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Archaeozoology for Bird Conservation Network (ABCN)

The Archaeozoology for Bird Conservation Network (ABCN) aims to improve international collaboration between zooarchaeologists, ecologists and conservation practitioners to facilitate knowledge exchange. Alongside the network, the project will produce an open-access geospatial database of archaeological bird remains.
Project status
Ongoing

Dr Samuel Walker

ARP24\250540

Bournemouth University

Long-term (archaeological) data adds a unique perspective into past human-animal interactions and the effects of climate and environmental change on the populations we see today. There is urgent need to improve understanding and potential of long-term zooarchaeological data for application across disciplines; communication between zooarchaeology and conservation is a major barrier with only ~10% of conservation palaeobiology studies cross the research-implementation gap (Groff et al., 2023).

The Archaeozoology for Bird Conservation Network (ABCN) aims to improve international collaboration between zooarchaeologists, ecologists and conservation practitioners to facilitate knowledge exchange. Alongside the network we will produce an open access geospatial database of archaeological bird remains. Initially, the ABCN will focus on seabirds, one of the most at-risk groups, with long-term ambitions to include other species.

Through annual workshops and collaborative creation of the database, we will identify research questions for archaeological data, driven by the urgent conservation needs of at-risk birds.

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