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San Antonio Bird Feeding Project

Backyard bird feeding is a widespread activity throughout much of Europe and North America, with approximately US$4 billion spent on birdseed and an additional US$10 billion on related hardware in the United States (US) alone, annually. While backyard bird feeding can promote learning, social engagement, and psychological well-being in humans through interactions with nature, the potential influences of backyard bird feeding on the ecology of birds in towns and cities are of increasing interest.
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Previous studies have linked backyard bird feeding to changes in bird behavior, breeding success, disease transmission, predator-prey dynamics, bird abundance, and species diversity. Yet, most of these studies have been couched in non-urban settings and/or in temperate regions in North America or Europe. Because the potential effects of food availability on birds may vary geographically in relation to site-specific factors, there is a need for additional study in urban areas in sub-tropical regions.
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The San Antonio Bird Feeding Project  aims to address these existing knowledge gaps by evaluating the effects of wild bird feeding on the ecology of birds in San Antonio, a large urban city in southern Texas using commonly provided bird foods. Our aim is to use results from this study to inform bird feeding guidelines that suggest what, when, and where we should be feeding backyard birds.
1. Abundance and diversity of backyard birds
As the first step in our multi-faceted project, MSc student, Amanda Lamberson is taking an experimental approach integrated with community science to assess 1) which birds visit backyards in San Antonio, and 2) how different commonly provided bird foods influence abundance and diversity of birds at feeders. 
MSc student, Amanda Lamberson in the field with former lab member, Jordan Thomas (pic: Eres Gomez)
To inform this study, we are collecting sales data across San Antonio to better understand what, when, and where bird foods are sold across the city.Amanda will start field work in November 2019 - Watch this space for exciting updates from the field!
Other ongoing projects in the Smith Lab
  • Linking hydrology to predator-prey interactions on Cibilo Nature Reserve (MSc student, Marina Zannino)
  • Habitat associations of Texas Horned Lizards in southern Texas (MSc student, Jamie Killian
  • Assessing the potential exposure of raptors to rodenticide in southern Texas (MSc student, Eres Gomez)
  • Evaluating the distribution of plants using herbarium specimens (MSc student, Gabriella Vara

© 2016 by Jennifer Smith. All rights reserved.

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