The Unseen Niche: Birds & Airspaces Across North America

Earth's lower atmosphere is a vital ecological habitat, home to trillions of organisms that live, forage, and migrate through this space. Despite its importance, it is rarely treated as a primary habitat for ecological study or conservation prioritization, making it one of the least explored environments on the planet. Yet this aerial habitat functions as a global conduit for the movement of biomass, weather, and inorganic materials. Addressing fundamental ecological questions about its spatial and temporal dynamics is key to understanding its role in shaping ecosystems.