| 1. |
- Andersson, G., et al.
(författare)
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Arthropod populations in a sub-arctic environment facing climate change over a half-century: variability but no general trend
- 2022
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Ingår i: Insect Conservation and Diversity. - : Wiley. - 1752-458X .- 1752-4598. ; 15:5, s. 534-542
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dramatic declines of some arthropod populations have recently received a lot of attention. Identified declines have mainly been attributed to changes in agriculture, climate, pathogen prevalence and light pollution, as well as cross-regional effects of, e.g., drifting pesticides. However, the overall picture is complex and debated, and there is a need for systematically collected long-term data, not least from areas relatively unaffected by humans. We monitored the abundance of arthropods (mainly insects) in subalpine birch forest in Swedish Lapland over a period of 53 years (1968-2020), in an area comparatively unaffected by human activities. Arthropod abundance was assessed by yearly systematic counts on 24,000 birch shoots, in the second half of June. Animals were categorised into 17 different groups directly upon counting, dependent on taxonomy and life stage (imago, larva). Overall, there was no significant change in arthropod numbers. Nor did estimates of the total biomass of arthropods (using group-specific indices of the mass of individuals) show any significant trend. Accordingly, there are no signs that the arthropod abundance or biomass on birch in this subarctic study site has gone through the same declines as have been reported from sites in other habitats. The reason may be that the impact of factors identified worldwide as drivers of arthropod declines so far are small or non-existent because of the low human population density in this area.
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| 2. |
- Bakx, Tristan, et al.
(författare)
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Areas of high conservation value support specialist forest birds
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecosphere. - 2150-8925. ; 14:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scientists have deemed existing protected areas in European forests insufficient to halt and reverse biodiversity loss resulting from ongoing intensification of management. In Sweden, protected areas are therefore complemented with the so-called areas of high conservation value (AHCVs), that is, landscapes encompassing both protected and assumed biodiversity-valuable areas as well as surrounding land, where managers should pay increased attention to biodiversity. However, it is not known whether AHCVs are chosen so that the species they are intended to benefit inhabit such AHCVs to a higher degree. We investigated whether the occurrence and abundance of bird species that may be particularly vulnerable to intense forest management were higher in Swedish forest landscapes proposed as AHCVs compared with other forest landscapes. To this end, we fitted a joint species distribution model to bird count data for 70 forest bird species from a standardized Swedish bird monitoring scheme. Twelve of the 20 forest specialists (60%) were detected to occur more often inside AHCVs than outside, whereas no forest specialist was less likely to occur inside AHCVs. For forest generalists, the corresponding figures were 28% and 18%, respectively. Six of 15 red-listed species (40%) were detectably more likely to occur inside AHCVs. The relationship between AHCV status of landscapes and the abundance of individual species was not as consistently negative or positive. The higher occurrence of specialists and threatened species inside AHCVs than outside of them suggests that if managed correctly, AHCVs are important habitat for a considerable part of the specialized forest avifauna in Sweden. We conclude that AHCVs represent an opportunity for designing green infrastructure benefitting Swedish forest biodiversity.
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| 3. |
- Bakx, Tristan R.M., et al.
(författare)
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Farmland birds occupying forest clear-cuts respond to both local and landscape features
- 2020
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127. ; 478
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agricultural landscapes have changed fast in Europe, which has led to steep declines in farmland biodiversity. While this has differentially impacted “farmland species”, some of these seem to be able to use alternative man-made open habitats in forests, such as forest clear-cuts and powerline rights-of-way. We investigated the use of clear-cuts by two historically declining farmland birds, the Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) and the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), to determine both local and landscape habitat characteristics of clear-cuts used for breeding. Among 101 clear-cuts visited in Scania, southern Sweden, 27% were occupied by Yellowhammers and 12% by Red-backed Shrikes. Yellowhammer occurrence in clear-cuts was positively related to local spruce cover (the planted tree species). There was also an interaction between clear-cut size and the proportion of farmland in the landscape, such that the positive effect of the proportion of farmland nearby was stronger for larger clear-cuts. Red-backed Shrike occurrence was positively related to clear-cut size and the local presence of piles of forest residues (tops and branches). The relation between occurrence and the proportion of clear-cuts in the landscape was positive for small clear-cuts and negative for larger ones. Yellowhammers and Red-backed shrikes are affected by both the local habitat structure in the clearcut and on the composition of the surrounding landscape, most likely because they use the clear-cut for nesting and the surroundings as complementary feeding habitat. To what extent clear-cuts as complementary breeding habitat to farmland may contribute to the conservation of Yellowhammers and Red-backed shrikes, as well as other farmland birds, is a promising path for future investigations.
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| 4. |
- Bradter, Ute, et al.
(författare)
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Decomposing the spatial and temporal effects of climate on bird populations in northern European mountains
- 2022
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 28:21, s. 6209-6227
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The relationships between species abundance or occurrence versus spatial variation in climate are commonly used in species distribution models to forecast future distributions. Under “space-for-time substitution”, the effects of climate variation on species are assumed to be equivalent in both space and time. Two unresolved issues of space-for-time substitution are the time period for species' responses and also the relative contributions of rapid- versus slow reactions in shaping spatial and temporal responses to climate change. To test the assumption of equivalence, we used a new approach of climate decomposition to separate variation in temperature and precipitation in Fennoscandia into spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal components over a 23-year period (1996–2018). We compiled information on land cover, topography, and six components of climate for 1756 fixed route surveys, and we modeled annual counts of 39 bird species breeding in the mountains of Fennoscandia. Local abundance of breeding birds was associated with the spatial components of climate as expected, but the temporal and spatiotemporal climatic variation from the current and previous breeding seasons were also important. The directions of the effects of the three climate components differed within and among species, suggesting that species can respond both rapidly and slowly to climate variation and that the responses represent different ecological processes. Thus, the assumption of equivalent species' response to spatial and temporal variation in climate was seldom met in our study system. Consequently, for the majority of our species, space-for-time substitution may only be applicable once the slow species' responses to a changing climate have occurred, whereas forecasts for the near future need to accommodate the temporal components of climate variation. However, appropriate forecast horizons for space-for-time substitution are rarely considered and may be difficult to reliably identify. Accurately predicting change is challenging because multiple ecological processes affect species distributions at different temporal scales.
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| 5. |
- Brlík, Vojtěch, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term and large-scale multispecies dataset tracking population changes of common European breeding birds
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Data. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2052-4463. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Around fifteen thousand fieldworkers annually count breeding birds using standardized protocols in 28 European countries. The observations are collected by using country-specific and standardized protocols, validated, summarized and finally used for the production of continent-wide annual and long-term indices of population size changes of 170 species. Here, we present the database and provide a detailed summary of the methodology used for fieldwork and calculation of the relative population size change estimates. We also provide a brief overview of how the data are used in research, conservation and policy. We believe this unique database, based on decades of bird monitoring alongside the comprehensive summary of its methodology, will facilitate and encourage further use of the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme results.
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| 6. |
- Couet, Joséphine, et al.
(författare)
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Short-lived species move uphill faster under climate change
- 2022
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Ingår i: Oecologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. ; 198:4, s. 877-888
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is pushing species ranges and abundances towards the poles and mountain tops. Although many studies have documented local altitudinal shifts, knowledge of general patterns at a large spatial scale, such as a whole mountain range, is scarce. From a conservation perspective, studying altitudinal shifts in wildlife is relevant because mountain regions often represent biodiversity hotspots and are among the most vulnerable ecosystems. Here, we examine whether altitudinal shifts in birds’ abundances have occurred in the Scandinavian mountains over 13 years, and assess whether such shifts are related to species’ traits. Using abundance data, we show a clear pattern of uphill shift in the mean altitude of bird abundance across the Scandinavian mountains, with an average speed of 0.9 m per year. Out of 76 species, 7 shifted significantly their abundance uphill. Altitudinal shift was strongly related to species’ longevity: short-lived species showed more pronounced uphill shifts in abundance than long-lived species. The observed abundance shifts suggest that uphill shifts are not only driven by a small number of individuals at the range boundaries, but the overall bird abundances are on the move. Overall, the results underscore the wide-ranging impact of climate change and the potential vulnerability of species with slow life histories, as they appear less able to timely respond to rapidly changing climatic conditions.
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| 7. |
- Green, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Häckande fåglar i Värmlands län : Trender för arter samt miljöindikatorer baserade på standardrutter och nattrutter
- 2020
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Systemet med systematiskt utlagda standardrutter utgör ryggraden i den generella nationella och regionala miljöövervakningen av fåglar. I Värmlands län återfinns 34 av landets 716 standardrutter (knappt 5 %). I denna rapport redovisas utvecklingen för länets generella fågelfauna under perioden 1998–2019, även om vi också redovisar trender för perioderna 2002–2019 och 2010–2019. Den förstnämnda perioden är den längsta möjliga som vi kan beräkna trender för. Trenderna från 2002 och framåt täcker den period när vi har bättre årlig regional täckning generellt i landet. Den avslutande perioden täcker de senaste tio åren och används för att visa hur det går just nu, eller snarare hur det har gått i det allra senaste.Under 2010-talet har täckningen av länets standardrutter varit mycket god och motsvarande 62–100 % (medel 81 %) av de regionala rutterna har inventerats årligen. Detta är en lämplig fortsatt ambitionsnivå för att kunna ha en god övervakning av länets allmänna fåglar. Den goda täckningen av länet är helt beroende av att Länsstyrelsen och Naturvårdsverket finansierar fältinsatserna. Ungefär hälften av den årliga inventeringsinsatsen i länet bekostas av Länsstyrelsen och den andra hälften direkt av centrala anslag från Naturvårdsverket.Med startår 1998 är det 79 arter som setts näst intill årligen (minst 20 av 22 år) på länets standardrutter. Av dessa ökade 19 arter (24 %) och minskade 15 arter (19 %) säkert i antal. 25 arter (32 %) uppvisade stabila bestånd och för 20 arter (25 %) var utvecklingen osäker. Sett enbart till trendernas riktning, oavsett statistisk säkerhet, var det en övervikt (61 %) för arter med positiv trendriktning.Från 2002 är det 87 arter som bokförts på Värmlands standardrutter under nästan alla år (minst 16 av 18 år). Från detta startår var det övergripande mönstret mera negativt; bara sex arter (7 %) ökade medan 15 (17 %) minskade säkert i antal. 25 arter (29 %) hade stabila bestånd och för 41 arter (47 %) var utvecklingen osäker. Om vi enbart ser till trendriktningarna, oavsett statistisk säkerhet, var det under denna period en övervikt (62 %) för negativa trendriktningar, vilket förstärker bilden av ett mer negativt mönster från 2002–2019 än 1998–2019.De senaste tio åren (2010–2019) har 105 arter setts nära nog årligen (minst åtta av tio år) på standardrutterna i Värmlands län. Under denna korta period har pendeln svängt tillbaka åt det positiva hållet igen. I korttidsperspektivet är det 19 arter (18 %) som uppvisar säkra ökningar och blott två arter (2 %) med säkra minskningar. Sex arter (6 %) har haft stabila bestånd de senaste tio åren och för 78 arter (74 %) är beståndsutvecklingen osäker under denna period. Här måste en komma ihåg att den korta tidsperioden gör det svårare att få fram statistiskt säkra resultat. Därmed är det ofrånkomligt att andelen osäkra resultat är hög. Återigen var det nu en övervikt (64 %) av positiva trendriktningar om vi bortser från statistisk säkerhet och enbart tittar på själva riktningarna. Sedan 2011 har 17 olika nattrutter inventerats i Värmlands län, men det är enbart de fyra senaste åren, 2016–2019, som ett högre antal nattrutter har inventerats årligen. Detta tack vare Länsstyrelsens engagemang med att hitta lokala inventerare till länets nattrutter. Under dessa år har 12–16 rutter (medel 14) inventerats per år. Det är därför för denna väldigt korta period som vi redovisar lite mer detaljerade nattruttsresultat. Baserat på nattruttsdata presenterar vi utvecklingen för 33 utvalda fågel- och elva däggdjursarter som noterats på rutterna under minst två av de senaste fyra åren. Här ingår exempelvis sju olika ugglearter. Inga djupare slutsatser ska såklart dras från en så kort period som enbart fyra år, men vi kan konstatera att fyra ugglearter har bokförts årligen i länet. Dessa är katt-, slag-, horn- och pärluggla. För kattuggla är Värmlands län ett av de som hittills uppvisat de högsta noterade antalen per rutt. Vi kan också konstatera 2017 av allt att döma var ett gott gnagarår med goda registrerade uggleantal. En annan intressant nattaktiv fågelart är nattskärran, och precis som i landet i stort förefaller det gå bra för den arten i Värmland just nu. Flertalet bokförda däggdjursarter uppvisar positiva mönster på länets nattrutter under de senaste fyra åren.Indikatorer, gemensamma trender för grupper av fåglar, visar generellt sett på få statistiskt säkra förändringar i Värmlands län under perioden 2002–2019. I skogen finns tecken på en positiv utveckling, mest så under de allra senaste tio åren, men utan statistisk säkerhet. Mest positiv är till synes utvecklingen för fågelarter knutna till äldre skog. Även om statistiskt säkra resultat saknas så antyder mönstren i Värmlands län en betydligt mer positiv regional utveckling än den som finns för landet som helhet.Indikatorerna för odlingslandskapet visar på säkra minskningar över hela perioden 2002–2019, precis som i landet i stort. De senaste tio åren finns inga säkra förändringar, men dock små tecken på en regional uppgång. Dessa tecken är klart starkare i Värmlands län än i Sverige totalt sett.När det gäller våtmarker uppvisar de regionala indikatorerna tydligt positiva mönster som dock inte är statistiskt säkerställda. Tydligast positiva är trenderna under de senaste tio åren. Utvecklingen i Värmlands län är till synes mer positiv än den i hela Sverige. För sjöar och vattendrag har läget varit stabilt sett över hela perioden 2002–2019. Ett svagt positivt mönster finns för de senaste tio åren. I hela Sverige finns en säker ökning i korttidsperspektivet.De två indikatorerna som kopplar till biologisk mångfald i stort ger delvis lite olika utfall för Värmlands län, även om skillnaderna egentligen inte är så stora. En ena visar på en säker minskning över hela perioden 2002–2019, vilken den andra inte gör. Bakom detta finns för båda ett negativt mönster för hela perioden och ett lite positivt sådant för de senaste tio åren. På en generell nivå stämmer detta med hur det ser upp på nationell nivå. Där finns en statistiskt säker minskning för hela perioden men en lika säker ökning de senaste tio åren.Indikatorn som kopplar till effekterna av klimatförändring visar att det värmländska fågelsamhället har blivit ”varmare” under de senaste 18 åren. Detta innebär arter med varmare utbredningsområden relativt sett har haft en mer positiv utveckling än arter med kallare utbredningsområden. Med andra ord kan vi redan nu se att den värmländska fågelfaunan förändrats i takt med ett allt varmare klimat.
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| 8. |
- Green, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Övervakning av fåglarnas populationsutveckling. Årsrapport för 2020.
- 2021
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We present the results of the Swedish Bird Survey, run by the Department of Biology, Lund University, as a part of the National Monitoring Programme of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The results for 2020 include data from: 564 winter point counts in 2019/2020 (45th winter), of which 274 were carried out during the Christmas/New Year count, 210 summer point count routes (46th year) and 550 Fixed routes (25th year). In the programme for covering night-active birds (11th season), 151 routes were covered on up to three occasions each (March, April and June). In addition, 372 waterbird routes (6th season) and 200 archipelago squares (6th season) were surveyed. New for this year is that we alsoinclude the International Waterbird Census (IWC) from September (47th year, 145 sectors) and January (55th year, 1066 sectors), and nationwide goose counts in September, October, November and January (44th season, 1537 sites). In total 759 persons were involved in the surveys reported here. Population trends were analyzed using TRIM and trends for 228 different bird species are presented, as well as the geographical distributions of the covered routes. Larger mammals are counted on the Night routes and the Fixed routes since 2010 and 2011, respectively, and we present short-term trends for 12 mammal species based on these two systems. We also present trends from the new schemes of water- and archipelago birds, through which we can now follow yet more species withsystematic counts during the breeding period. The long-term trends show both winners and losers among the Swedish birds. In general breeding bird numbers have decreased since the 1970s. Among the winners are swans and geese,raptors and cranes. Most species of autumn staging and wintering waterbirds have increased in numbers during the same period. When it comes to the wintering birds, the increases are most likely a result of generally milder winters with more open water and snow-free ground. Year 2020 was in general a good bird year in Sweden and based on 204 taxa recorded on the Fixed routes over the last 10 years, there are more species significantly increasing in numbers (26%), than decreasing in numbers (15%). For the remaining species (59%), no statistically significant changes were recorded during the last ten years. Based on the winter point counts, the trends during the last ten winters are strongly positive. Intotal 35 % of 114 species have increased significantly, while only 8 % have decreased. For waterbirds specifically, the majority of the surveyed species (67%) have increased in winter during the last ten years and only one species (3%) decreased significantly. The increasing numbers of wintering waterbirds is also in the short perspective a result of mild winters. With the additions of our latest survey programs we can now follow the population development of somewhere between 80 and 90% of the about 250 bird species breeding in Sweden.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Green, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Övervakning av fåglarnas populationsutveckling: : Årsrapport för 2022
- 2023
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We present the results of the Swedish Bird Survey, a project run by the Department of Biology, Lund University, as a part of the National Monitoring Programme of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The results for 2022 include data from: 546 winter point counts in 2021/2022 (47th winter), ofwhich 254 were carried out during the Christmas/New Year count, 209 summer point count routes (48th year) and 375 Fixed routes (27th year). In the programme for covering night-active birds (13 th season), 155 routes were covered on up to three occasions each (March, April and June). In addition, 425waterbird routes (8th season) and 186 archipelago squares (8th season) were surveyed. In the waterbird counts included in the International Waterbird Census (IWC) 219 sectors were counted in September (49 th year) and 1084 sectors in January (57th year). In total 740 persons were involved in the surveysreported here.Population trends were analyzed using TRIM and trends for 224 different bird species are presented, as well as the geographical distributions of the covered routes. Larger mammals are counted on the Night routes and the Fixed routes since 2010 and 2011, respectively, and we present trends for 12 mammal species based on these two systems. We also present trends from the schemes of water- and archipelago birds, through which we can follow yet more species with systematic counts during the breeding period.The long-term trends show both winners and losers among the Swedish birds. The species with the strongest declines during the breeding season are Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard, Common Eider, Common Shelduck, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Ruff, European Herring Gull, Common Swift, Common House and Sand Martin, Hooded Crow, Marsh and Willow Tit, Common Reed Warbler, Common Starling, Yellowhammer and Ortolan Bunting. The strongest increases are found in Great Cormorant, Gadwall, Grey-lag Goose, Whooper Swan, Red Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Crane, Eurasian Blue Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, southern Common Chiffchaff and European Goldfinch.Based on 187 taxa recorded on the Fixed routes over the last 10 years, there are more species significantly increasing in numbers (29%), than decreasing in numbers (15%). For the remaining species (56%), no statistically significant changes were recorded during the last ten years. Eurasian Skylark and Common Linnet has increased strongly in the last decade following long-term declines.After a long period of relative stability, Barn Swallow has decreased markedly in numbers in recent years.Based on the winter point counts, also here there are more positive than negative trends for the last ten years. In total 27% of 114 species have increased significantly, while 19% have decreased. For waterbirds specifically and based on the IWC counts in January, the majority of the surveyed species (70%) have increased in winter during the last ten years and only 7% of the species have decreased significantly.
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