| 1. |
- Lehikoinen, Aleksi, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of weather and the phase of the rodent cycle on breeding populations of waterbirds in Finnish Lapland
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ornis Fennica. - 0030-5685. ; 93:1, s. 31-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change may affect bird populations both directly by changing the weather conditions, and indirectly through changes in the food chain. While both theoretical and empirical studies have shown climate change having drastic impacts on polar areas, its consequences on Arctic bird species are still poorly known. Here we investigated how weather and changes in predator-prey interactions affected the annual growth rates of sub-Arctic birds by monitoring the breeding numbers of three duck and seven wader species in the alpine tundra of Finnish Lapland during 2005-2015 (except for 2006). We hypothesized that growth rates of waterbirds would be positively associated with warm and dry weather due to improved reproductive success. Furthermore, we tested the hypothesis that water-birds have a higher reproductive success during the cyclic rodent peaks, when predators mainly prey on rodents, than during the decline and low phases of the cycle, when predation pressure towards waterbirds increases. Results showed that population growth rates of breeding ducks were negatively associated with the sum of rainfall in the previous year. In waders, growth rates were positively associated with the phase of the rodent cycle in the same year. Our results emphasize the importance of monitoring Arctic bird populations on their breeding areas to explore what the consequences of climate change might be for breeding waterbirds by linking the effects of both weather and rodent abundance.
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| 2. |
- Lehikoinen, Petteri, et al.
(författare)
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Counteracting wetland overgrowth increases breeding and staging bird abundances
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human actions have led to loss and degradation of wetlands, impairing their suitability as habitat especially for waterbirds. Such negative effects may be mitigated through habitat management. To date scientific evidence regarding the impacts of these actions remains scarce. We studied guild specific abundances of breeding and staging birds in response to habitat management on 15 Finnish wetlands. In this study management actions comprised several means of vegetation removal to thwart overgrowth. Management cost efficiency was assessed by examining the association between site-specific costs and bird abundances. Several bird guilds exhibited positive connections with both habitat management as well as with invested funds. Most importantly, however, red-listed species and species with special conservation concern as outlined by the EU showed positive correlations with management actions, underlining the conservation value of wetland management. The results suggest that grazing was especially efficient in restoring overgrown wetlands. As a whole this study makes it clear that wetland habitat management constitutes a feasible conservation tool. The marked association between invested funds and bird abundance may prove to be a valuable tool for decision makers when balancing costs and impact of conservation measures against one another.
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| 3. |
- Lehikoinen, Petteri, et al.
(författare)
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Protected areas act as a buffer against detrimental effects of climate change—Evidence from large-scale, long-term abundance data
- 2019
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 25:1, s. 304-313
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is driving species to shift their distributions toward high altitudes and latitudes, while habitat loss and fragmentation may hamper species ability to follow their climatic envelope. These two drivers of change may act in synergy, with particularly disastrous impacts on biodiversity. Protected areas, PAs, may thus represent crucial buffers against the compounded effects of climate change and habitat loss. However, large-scale studies assessing the performance of PAs as such buffers remain scarce and are largely based on species occurrence data. Conversely, abundance data have proven to be more reliable for addressing changes in wildlife populations under climate change. We evaluated changes in bird abundance from the 1970s–80s to the 2000s inside and outside PAs at the trailing range edge of 30 northern bird species and at the leading range edge of 70 southern species. Abundances of retracting northern species were higher and declined less inside PAs at their trailing range edge. The positive effect of PAs on bird abundances was particularly marked in northern species that rely strongly on PAs, that is, their density distribution is largely confined within PAs. These species were nearly absent outside PAs in the 2000s. The abundances of southern species were in general lower inside PAs and increased less from the 70s–80s to 2000s. Nonetheless, species with high reliance on PAs had much higher abundances inside than outside PAs in the 2000s. These results show that PAs are essential in mitigating the retraction of northern species, but also facilitate northward expansions of southern species highly reliant on PAs. Our study provides empirical evidence documenting the role of PAs in facilitating species to adjust to rapidly changing climatic conditions, thereby contributing to the mitigation of impending biodiversity loss. PAs may thus allow time for initiating wider conservation programs on currently unprotected land.
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| 4. |
- Fox, Anthony D., et al.
(författare)
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Current and potential threats to Nordic duck populations - a horizon scanning exercise
- 2015
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Ingår i: Annales Zoologici Fennici. - 0003-455X .- 1797-2450. ; 52:4, s. 193-220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We review the current and future threats to duck populations that breed, stage, moult and/or winter in the Nordic countries. Migratory duck species are sensitive indicators of their changing environment, and their societal value confirms the need to translate signals from changes in their distribution, status and abundance into a better understanding of changes occurring in their wetland environments. We used expert opinion to highlight 25 major areas of anthropogenic change (and touch briefly on potential mitigation measures through nature restoration and reserve management projects) that we consider key issues likely to influence Nordic duck populations now and in the near future to stimulate debate, discussion and further research. We believe such reviews are essential in contributing to development of successful management policy as well as stimulating specific research to support the maintenance of duck species in favourable future conservation status in the face of multiple population pressures and drivers.
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| 5. |
- Fox, Anthony D., et al.
(författare)
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Current and potential threats to Nordic duck populations - a horizon scanning exercise
- 2015
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Ingår i: Annales Zoologici Fennici. - : Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board. - 0003-455X. ; 52:4, s. 193-220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We review the current and future threats to duck populations that breed, stage, moult and/or winter in the Nordic countries. Migratory duck species are sensitive indicators of their changing environment, and their societal value confirms the need to translate signals from changes in their distribution, status and abundance into a better understanding of changes occurring in their wetland environments. We used expert opinion to highlight 25 major areas of anthropogenic change (and touch briefly on potential mitigation measures through nature restoration and reserve management projects) that we consider key issues likely to influence Nordic duck populations now and in the near future to stimulate debate, discussion and further research. We believe such reviews are essential in contributing to development of successful management policy as well as stimulating specific research to support the maintenance of duck species in favourable future conservation status in the face of multiple population pressures and drivers.
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| 6. |
- Fox, Anthony D., et al.
(författare)
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Seeking explanations for recent changes in abundance of wintering Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) in northwest Europe
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ornis Fennica. - 0030-5685. ; 93:1, s. 12-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We analysed annual changes in abundance of Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) derived from mid-winter International Waterbird Census data throughout its northwest European flyway since 1988 using log-linear Poisson regression modelling. Increases in abundance in the north and east of the wintering range (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland), stable numbers in the central range (Belgium, Netherlands, UK and France) and declining abundance in the west and south of the wintering range (Spain and Ireland) suggest a shift in wintering distribution consistent with milder winters throughout the range. However, because over 75% of the population of over 1 million individuals winters in Belgium, the Netherlands, UK and France, there was no evidence for a major movement in the centre of gravity of the wintering distribution. Between-winter changes in overall flyway abundance were highly significantly positively correlated (P = 0.003) with reproductive success measured by age ratios in Danish hunter wing surveys and less strongly and inversely correlated (P = 0.05) with mean January temperatures in the centre of the wintering range, suggesting that winter severity may also contribute to influence survival. However, adding winter severity to a model predicting population size based on annual reproductive success alone did not contribute to more effectively modelling the observed changes in population size. Patterns in annual reproductive success seem therefore to largely explain the recent dynamics in population size of northwest European Wigeon. Summer NAO significantly and positively explained 27% of variance in annual breeding success. Other local factors such as eutrophication of breeding sites and changes in predation pressure undoubtedly contribute to changes in the annual production of young and differences in hunting pressure as well as winter severity affect annual survival rates. However, it seems likely that the observed flyway population trend since 1988 has been mostly influenced by climate effects on the breeding grounds affecting reproductive success and marginally on the winter quarters affecting survival. We urge improved demographic monitoring of the population to better assess annual survival and reproductive success. We also recommend development of an adaptive management framework to remove uncertainties in our knowledge of Wigeon population dynamics as information is forthcoming to better inform management, especially to attempt to harmonise the harvest with annual changes in demography to ensure sustainable exploitation of this important quarry species now and in the future.
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| 7. |
- Fraixedas, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Substantial decline of Northern European peatland bird populations : Consequences of drainage
- 2017
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Ingår i: Biological Conservation. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3207. ; 214, s. 223-232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Northern European peatlands are important habitats for biological conservation because they support rich biodiversity and unique species compositions. However, historical management of peatland habitats has had negative consequences for biodiversity and their degradation remains a major conservation concern. Despite increasing awareness of the conservation value of peatlands, the statuses and ecological requirements of peatland species have remained largely understudied. Here, we first analysed temporal trends of Northern European peatland birds to document the status of their populations using bird data from five different countries. Second, we used Finnish monitoring data to assess habitat preferences of peatland bird species, hence helping to target conservation to the most relevant habitat types. There was a general decline of 40% in Northern European peatland bird population sizes in 1981–2014 (speed of decline 1.5%/year) largely driven by Finland, where populations declined almost 50% (2.0% annual decline). In Sweden and Norway, peatland bird populations declined by 20% during 1997–2014 (1.0% annual decline). In contrast, southern populations in Estonia and Latvia, where the majority of open peatlands are protected, showed a 40% increase during 1981–2014 (1.0% annual increase). The most important habitat characteristics preferred by common peatland species in Finland were openness and low tree height, while wetness proved to be an important feature for waders. Drainage of peatlands had clear negative effects on the densities of many species, with the only exception of rustic bunting, which specializes on edge habitats. Our findings call for more effective conservation actions in Northern European peatland habitats, especially in Finland where peatland drainage represents a major threat to biodiversity.
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| 8. |
- Gamero, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Tracking Progress Toward EU Biodiversity Strategy Targets : EU Policy Effects in Preserving its Common Farmland Birds
- 2017
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 10:4, s. 395-402
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Maximizing the area under biodiversity-related conservation measures is a main target of the European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. We analyzed whether agrienvironmental schemes (AES) within EU common agricultural policy, special protected areas for birds (SPAs), and Annex I designation within EU Birds Directive had an effect on bird population changes using monitoring data from 39 farmland bird species from 1981 to 2012 at EU scale. Populations of resident and short-distance migrants were larger with increasing SPAs and AES coverage, while Annex I species had higher population growth rates with increasing SPAs, indicating that SPAs may contribute to the protection of mainly target species and species spending most of their life cycle in the EU. Because farmland birds are in decline and the negative relationship of agricultural intensification with their population growth rates was evident during the implementation of AES and SPAs, EU policies seem to generally attenuate the declines of farmland bird populations, but not to reverse them.
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| 9. |
- Heldbjerg, Henning, et al.
(författare)
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Contrasting population trends of common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) across Europe
- 2019
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Ingår i: Ornis Fennica. - 0030-5685. ; 96:4, s. 153-168
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The greatest loss of biodiversity in the EU has occurred on agricultural land. The Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is one of the many numerous and widespread European farmland breeding bird species showing major population declines linked to European agricultural intensification. Here we present results based on monitoring data collected since 1975 in 24 countries to examine the influence of changing extent of grassland and cattle abundance (based on results of earlier studies showing the importance of lowland cattle grazed grassland for the species), wintering provenance and temperature on national breeding population trends of Starlings across Europe. Positive Starling population trends in Central-East Europe contrast with negative trends in North and West Europe. Based on this indicative approach, we found some support for the importance of cattle stock and no support for grassland, temperature or wintering provenance to explain Starling population trends in Europe. However, we acknowledge such a European-wide analysis may conceal regional differences in responses and suggest that currently accessible national land use data might be insufficient to describe the detailed current changes in animal husbandry and grassland management that may be responsible for changes in food availability and hence breeding Starling abundance and their differences across Europe. Reviewing results from local studies relating Starling population trends to local agricultural change offer contradictory results, suggesting complex interacting processes at work. We recommend combining national datasets on demography, land-use/agricultural practices and from autecological research to better explain the reasons for contrasting Starling trends across Europe, to enable us to predict how changing agriculture will affect Starlings and potentially suggest mitigation measures to restore local populations where possible.
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| 10. |
- Kehoe, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 364:6438, s. 341-
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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