats. For example, establish national parks and reserves.
This protects nature in its true self and leaves almost completely untouched which
lets the birds live undisturbed from human activities and interference. For example,
wildlife in Cyprus national parks: Akamas and Akrotiri is being preserved with the
help of an NGO called Birdlife. This plays a crucial role in saving from extinction
endemic birds such as Cyprus Wheater, Cyprus Wabler, and Cyprus Scops Owl 20.
Another course of action is to control the levels of pollution. Birds are affected
by CO2 gas, factory waste and even cigarette smoke. As I have mentioned earlier,
birds can and do get lung diseases because of air pollution. It is a mix of factory and
transportation waste. Therefore, replacing fuel-run cars and buses with electric ones
will decrease CO2 emissions. It has been greatly popularized by Tesla and afterwards
other car companies like BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar and many more started designing
and putting into production their own electric and hybrid models. According to BBC,
by 2040 100% of the car sales will be electric21. This is only a prediction, so this
statistic is not that reliable, however, considering the speed of development of the
electric car industry it seems achievable. Moreover, Cyprus recently has introduced
the first electric buses, which is a major step towards reducing gas emissions into the
atmosphere22.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, bird population decline, and biodiversity loss is a serious
problem that only keeps expanding. I think that people do not pay enough attention
to it and underestimate how severe and global the consequences can be. It can
possibly lead to food shortages, like for example in China in 1960, if there will not be
enough birds to deal with insects that consume crops (locusts for example). I have

19
HistoryDefined, 2023
20
HistoryDefined, 2023
21
BBC, 2021
22
CyprusPublicTransport, 2023
discovered that skyscrapers end the lives of a lot of birds as I did not expect the
problem of urbanization to be that severe. Also, I have learnt that collisions of
airplanes with birds are much more common than I had imagined before. It changed
my perspective on harmlessness to nature because it turns out that gas emissions
contribute to the decline of bird population quite a lot.
Word count: 1695 words

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