Wildlife in Airport Environments: Chapter 2 Behavior and Physiologyin the Development and Application of Visual Deterrents at Airports

Authors

Bradley F. Blackwell, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Esteban Fernandez-Juricic, Purdue UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2013

Citation

From Wildlife in Airport Environments: Preventing Animal-Aircraft Collisions through Science-Based Management, ed. T.L. DeVault, B.F. Blackwell, & J.L. Belant (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013).

Comments

U.S. government work.

Abstract

In the first major treatise on the science of wildlife damage management, Conover (2002) dedicated a short review of visual stimuli used to deter wildlife from specific areas or resources. The brevity of the review reflects the fact that these techniques have traditionally been developed over short periods and used to confront an immediate problem, generally through trial and error. Because humans perceive visual stimuli differently than other animals (Schwab 2012), deterrents based on human perception likely fall short in saliency of the stimuli (Le., how well the stimuli stand out against a background). However, assessment of visual stimuli (both deterrents and cues) in the context of animal sensory physiology and behavior holds promise for the development of novel and more effective methods to mitigate negative human-wildlife interactions.