Bird Damage to Fruit Crops: A Comparison of Several Deterrent Techniques

Steensma, Karen M. M.; Lindell, Catherine A.; Leigh, Deanna; Burrows, Colleen; Wieferich, Shayna L.; Zwamborn, Elizabeth

doi:10.5070/v427110693

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Moreover, its high effectiveness as a gull deterrent is a major advantage from the point of view of the fishermen. Despite the low effectiveness of bird scaring devices as bird deterrents at land-based sites like landfills (Cook et al 2008), urban areas (Belant et al 2016) and fruit crops (Steensma et al 2016), to the best of our knowledge, no previous study has tested this device at sea, where bird species may have different behaviours and/or ecological strategies. However, the effect of the bird scaring device at sea on species other than gulls remains unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A contribution to reducing bycatch in a high priority area for seabird conservation in Portugal

Oliveira¹,

Almeida²,

Alonso³

et al. 2020

Bird Conservation International

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Summary Bycatch is one of the main threats to marine biodiversity, affecting ocean ecosystems at a worldwide scale. The main focus of bycatch studies has been on the impact of larger vessels, with few studies assessing the impact of artisanal fisheries. Moreover, bycatch studies are often limited to a small number of marine regions, and significant gaps still exist in our knowledge of the spatial and temporal patterns of seabird bycatch. Here we present a multi-approach method to accurately quantify seabird bycatch driven by small- and medium-sized fishing fleets operating in a high priority area for seabird conservation on the Portuguese mainland. Results of three mitigation measures to reduce seabird bycatch on fishing gear where seabird bycatch is most likely to occur were also tested: high contrast panels in bottom gillnets, black hooks in demersal longlines and a bird scaring device in purse seines. The efficacy, acceptance, and economic viability were tested for each mitigation measure. Sixty-seven individuals of seven seabird species were bycaught during 295 monitored fishing trips between 2015 and 2018. Bycatch occurred mainly in demersal longlines (0.07 birds fishing event-1), followed by purse seines (0.02 birds fishing event-1) and bottom gillnets (0.01 birds fishing event-1). Nevertheless, the bird scaring device caused birds to interact less with the vessel (the presence of gulls was reduced by 11%), thus decreasing the likelihood of bycatch. This device has proved to be low-cost (representing less than 5% income of a single day’s landings) and easy to implement, being also well accepted by purse seine fishermen. It was not possible to evaluate the efficacy of high contrast panels and black hooks, as no bycatch events were recorded during trials.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A contribution to reducing bycatch in a high priority area for seabird conservation in Portugal

Oliveira¹,

Almeida²,

Alonso³

et al. 2020

Bird Conservation International

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“…The present work indicates that inflatable tubemen do not consistently reduce fruit damage. The comparison of bird damage per 2.5-acre sampling area in blueberries with and without tubemen nearly reached the level of statistical significance (p < 0.07), indicating that tubemen may reduce damage in some contexts (see also Steensma et al [29]). Although the tubemen move somewhat randomly, it is likely that birds habituate over time to their presence, as is the case with scare tactics generally (e.g., Cook et al [30] and Summers [31]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Bird Management in Blueberries and Grapes

2018

Self Cite

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Bird damage to fruit is a long-standing challenge for growers that imposes significant costs because of yield losses and grower efforts to manage birds. We measured bird damage in ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry fields and Pinot noir vineyards in 2012–2014 in Michigan to investigate how year, grower, and forest cover influenced the proportions of bird damage. We tested whether inflatable tubemen (2013–2014) and a methyl anthranilate spray (2015) reduced bird damage in blueberries, and tested the deterrent effect of inflatable tubemen in grapes (2014). Years when crop yield was lower tended to have a higher damage percentage; for blueberries, bird damage was highest in 2012, and in grapes, damage was highest in 2012 and 2014. Neither blueberry fields nor vineyards with inflatable tubemen showed significantly reduced bird damage, although the blueberry fields showed a non-significant trend toward lower damage in the tubemen blocks. Blueberry field halves treated with the methyl anthranilate spray had equivalent bird damage to untreated halves. Our results correspond to previous work showing that percent bird damage varies by year, which was likely because bird consumption of fruit is relatively constant over time, while fruit yield varies. Fruit growers should expect a higher proportion of bird damage in low-fruit contexts, such as low-yield years, and prepare to invest more in bird management at those times. Investigating patterns of bird damage and testing deterrent strategies remain challenges. Bird activity is spatially and temporally variable, and birds’ mobility necessitates tests at large scales.

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“…This is even though we are in an era of literature explosion [66]. Furthermore, it is widely recognized that variations of effectiveness across sites and habituation are two major challenges for many kinds of technical mitigating measures for vertebrates [14,[67][68][69][70][71]. However, the research efforts on mitigations are particularly spatial biased with over 70% of the studies (n = 35 out of 48) being conducted in a single country (i.e., the United States of America) (Fig C in S1 Text), and these experiments were mainly conducted during one crop season.…”

Section: Plos Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the coexistence of birds and humans in cropland through meta-analyses of bird exclosure studies, crop loss mitigation experiments, and social surveys

et al. 2023

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Birds share lands with humans at a substantial scale and affect crops. Yet, at a global scale, systematic evaluations of human–bird coexistence in croplands are scarce. Here, we compiled and used meta-analysis approaches to synthesize multiple global datasets of ecological and social dimensions to understand this complex coexistence system. Our result shows that birds usually increase woody, but not herbaceous, crop production, implying that crop loss mitigation efforts are critical for a better coexistence. We reveal that many nonlethal technical measures are more effective in reducing crop loss, e.g., using scaring devices and changing sow practices, than other available methods. Besides, we find that stakeholders from low-income countries are more likely to perceive the crop losses caused by birds and are less positive toward birds than those from high-income ones. Based on our evidence, we identified potential regional clusters, particularly in tropical areas, for implementing win-win coexistence strategies. Overall, we provide an evidence-based knowledge flow and solutions for stakeholders to integrate the conservation and management of birds in croplands.

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Bird Damage to Fruit Crops: A Comparison of Several Deterrent Techniques

Cited by 8 publications

References 42 publications

A contribution to reducing bycatch in a high priority area for seabird conservation in Portugal

A contribution to reducing bycatch in a high priority area for seabird conservation in Portugal

Bird Management in Blueberries and Grapes

Insights into the coexistence of birds and humans in cropland through meta-analyses of bird exclosure studies, crop loss mitigation experiments, and social surveys

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