AvianBuffer: An interactive tool for characterising and managing wildlife fear responses

Area of Science:

• Wildlife ecology
• Conservation biology
• Human-wildlife interactions

Background:

• Effective wildlife management requires scientific data on species' responses to human disturbance.
• Information on wildlife fear responses is often inaccessible or difficult to apply to management scenarios.
• Understanding flight-initiation distances (FIDs) is crucial for minimizing anthropogenic impacts on wildlife.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce AvianBuffer, an interactive online tool for estimating bird responses to human presence.
• To provide a practical method for determining safe separation distances for Australian bird species.
• To support biodiversity conservation and human-nature coexistence.

Main Methods:

• Developed a dataset of 9,190 flight-initiation distances (FIDs) for 251 Australian bird species.
• Incorporated data on various human-associated stimuli eliciting fear responses.
• Created an interactive online tool allowing users to input species and desired disturbance levels.

Main Results:

• AvianBuffer predicts separation distances to prevent Australian bird assemblages from fleeing humans.
• Users can specify desired diversity protection or a target separation distance.
• The tool provides estimates of undisturbed diversity based on user-defined parameters.

Conclusions:

• AvianBuffer offers a valuable resource for conservation managers, policymakers, and researchers.
• Applications include buffer zone creation, codes of conduct, and environmental impact assessments.
• Future iterations will expand the database to include international avian and non-avian species.