Editing Osprey (section)

==Conservation==
[[File:Ospreys in Sandy Hook (70331).jpg|thumb|Adult American ospreys on a man-made nest in New Jersey, US]]

The osprey has a large range, covering {{convert|9670000|sqkm|sqmi|abbr=on}} in just Africa and the Americas, and has a large global population estimated at 460,000 individuals. Although global population trends have not been quantified, the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations), and for these reasons, the species is evaluated as [[Least-concern species|Least Concern]].<ref name=iucn/> There is evidence for regional decline in South Australia where former territories at locations in the [[Spencer Gulf]] and along the lower [[Murray River]] have been vacant for decades.<ref name="Dennis2007a" />

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the main threats to osprey populations were egg collectors and hunting of the adults along with other birds of prey,<ref name="UM"/><ref name="Cocker" /> but osprey populations declined drastically in many areas in the 1950s and 1960s; this appeared to be in part due to the toxic effects of insecticides such as [[DDT]] on reproduction.<ref name="Ames1966" /> The pesticide interfered with the bird's [[calcium]] metabolism which resulted in thin-shelled, easily broken or infertile eggs.<ref name="Bull87" /> Possibly because of the banning of DDT in many countries in the early 1970s, together with reduced persecution, the osprey, as well as other affected [[bird of prey]] species, have made significant recoveries.<ref name="evans82" /> Artificial nesting sites have also played a role in conservation. Farmers discovered that building artificial nesting sites was mutually beneficial: this reduced the impact of habitat loss, and the ospreys would drive away [[red-tailed hawk]]s that preyed on farmers' chickens.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bierregaard |first=Richard O. |last2=Poole |first2=Alan F. |last3=Washburn |first3=Brian E. |date=2014-12-01 |title=Ospreys (''Pandion haliaetus'') in the 21st Century: Populations, Migration, Management, and Research Priorities |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3356/0892-1016-48.4.301 |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |language=en |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=301–308 |doi=10.3356/0892-1016-48.4.301 |issn=0892-1016}}</ref>

In South Australia, nesting sites on the [[Eyre Peninsula]] and [[Kangaroo Island]] are vulnerable to unmanaged coastal recreation and encroaching urban development.<ref name="Dennis2007a" />