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BOU Annual Conference 2012
University of Leicester, UK
3 – 5 April 2012
supported by
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND BIRDS
The United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has led to a burgeoning interest in the economic benefits of nature and represents a paradigm shift for conservation. Humans benefit from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services and can be grouped into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. Birds play many roles within ecosystems, including as predators, pollinators, scavengers, seed dispersers and predators, and ecosystem engineers. In terms of cultural services, birds provide enjoyment to millions, through recreation and sport, can be ‘flagship’ species for conservation and are used as measures for the quality of human life. However, quantifying the ecosystem services provided by birds is a significant challenge and the underpinning evidence on which to base policy is still lacking. Moreover, valuing birds in this way potentially represents a move away from traditional species conservation, with profound implications for setting conservation targets and practical management.
This conference will consolidate our understanding of the ecosystem services provided by birds and showcase current research into the importance of birds in ecosystem functioning. It will also explore the cultural services that birds provide and consider how Government and non-Governmental organisations are engaging with this new approach in policy. Debating the philosophical and practical problems surrounding the ecosystem services approach will be a key feature of the conference, as well as finding new opportunities for bird conservation. It will cover the following topics:
· The provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services provided by birds, avian functional ecology and relationships between bird diversity and ecosystem functioning;
· The cultural significance of birds and how this is valued;
· How Governments, policy-makers and conservation organisations around the world are responding to and implementing the ecosystem services approach;
· Management strategies, trade-offs and the consequences for traditional species based conservation and practical management.
The conference scope will be international, with a focus on how to integrate ecosystem service science with practical bird conservation into policy.
The conference is aimed at academics, research and conservation organisations as well as statutory government agencies and those engaged in policy, advocacy and conservation management.
CONFERENCE AIMS
The conference aims to:
The conference aims to:
· consolidate our understanding of the provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services provided by birds;
· showcase novel methods for determining and valuing bird ecosystem services, focussing on functional ecology, spatial relationships between bird diversity and ecosystem functioning and the socio-economic importance of birds;
· examine the response of Governments, policy-makers and conservation organisations to the ecosystem services approach and discuss what this means for traditional species conservation;
· consider the evidence needs for decision-makers looking to integrate ecosystem service science and species conservation, and the implications for bird conservation in the 21st Century.
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
If you would like to contribute a poster to this meeting please please send an abstract (max. 500 words) to the BOU Office by 31 January. Priority will be given to students.
If you would like to contribute a poster to this meeting please please send an abstract (max. 500 words) to the BOU Office by 31 January. Priority will be given to students.
PROCEEDINGS
We aim to publish the proceedings from this conference in 2012 on the BOU's conference proceedings site, www.BOUPROC.net. Further details will be announced at a later date.
We aim to publish the proceedings from this conference in 2012 on the BOU's conference proceedings site, www.BOUPROC.net. Further details will be announced at a later date.
Conference Programme Organising Committee
Dr Darren Evans (Chairman), University of Hull (email)
Dr Darren Evans (Chairman), University of Hull (email)
Dr Helen Baker, JNCC (email)
Dr Niall Burton, British Trust for Ornithology (email)
Dr Mark Whittingham, University of Newcastle (email)
