Stakeholder perceptions of bird-window collisions.

Georgia J. Riggs,Omkar Joshi,Christopher A. Lepczyk,Scott R. Loss

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263447

Georgia J. Riggs, Omkar Joshi + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263447

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Feb 10, 2022
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Oklahoma State University

Abstract

Bird-window collisions are a major source of human-caused avian mortality for which many mitigation and prevention options are available. However, because very little research has characterized human perspectives related to this issue, there is limited understanding about the most effective ways to engage the public in collision reduction efforts. To address this research need, we: (1) evaluated how two stakeholder groups, homeowners and conservation practitioners, prioritize potential benefits and obstacles related to bird-window collision management, (2) compared priorities between these groups, and (3) evaluated potential conflicts and collective strength of opinions within groups. We addressed these objectives by merging the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) survey approaches. Specifically, survey respondents made pairwise comparisons between strengths and weaknesses (respectively, direct outcomes and barriers related to management, such as fewer collisions and increased costs) and opportunities and threats (indirect outcomes and barriers, such as increased bird populations and fewer resources for other building-related expenses). Both homeowners and conservation practitioners ranked strengths and opportunities higher than weaknesses and threats, indicating they have an overall positive perception toward reducing bird-window collisions. However, key obstacles that were identified included costs of management and a lack of policy and guidelines to require or guide management. These results suggest that substantial advances can be made to reduce bird-window collisions because both homeowners and conservation practitioners had positive views, suggesting their receptivity toward collision management measures. However, because of more neutral views and conflicting responses within the homeowner group, results also highlight the importance of targeting homeowners with education materials that provide information about bird-window collisions and solutions that reduce them. Because bird-window collisions are a human-caused phenomenon, such information about human perspectives and priorities will be crucial to addressing this threat and thus benefitting bird populations.

Highlights

As earth’s human population continues to grow [1], human actions and ways of life increasingly affect wildlife and their habitats, and the many sources of unintended, direct wildlife mortality are a major component of these human impacts [2,3,4]
Our results suggest that both homeowners and conservation practitioners have an overall positive perception toward potential benefits related to bird-window collision mitigation and prevention measures
Our study shows that the stakeholder groups we evaluated are receptive to bird-window collision management, but that does not necessarily translate into a willingness to pay for these measures, especially if doing so at private residences is the responsibility of homeowners

Summary

Introduction

As earth’s human population continues to grow [1], human actions and ways of life increasingly affect wildlife and their habitats, and the many sources of unintended, direct wildlife mortality are a major component of these human impacts [2,3,4]. Among direct sources of avian mortality, collisions of birds with buildings and their windows are a top global threat. State, and federal policy guidelines and regulations to implement such bird-friendly approaches have been adopted or are under consideration. These include, for example, Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings in San Francisco, California, U.S.A [24], Buildings, Benchmarks, and Beyond in Minnesota, U.S.A. [25], Best Practices for Bird-friendly Glass and Best Practices for Effective Lighting in Toronto, Canada [26], and the Bird Safe Buildings Act of 2021 currently under consideration by the U.S federal government [27] These include, for example, Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings in San Francisco, California, U.S.A [24], Buildings, Benchmarks, and Beyond in Minnesota, U.S.A. [25], Best Practices for Bird-friendly Glass and Best Practices for Effective Lighting in Toronto, Canada [26], and the Bird Safe Buildings Act of 2021 currently under consideration by the U.S federal government [27]

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