Editing Bird migration (section)

==Ecological effects==
The migration of birds also aids the movement of other species, including those of [[ectoparasite]]s such as [[ticks]] and [[lice]],<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Smith RP Jr |author2=Rand PW |author3=Lacombe EH |author4=Morris SR |author5=Holmes DW |author6=Caporale DA |year=1996 |title=Role of bird migration in the long-distance dispersal of ''Ixodes dammini'', the vector of Lyme disease |journal=J. Infect. Dis. |issue=1 |pages=221–4 |pmid=8656000 |volume=174 |doi=10.1093/infdis/174.1.221 |doi-access=free}}</ref> which in turn may carry [[micro-organism]]s including those of concern to human health. Due to the global spread of [[avian influenza]], bird migration has been studied as a possible mechanism of disease transmission, but it has been found not to present a special risk; import of pet and domestic birds is a greater threat.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rappole, J.H. |author2=Hubálek, Zdenek |year=2006 |title=Birds and Influenza H5N1 Virus Movement to and within North America |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=1486–92 |hdl=10088/875 |doi=10.3201/eid1210.051577 |pmid=17176561 |pmc=3290932}}</ref> Some [[virus]]es that are maintained in birds without lethal effects, such as the [[West Nile virus]] may however be spread by migrating birds.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rappole, J.H. |author2=Derrickson, S.R. |author3=Hubalek, Z. |year=2000 |title=Migratory birds and spread of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=319–328 |hdl=10088/364 |doi=10.3201/eid0604.000401 |pmid=10905964 |pmc=2640881}}</ref> Birds may also have a role in the dispersal of propagules of plants and [[plankton]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Figuerola, O. |author2=Green, A.J. |year=2002 |title=Dispersal of aquatic organisms by waterbirds: a review of past research and priorities for future studies |journal=Freshwater Biology |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=483–494 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2427.2002.00829.x |hdl=10261/43045 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2002FrBio..47..483F |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Cruden, R. W. |year=1966 |title=Birds as Agents of Long-Distance Dispersal for Disjunct Plant Groups of the Temperate Western Hemisphere |journal=Evolution |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=517–532 |doi=10.2307/2406587 |pmid=28562914 |jstor=2406587}}</ref>

Some predators take advantage of the concentration of birds during migration. [[Greater noctule bat]]s feed on nocturnal migrating passerines.<ref name=bats /> Some birds of prey specialize on migrating waders.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B]] |year=2004 |volume=271 |pages=1263–1269 1263 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2004.2713 |title=Western sandpipers have altered migration tactics as peregrine falcon populations have recovered |author1=Ydenberg, Ronald C. |author2=Butler, Robert W. |author3=Lank, David B. |author4=Smith, Barry D. |author5=Ireland, J. |url=https://www.sfu.ca/biology/wildberg/ydenbergetal2004PRSB.pdf |pmid=15306350 |issue=1545 |pmc=1691718}}</ref>