Investigation of wild bird response to disturbance
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The Gulf Coast possesses a wealth of natural resources that stimulate economic growth through manufacturing, commerce, and tourism. Understanding the impact of disturbance on wildlife populations is of high importance in the Gulf region where wildlife-human interactions are an interconnected network. Bird populations are managed and influenced by human activities, and human populations benefit from recreational and commercial wildlife activities. In 2011, hunting, fishing and wildlife watching in Texas coastal counties generated over $5,000,000,000 in spending, which supported over 3,700 tourism businesses and maintained over 72,000 tourism related jobs. The susceptibility of the Gulf region to natural and human-facilitated disasters (e.g., hurricanes, the Deepwater Horizon spill), and the rapid increase in human activity in this region make it imperative that we develop ways to rapidly assess the health and resilience of this ecosystem to benefit land/water managers and wildlife enthusiasts (e.g., hunters, fishers, bird-watchers). This project aims to identify physiological and other variables in wild birds that are altered by disturbance, understand how they are linked to life history, and investigate the subsequent impacts of these changes on population productivity.