Feathered Roots and Migratory Routes

Immigrants and Birds in the Anthropocene

Bibliographic Data

ID15445238
AuthorsJ Cristóbal Pizarro (0000-0002-5240-2816, University of Concepción, corresponding author), Brendon M H Larson (0000-0001-5623-3864, University of Waterloo)
Year2017
Volume12
Issue3
Pages189-218
Publication date2017-10-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNature and Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1558-6073 • E-ISSN: 1558-5468
PublisherBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3167/nc.2017.120301
OpenAlexW2763041672
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited41

Human mobility necessitates that people adapt not only to a new society but also to a new natural environment and biodiversity. We use birds as biodiversity proxies to explore the place experiences of 26 Latin Americans adapting to Canada and the United States. Using interviews with open-ended questions, we prompted participants to identify birds that were linked to remarkable experiences in both places of origin and immigration, which we coded respectively as “roots” and “routes.” Participants reported foundational keystone species linked to their cultural heritage and conspicuous key species they associated with self-realization in the new place. Linking species, involving connections between roots and routes, triggered a process of place recalibration in association with key and keystone birds that worked as points of reference. We suggest that biodiversity offers critical social functions that need to be addressed by social integration programs promoting conviviality between humans and nature in the Anthropocene

Anthropocene · Archaeology · Biodiversity · Biology · Ecosystem · Environmental ethics · Geography · Immigration · Key (lock · Keystone species · Latin Americans · Political science · Sociology · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Urban Green Space and Health · Ecology