Woodland birds and insect decline

Abstract

The decline of woodland birds around the world is well known. There are likely to be many causal factors acting together and interacting synergistically, such as habitat fragmentation and the invasion of exotic species. Similarly, insect declines, which likely have been occurring for some time in Australia, have been recorded around the world in recent years, especially in areas of intensive agriculture or urbanisation. Because a large proportion of woodland birds are insectivorous, we ask whether the loss of food resources could also be a driver of bird declines. We encourage more research into this.