Bird-mediated ecosystem services and disservices in cities and towns

Abstract

All cities are home to birds, which, through their activities, can either enhance or detract from human well-being. To identify such interactions, we synthesize current understanding of bird-mediated ecosystem services and disservices in cities. We find widespread evidence that birds provide cultural services, but the link between urban bird diversity and these benefits is surprisingly tenuous. Birds also have potential to provide regulating services; however, rather than being measured, these services are usually assumed from non-urban research, and may be overestimated (eg pollination, seed dispersal) or undervalued (decomposition, nutrient cycling). People's perceptions of birds are not uniform, and services are not always delivered equitably among residents. We call for moving beyond using species richness and traits as proxies, and instead explicitly measuring services and disservices across the heterogeneous urban landscape. Such information is critical to designing cities that sustain biodiversity and result in net positive, and equitable, benefits to people.