Year-round monitoring reveals prevalence of fatal bird-window collisions at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center

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dc.contributor.authorSchneider, Rebeccaen
dc.contributor.authorBarton, Christine M.en
dc.contributor.authorZirkle, Keith W.en
dc.contributor.authorGreene, Caitlin F.en
dc.contributor.authorNewman, Kara B.en
dc.contributor.departmentConservation Management Instituteen
dc.contributor.departmentFish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.coverage.cityBlacksburgen
dc.coverage.countryUnited Statesen
dc.coverage.countyMontgomery Countyen
dc.coverage.stateVirginiaen
dc.date.accessioned2019-07-24T17:26:15Zen
dc.date.available2019-07-24T17:26:15Zen
dc.date.issued2018-04-04en
dc.description.abstractCollisions with glass are a serious threat to avian life and are estimated to kill hundreds of millions of birds per year in the United States. We monitored 22 buildings at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC) in Blacksburg, Virginia, for collision fatalities from October 2013 through May 2015 and explored possible effects exerted by glass area and surrounding land cover on avian mortality. We documented 240 individuals representing 55 identifiable species that died due to collisions with windows at the VTCRC. The relative risk of fatal collisions at all buildings over the study period were estimated using a Bayesian hierarchical zero-inflated Poisson model adjusting for percentage of tree and lawn cover within 50 m of buildings, as well as for glass area. We found significant relationships between fatalities and surrounding lawn area (relative risk: 0.96, 95% credible interval: 0.93, 0.98) as well as glass area on buildings (RR: 1.30, 95% CI [1.05-1.65]). The model also found a moderately significant relationship between fatal collisions and the percent land cover of ornamental trees surrounding buildings (RR = 1.02, 95% CI [1.00-1.05]). Every building surveyed had at least one recorded collision death. Our findings indicate that birds collide with VTCRC windows during the summer breeding season in addition to spring and fall migration. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) was the most common window collision species and accounted for 10% of deaths. Though research has identified various correlates with fatal bird-window collisions, such studies rarely culminate in mitigation. We hope our study brings attention, and ultimately action, to address this significant threat to birds at the VTCRC and elsewhere.en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4562en
dc.identifier.issn2167-8359en
dc.identifier.othere4562en
dc.identifier.pmid29637021en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/91978en
dc.identifier.volume6en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherPeerJen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectWindowsen
dc.subjectCollisionsen
dc.subjectBird conservationen
dc.subjectBirdsen
dc.subjectAdvocacyen
dc.titleYear-round monitoring reveals prevalence of fatal bird-window collisions at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Centeren
dc.title.serialPeerJen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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