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Extending the habitat concept to the airspace

By: , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68576-2_3

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Abstract

Habitat is one of the most familiar and fundamental concepts in the fields of ecology, animal behavior, and wildlife conservation and management. Humans interact with habitats through their senses and experiences and education to such a degree that their perceptions of habitat have become second nature. For this reason, it may be difficult at first to accept the airspace as habitat, an area that is invisible, untouchable, highly dynamic, and its occupants difficult to see. Nonetheless, the habitat concept, by definition and in practice, applies readily to the airspace. Some ecological and behavioral processes including habitat selection, foraging, and reproduction are operational in the airspace, while others, particularly those mediated by resource limitation such as territoriality, are likely uncommon if present at all. The behaviors of flying animals increasingly expose them to anthropogenic hazards as development of the airspace accelerates. This exacerbates the need to identify approaches for managing these human–wildlife conflicts in aerial habitats, especially where human safety or at-risk populations are concerned. The habitat concept has proven useful in shaping environmental law and policy to help mitigate these conflicts. It remains to be seen whether current law can bend to include a more expansive concept of habitat that includes the airspace.

Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title Extending the habitat concept to the airspace
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-68576-2_3
Year Published 2017
Language English
Publisher Springer
Contributing office(s) Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
Description 23 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Monograph
Larger Work Title Aeroecology
First page 47
Last page 69
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