JOURACA_SP_2017

Age Specific Patterns in Window
Mortality in Avian Populations
Emma Rhodes
Abstract
Building collisions, especially window collisions,
pose a major anthropogenic threat to
birds. Mortality caused by building collisions
is estimated to be between 100 million
and 1 billion annually, and it is the second
largest source in the U.S. for direct humancaused
bird mortality. Studies have been
conducted focusing on the frequency of
building/window collisions in avian populations,
but so far no studies have looked at
the relationship between age and mortality
due to the collision. The primary goal of
this study is to address this question by examining
available data using bird collections.
Data were collected from bird specimens
persevered as study skins at Louisiana
Southern University. Only specimens with
cause of death as window strike were used. I
collected data on a total of 183 birds belonging
to three genera (Cardinalis, Setophaga,
and Seiurus). In order to age the birds,
external morphological data were attained
from the specimens as well as data on death
date, location, and sex from. Morphological
data were attained primarily considering the
morphology of the feathers following the
criteria indicated Identification Guide to
North American Birds: Part 1 and Part 2 by
Peter Pyle. Our results indicate that most
birds' death due to window collision occurred
in adults. Further study needs to consider
both external morphological features
Department of Biology
Biology
Mentor: Dr. Ylenia Chiari
for a better predictor of age. The results of
this study provide significant implications
on how window strike mortality effects avian
populations for conservation purposes.
The study observed how an age-specific
correlation with window strike mortality
may play a role in the turnover rate of avian
populations as well as on estimating the effective
population size and survival.
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