Why Birds Matter - by Çagan H Sekercioglu (Paperback)

About the Book

Birders and ornithologists alike have studied birds and argued for their conservation for well over a hundred years, documenting not only their beauty and diversity but also their importance to various ecosystems. These avian enthusiasts have noticed that birds eat fruit and carrion, spread seed and fertilizer, pollinate plants, and help control pests by devouring them for dinner. But rarely have they asked, as this volume does, what are birds worth? That is, how can we quantify avian ecosystem services all those benefits which birds, through their behavior and characteristics, provide to humans? What economic value can we attach to these services, if any, and how should this value inform avian conservation? The first book to focus on ecosystem services from an ornithological perspective, "Why Birds Matter" includes an international group of scholars and researchers who work in the fields of environmental economics, ornithology, botany, ecology, and conservation biology. In covering such important ecological topics as scavenging, nutrient cycling, food chain dynamics, and plant-animal interactions, all within the context of human material well-being, the book ultimately argues that now, more than ever, calculating the value of avian ecosystem services is crucial when formulating and proposing bird conservation strategies. If we want to advance avian conservation, the contributors propose, we need to appeal not only to the public s hearts and minds, but also to their wallets. To this end, the contributors provide examples of specific ecosystem valuations; they also elucidate the challenges of, and provide guidance for, calculating bird ecosystem services in general."

Book Synopsis

For over one hundred years, ornithologists and amateur birders have jointly campaigned for the conservation of bird species, documenting not only birds' beauty and extraordinary diversity, but also their importance to ecosystems worldwide. But while these avian enthusiasts have noted that birds eat fruit, carrion, and pests; spread seed and fertilizer; and pollinate plants, among other services, they have rarely asked what birds are worth in economic terms. In Why Birds Matter, an international collection of ornithologists, botanists, ecologists, conservation biologists, and environmental economists seeks to quantify avian ecosystem services-the myriad benefits that birds provide to humans.

The first book to approach ecosystem services from an ornithological perspective, Why Birds Matter asks what economic value we can ascribe to those services, if any, and how this value should inform conservation. Chapters explore the role of birds in such important ecological dynamics as scavenging, nutrient cycling, food chains, and plant-animal interactions-all seen through the lens of human well-being-to show that quantifying avian ecosystem services is crucial when formulating contemporary conservation strategies. Both elucidating challenges and providing examples of specific ecosystem valuations and guidance for calculation, the contributors propose that in order to advance avian conservation, we need to appeal not only to hearts and minds, but also to wallets.

Review Quotes

"Highly recommended for different types of ornithological audiences, from the amateur involved in conservation objectives to the researcher concentrated on the study of functional diversity, passing through to the scientific communicator."-- "Ardeola"

"Why Birds Matter makes a valuable contribution to the literature and brings together disparate empirical studies examining the ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by birds. Moreover, by highlighting those areas where further research is likely to prove fruitful, the book is likely to prompt other researchers to initiate studies examining other ecosystem services. Some excellent editing has ensured that the chapters are all relatively consistent in terms of style and language used. . . . I would thoroughly recommend it for college, university, and museum libraries and also in the personal libraries of those interested in ecosystem services. I congratulate the editors and contributors for producing such an informative volume."--Mark C. Mainwaring, Lancaster University "Condor"

"An impressive collection of papers that explains how birds fit into our world. It examines birds' roles in pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, how birds engineer their habitats, and their economic value. As the subtitle suggests, this book is geared to academic and professional readers, but any serious student of birds will appreciate Why Birds Matter."--Scott Shalaway "Farm and Dairy"

"For those with an interest in avian/human ecology."--Ian Paulsen "Birdbooker Report"

"The endeavor is fascinating because birds of almost all kinds have far more impacts on human life than most humans realize."--Steve Donoghue "Open Letters Monthly"

"Such an interesting volume. Authoritative and well-researched, Why Birds Matter will appeal to both ornithologists and conservation biologists--I can see myself referring to it frequently in the future. Authors of each chapter are well chosen world leaders on their topics, and the material is well written and cohesive. It will be an exceedingly useful book to those of us who work on bird conservation and want a one-stop summary of what we know about the contributions of birds to ecosystem services."--Chris S. Elphick, University of Connecticut

About the Author

Çağan H. Şekercioğlu is professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah, associate of ornithology at the Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology, and distinguished visiting fellow at Koç University of Istanbul. He is coauthor, most recently, of Conservation of Tropical Birds and Winged Sentinels: Birds and Climate Change. Daniel G. Wenny is landbird senior biologist at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory and visiting research scholar at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. Christopher J. Whelan is visiting research associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a research affiliate at the Field Museum, Chicago. He is coeditor of Restoration of Endangered Species: Conceptual Issues, Planning and Implementation.