The Effect of Human Traffic on Bird Behavior
School Name
Governor's School for Science and Mathematics
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Zoology
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
The aim of this research was to explore ways in which foot traffic and car traffic affects bird behavior. The behaviors of individual birds and the number of people and cars that passed through several outdoor recreational spaces in Greenville, South Carolina were observed. The number of cars and the number of people that a bird is used to sharing its habitat with were found to have opposite effects on the time it takes for that bird to return to an area occupied by a human. In locations with more foot traffic, the difference is larger between this return time and its previous return time to the same shared space. However, in locations with more cars, this time difference is smaller. This information can be used to balance the number of cars and humans with the activity of birds depending on the priorities of a situation.
Recommended Citation
Fitzer, Shona, "The Effect of Human Traffic on Bird Behavior" (2018). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 103.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2018/all/103
Location
Neville 122
Start Date
4-14-2018 11:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
The Effect of Human Traffic on Bird Behavior
Neville 122
The aim of this research was to explore ways in which foot traffic and car traffic affects bird behavior. The behaviors of individual birds and the number of people and cars that passed through several outdoor recreational spaces in Greenville, South Carolina were observed. The number of cars and the number of people that a bird is used to sharing its habitat with were found to have opposite effects on the time it takes for that bird to return to an area occupied by a human. In locations with more foot traffic, the difference is larger between this return time and its previous return time to the same shared space. However, in locations with more cars, this time difference is smaller. This information can be used to balance the number of cars and humans with the activity of birds depending on the priorities of a situation.
