Overlapping Effects of Human-Avian Conflict: Differentiating Neurological Symptoms for Improved Rehabilitation Efforts

Urbanization reduces wildlife habitat, increasing human-wildlife conflict. These conflicts disproportionately afflict avian species, as their ecological traits and habitat niches predispose them to physical trauma, disease, and chemical contamination. Wildlife rehabilitation centers provide critical care for these birds, but overlapping symptoms make it difficult to identify the root cause of admission, limiting treatment effectiveness and long-term conflict prevention efforts. The purpose of this study was to develop wildlife rehabilitation protocols for improved recognition of causes of admission based on neurological symptoms. Using four years (2020-2024) of patient data from a wildlife rehabilitation center in Denver, Colorado, we analyzed the relationship between three causes of admission—physical trauma, disease, and chemical exposure—and their associated neurological symptoms across avian trophic groups. We applied Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to identify key symptoms, Non-Dimensional Metric Scaling (NMDS) to differentiate symptom clusters, and Logistic Regression to assess neurological symptom prevalence by trophic levels. Impaired ambulation is the most distinguishing symptom, predominantly linked to physical trauma—the most common cause of admission. Birds at higher trophic levels, particularly raptors, exhibited significantly higher rates of neurological symptoms. Apex predators are at greater risk due to bioaccumulation and biomagnification, often presenting symptoms attributable to multiple causes of admission. While the individual contributions of disease and chemical exposure to physical trauma remain unclear, our findings underscore the complex human-induced pressures on avian populations. Furthermore, this research supports the incorporation of wildlife rehabilitation data into urban planning strategies as a measure to enhance human-wildlife conflict prevention efforts.