The Avian Demography Unit: Tracking bird populations in a changing South Africa

Building on the nucleus of the South African Bird Ringing Unit (SAFRING) and the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP), the Avian Demography Unit (ADU) was established in the Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, in December 1991. The mission of the ADU is to improve our understanding of avian population dynamics, and make a contribution to bird conservation by providing a scientific basis for conservation action. The unit aims to achieve this through mass-participation projects, long-term monitoring, innovative statistical modelling and population-level interpretation of results. The focus of the unit's work is on the collection, curation, analysis, publication and dissemination of data.