Stanford researchers find that Costa Rican birds and farmers can co-exist

The colorful birds of Costa Rica play a crucial role in the country's rural landscapes, by distributing seeds, controlling pesky insects and pollinating plants.

But knocking down the Costa Rican forest to make room for farms and pastures can drive away the birds and the benefits they bring to farmers.

That's the bad news. The bit of good news is that data from 10 years of careful counting of birds in rural Costa Rica have led Stanford researchers to conclude that birds and farmers can co-exist, to everyone's benefit, if some trees are left in the fields and pastures.

Danny Karp, a Biology graduate student, and Prof. Gretchen Daily are co-authors of the PNAS paper describing the research.

Full story available from the Stanford Report, Dec. 13, 2011.