An integrative framework linking environmental stressors to avian health outcomes

As environmental pressures accelerate, avian species serve as critical indicators of ecosystem disruption. Ecosystem Effects on Avian Health and Disease provides an interpretive framework grounding readers in normal avian function to assess how climate change, pollution, and habitat loss alter health across bird populations. This integrative approach connects avian biology directly with ecosystem well-being.

Coverage spans avian anatomy, physiology, and immune response variation across bird groups, contrasting avian and mammalian disease pathways. The text addresses clinical pathology and diagnostic approaches, captive care, reproductive health, and welfare considerations. Chapters examine zoonotic risks, exploring how avian diseases and ecosystem shifts carry implications for human populations within a One Health framework.

Readers will also find:

• Detailed exploration of interspecies differences and adaptations that shape health responses across taxonomically distinct avian groups
• Analysis of specific environmental stressors including algal blooms, habitat loss, and pollution and their cascading effects on bird populations
• Practical diagnostic approaches for assessing health changes in both wild and captive bird species under varying environmental conditions
• Discussion of reproductive health and welfare protocols applicable to avian conservation, rehabilitation, and captive management programs
• A future-oriented perspective on emerging threats to avian populations and their broader implications for public and ecosystem health

Written for veterinarians, veterinary students and technicians, avian and ecology researchers, biologists, and ecosystem health professionals, this volume provides the integrative foundation needed to interpret how environmental change reshapes avian health, supporting both clinical practice and conservation decision-making across disciplines.

Julia Zaias, DVM, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Comparative Pathology Division of the Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. She brings over twenty years of experience researching and working in stranded cetacean response, rehabilitation, necropsy, and histopathology, grounding her approach to avian health in deep comparative pathology expertise.