Chickadees and titmice have been used in both North America and Europe as model species of how birds adapt to varying habitats. As most species within this family are considered forest generalists and settle in a variety of habitats, they offer insights into how species react to landscape change. Our early work considered how differences in human-altered landscapes, such as changes in forest age and composition, were perceived as differences in habitat quality by birds, and showed that this could have dramatic effects on reproductive success and behaviour. Increasingly, though, work in our and other labs is beginning to focus on how birds respond to the increasing encroachment of suburbia. Urban sprawl can create challenges for birds, but also can yield potential benefits. Habitat structure may change with the transition from native forests to open parklands and suburban greenbelts, which may alter prey abundance or nesting opportunities, but suburbia can also provide artificial resources in the form of both food and nestling supplementation. Urban habitats also introduce noise that competes for acoustic space with avian communication. I will present data from our own and other studies that give insights into how birds respond to the challenges of urbanization, and discuss how some species may even benefit from settling in urban landscapes.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream. More information will be posted about these presentations as it becomes available.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.