Air Quality Impacts on Birds

Goal

Despite the well-established links between air pollution and human health, less attention has been paid to how chemical characteristics of the air affect non-human animal species, especially in wild populations. Holloway Group members led the first comprehensive assessment of how birds respond to air pollution.

Objectives

We conducted a literature review of peer-reviewed studies that addressed avian responses to reactive gases and aerosols. Using different combinations of key terms, our group preformed over 200 searches on the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science platform. We also considered references cited in the collected articles.

  1. respiratory distress and illness
  2. increased detoxification effort, elevated stress levels, and immunosuppression
  3. behavioral changes
  4. habitat degradation
  5. impaired reproductive success and demographic consequences

Outcomes

Our group found consistent evidence for adverse health impacts on birds attributable to exposure to gas-phase and particulate air pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), smoke, and heavy metals, as well as mixtures of urban and industrial emissions. Avian responses to air pollution include respiratory distress and illness, increased detoxification effort, elevated stress levels, immunosuppression, behavioral changes, and impaired reproductive success. Exposure to air pollution may furthermore reduce population density, species diversity, and species richness in bird communities.

Funding Partners:

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Timeline:

2016 – 2017

Publications

Air pollution impacts on avian species via inhalation exposure and associated outcomes

Core Team Members:

Tracey Holloway, Olivia Sanderfoot

A map of the locations where birds were exposed to air pollution in situ in the studies listed in table 1. Map created using Google Maps.

A map of the locations where birds were exposed to air pollution in situ in the studies listed in table 1. Map created using Google Maps.

Map showing total anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in 2008. NOx is emitted by all combustion processes, and thus serves as an indicator of emissions from all fuel types. This map does not show the ambient concentrations of pollutants…

Map showing total anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in 2008. NOx is emitted by all combustion processes, and thus serves as an indicator of emissions from all fuel types. This map does not show the ambient concentrations of pollutants birds are exposed to, but rather highlights where anthropogenic air pollution would be expected to pose the greatest risk to bird communities. Map created using ECCAD (Emissions of Atmospheric Compounds & Compilation of Ancillary Data), maintained by the GEIA (Global Emissions Initiative), based on data included in the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR).

Figures and text from O. V. Sanderfoot and T. Holloway, “Air pollution impacts on avian species via inhalation exposure and associated outcomes,” Environ. Res. Lett., vol. 12, no. 8, p. 083002, Aug. 2017, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/aa8051.