7 - Anthropogenic Activities and Mountain Birds

Summary

Mountain areas have faced a rapid increase in human activities over recent decades, often leading to habitat loss or degradation. The impacts of these activities can affect bird species both directly (e.g., by altering habitat characteristics, impacting migration or disturbing breeding or wintering grounds), and indirectly by inducing physiological responses. We summarize the human activities that take place at high elevation and provide examples of species that are known to be impacted. Hiking and winter sports in particular are common in many mountain regions and there is growing evidence of a range of impacts on year-round resident mountain birds and their food resources. Increasing evidence also suggests that use of, and dependence on, human-derived foods around human settlements affects the trophic ecology of high-altitude birds. Hunting mountain birds is common place in many areas, and we review the evidence that hunting activity, including illegal persecution, has had impacts at the population level. Finally, we assess how direct disturbance and habitat alteration due to renewable energy developments (i.e. wind turbines and hydropower) are affecting mountain bird communities. There are many unknown impacts of human disturbance and we highlight missing information on specific topics that should be investigated in future research.