Birds as predators and as prey
This conference and these proceedings are supported by
Predation can be a crucially important factor limiting populations and is a widely studied process in birds. However estimating the impacts of predation is an ongoing challenge, not least because the underlying mechanisms are often confounded or even driven by anthropogenic factors. The aim of this conference was to provide a general forum for current research into the underlying causes and population consequences of predation, placing special emphasis on these processes in the modern landscape.
The conference looked at a wide range of themes: birds predating birds, piscivorous birds and fish populations, introduced mammals as predators, interactions between avian predators themselves (intraguild predation), the behavioural ecology of predation and habitat effects. Emphasis will be placed on establishing the impacts on populations and on explaining mechanisms underlying predation by accounting for ecological and behavioural complexity.
The BOU is grateful to John Quinn, Jim Reynolds and Richard Bradbury for organising the confernece programme and assisting with the editing of the conference proceedings.