Birds and human health: Pathways for a positive relationship and improved integration

Abstract

Biodiversity, ecosystem services and human health are becoming increasingly integrated in the ‘One Health’ concept, including recognition of the impacts of biodiversity loss on human health. Birds have considerable potential to benefit human health through their contributions to ecosystem functioning, recreation, and provision of pest control and pollination services, commonly referred to as ecosystem services. To synthesize the pathways through which birds facilitate human health, a scoping review methodology was employed to search the primary literature for relevant information. Of the 125 articles containing empirical evidence that were categorized, reported benefits included tangible materials (e.g. food, income) and resiliency (e.g. supportive ecosystem services; 80%), aesthetic, cultural, recreational, socio-economic and spiritual benefits (65%), psychological benefits (25%), regulation of transmission and prevalence of infectious diseases (11%), and physiological benefits (10%). Direct and indirect health benefits provided by birds are discussed in this review, facilitating the proposal of a new pathway categorization. The health contributions of any taxon must be given greater attention with the aim of supporting conservation and to support the sustainable use of wild species.