The Avian Senses research topic encompasses how birds perceive the varying landscapes in which they live, and how avian scientists understand the role of bird senses in tackling challenges such as: the conservation of wild populations, human-bird conflicts (such as in agriculture or in urban ecosystems), understanding evolutionary adaptations, or the humane and sustainable production of meat and eggs for an expanding world population.
Birds inhabit every available ecological niche on planet Earth, from cities to the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, from rain-forest to deserts, from high mountains to the ocean shores, from family backyards to the confinement of commercial broiler chicken and egg laying farms. Birds eat fruits and roots; cereals and pulses; grass, foliage, and algae; sap, flowers, and nectar; beeswax, insects, and worms; mammals and fish... In our world wild and domestic birds face many challenges related to the human civilization: glass windows, wind turbines, power lines, artificial daylight, noisy traffic, habitat fragmentation, and of course climate change. But birds also cause conflicts for humans from damaging crops to being a nuisance in urban settings. Chicken meat and eggs have become the main dietary protein sources in an ever-increasing human population. So, how do birds sense the world they live in?
This topic will showcase high caliber articles, including reviews and original research papers, that will contribute to a better understanding of how wild and domestic bird species perceive their surrounding environment.
The collection includes, but is not limited to, the following themes:
- Avian physiology of the basic senses
- Food/feed selection
- Gut chemosensing
- Visual-vocal-chemical communications
- Evolutionary biology
- Neuroscience
- Photostimulation
- Embryonic development of senses
- Echolocation
- Human-avian interactions
- Conservation biology
The Avian Senses research topic encompasses how birds perceive the varying landscapes in which they live, and how avian scientists understand the role of bird senses in tackling challenges such as: the conservation of wild populations, human-bird conflicts (such as in agriculture or in urban ecosystems), understanding evolutionary adaptations, or the humane and sustainable production of meat and eggs for an expanding world population.
Birds inhabit every available ecological niche on planet Earth, from cities to the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, from rain-forest to deserts, from high mountains to the ocean shores, from family backyards to the confinement of commercial broiler chicken and egg laying farms. Birds eat fruits and roots; cereals and pulses; grass, foliage, and algae; sap, flowers, and nectar; beeswax, insects, and worms; mammals and fish... In our world wild and domestic birds face many challenges related to the human civilization: glass windows, wind turbines, power lines, artificial daylight, noisy traffic, habitat fragmentation, and of course climate change. But birds also cause conflicts for humans from damaging crops to being a nuisance in urban settings. Chicken meat and eggs have become the main dietary protein sources in an ever-increasing human population. So, how do birds sense the world they live in?
This topic will showcase high caliber articles, including reviews and original research papers, that will contribute to a better understanding of how wild and domestic bird species perceive their surrounding environment.
The collection includes, but is not limited to, the following themes:
- Avian physiology of the basic senses
- Food/feed selection
- Gut chemosensing
- Visual-vocal-chemical communications
- Evolutionary biology
- Neuroscience
- Photostimulation
- Embryonic development of senses
- Echolocation
- Human-avian interactions
- Conservation biology