Supervisors info:
Μαργαρίτα Αριανούτσου-Φαραγγιτάκη, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Βιολογίας, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Παύλος Ανδριόπουλος, ΕΔΙΠ, Τμήμα Βιολογίας, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Summary:
Collisions between birds and aircrafts (bird strikes) are a major problem for aviation and therefore airports take measures to prevent them. Surveys about the populations of birds at airports are useful for managing the risk of bird strikes. There are no such studies published from Greece.
This study took place at the airport “El. Venizelos” during the period November 2019 – March 2020. Its purpose was the survey of the bird community in vegetated areas, called loops and strips, near the take off/landing runways. Loops are intersected polygonal areas, whereas strips are undivided rectangular areas.
The method of line transects was used to estimate the abundance of birds and the temporal and spatial distribution pattern of abundance was examined, as well as the factors that shape these patterns, such as the airport operations, the weather conditions and the sampling biases (time of the day, walking pace etc). At the same time, a temporal and spatial analysis of the bird strikes recorded at the airport "El. Venizelos" in the last decade was conducted. Finally, it was examined whether there is a correlation between the bird strikes and the birds’ abundance.
Fieldwork has shown that during winter, landbirds, including Alauda arvensis, Anthus pratensis and Emberiza calandra, which comprise more than 90% of the observed individuals, predominate near the runways. The temporal distribution of the birds’ abundance was in accordance with the status of the species in the study area. Greater abundance was observed in the West than in the East, and in the loops than in the strips. The spatial distribution of birds’ abundance was not significantly different from the spatial distribution of the bird strikes during the period November 2019 - March 2020.
Keywords:
bird community, birds, abundance, airport, bird strikes
