Jason Vise sec. 51.
So based on your observations, what do you think the bird populations would
look like if there were no human activities on the beach. I mean you talk about
the gull/terns looking for humans so they seem to accumulate there. Would we see
them or as many of them if humans were not around? and what about the wading
birds. Why are they rare? Is it because of us or some other reason?
This is a great question! Well, where to begin. Let’s be
extreme for a moment… If we could remove humans from the planet, including all anthropogenic
influences past and present, there would be a higher number of many species (including
seabirds). Let’s get back to reality. Coastal development, over population,
tourism, and overall lack of caring has resulted in a decrease in many species
of seabirds. Some species are even endangered or extinct because of this. How do seabirds compensate for these anthropogenic
disturbances? They adapt, and the birds who don’t adapt die. This is natural
selection with a human touch. So, gulls/terns are attracted to humans because
of food, but this is a result from our own doing.
Many people bring
food to the beach and feed the birds. This is consistent enough to condition
some birds into thinking “where there are people there will be food.” Birds,
like all animals, have temperaments. These temperaments vary with
species/individual, so not all birds feel comfortable enough to take this risk.
Let’s say we remove humans from the planet including all
anthropogenic influences tomorrow. Things would get wacky for a bit, but
eventually the ecosystem would balance. This is because we have heavily influenced the
coastal ecosystem. Some species may rely on us for food. In contrast, we are
decreasing the number of some species through coastal development, over
population, tourism, etc. In conclusion, certain species would decrease in
number, while others would increase.
Wading birds have a broad habitat, so this might be one
reason they are rare to see on the beach. Although, the only wading birds I have seen were at Site C (no
beach driving and few disturbances). Maybe anthropogenic disturbances heavily
influence wading birds.
Why are seabirds important? Seabirds are a keystone
species. A keystone species is a species on which other species in an ecosystem
largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change
drastically. For the sake of this explanation let’s say all seabirds eat crabs.
If we take the seabirds out of the coastal ecosystem there would be an explosion
in the crab population. This would result in a decrease in the food crabs eat
and so on. The important thing here is moderation. It’s not disturbances vs. zero
disturbances because this will never happen on our beaches. It’s being mindful
of things and not ignoring a species until they are almost extinct.
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| John’s Pass Area, Pinellas County, Florida |
Think about what would be here if the buildings, roads, etc.
were gone!
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