Bioacoustic monitoring of lower North Island bird communities before and after aerial application of 1080
Modern aerial 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) operations are effective in reducing population densities of possums, rats and stoats, thereby reducing predation pressure on birds. Debate regarding 1080 use, however, continues to centre on potential non-target effects, with some groups claiming that birds are killed in large numbers such that forests “fall silent”. We investigated these claims by recording birdsong for 5–8 weeks before and after three separate 1080 operations in the Aorangi and Remutaka Ranges of the lower North Island, New Zealand.