The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Gallinago gallinago gallinago Linnaeus, 1758 was determined by the high-throughput data. The assembled mitogenome was 16,919 bp in length, with a 58.7% A + T ...content and GC skew of −0.3850. Among 13 PCGs, an unusual start codon (GTG) was identified for the COX1 gene, and incomplete stop codons (T-) were found in the COX3, ND2 and ND4 genes. The function of a cytosine insertion at site 174 in the ND3 gene and its phylogenetic significance are worthy of further scrutiny. In the control region (CR), thirteen 15-bp simple sequence repeats were found in G. g. gallinago. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Gallinago was clustered at the basal position of the Scolopax clade and that the monophyly of Gallinago was also recovered. The mitogenome data of G. g. gallinago provides useful resources for further studying the evolution of Scolopacidae.
Wet grassland populations of wading birds in the United Kingdom have declined severely since 1990. To help mitigate these declines, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has restored and ...managed lowland wet grassland nature reserves to benefit these and other species. However, the impact of these reserves on bird population trends has not been evaluated experimentally due to a lack of control populations. We compared population trends from 1994 to 2018 among 5 bird species of conservation concern that breed on these nature reserves with counterfactual trends created from matched breeding bird survey observations. We compared reserve trends with 3 different counterfactuals based on different scenarios of how reserve populations could have developed in the absence of conservation. Effects of conservation interventions were positive for all 4 targeted wading bird species: Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Redshank (Tringa totanus), Curlew (Numenius arquata), and Snipe (Gallinago gallinago). There was no positive effect of conservation interventions on reserves for the passerine, Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava). Our approach using monitoring data to produce valid counterfactual controls is a broadly applicable method allowing large‐scale evaluation of conservation impact.
Un Enfoque Hipotético para Medir el Impacto de la Conservación de Pastizales Húmedos sobre Poblaciones Reproductoras de Aves en el Reino Unido
Resumen
Las poblaciones de aves zancudas en los pastizales húmedos del Reino Unido han declinado gravemente desde 1990. Para ayudar con la mitigación de estas declinaciones, la Real Sociedad para la Protección de las Aves ha restaurado y manejado las reservas naturales en pastizales húmedos de tierras bajas para beneficiar a estas y otras especies. Sin embargo, el impacto de estas reservas sobre las tendencias poblacionales de las aves no ha sido evaluado experimentalmente debido a la falta de poblaciones control. Comparamos las tendencias poblacionales entre 1994 y 2018 de cinco especies de aves de importancia para la conservación, que se reproducen dentro de estas reservas naturales, mediante tendencias hipotéticas creadas a partir de los censos de observación de aves reproductoras emparejadas. Comparamos las tendencias de las reservas con tres casos hipotéticos diferentes basados en diferentes escenarios de cómo las poblaciones de la reserva podrían haberse desarrollado en ausencia de la conservación. Los efectos de las intervenciones de conservación fueron positivos para las cuatro especies focales de aves zancudas: Vanellus vanellus, Tringa totanus, Numenius arquata y Gallinago gallinago. No hubo un efecto positivo de las intervenciones de conservación para la especie paserina Motacilla flava. Nuestra estrategia utilizando datos de monitoreos para producir controles hipotéticos válidos es un método ampliamente aplicable que permite ka evaluación del impacto de la conservación a gran escala
摘要
自1990 年以来, 英国湿草地涉禽的数量急剧下降。为了缓解这些鸟类种群丧失, 英国皇家鸟类保护协会通过恢复和管理低地湿草地自然保护区来帮助保护这些鸟类及其它物种。然而, 由于缺乏对照种群, 保护区对鸟类种群动态的影响还没有得到实验评估。本研究将在这些保护区繁殖的五种受保护鸟类 1994–2018 年的种群动态与配对的鸟类繁殖调查获得的反事实动态进行了比较。我们比较了保护区鸟类种群动态与三种反事实动态, 这些反事实动态是基于保护区种群在没有保护的情况下如何发展的不同情景假设。结果表明, 研究关注的四种涉禽:凤头麦鸡 (Vanellus vanellus) 、红脚鹬 (Tringa totanus) 、白腰杓鹬 (Numenius arquata) 和扇尾沙锥 (Gallinago gallinago) 的保护措施均取得了积极成效, 而对保护区中雀形目鸟类黄鹡鸰 (Motacilla flava) 的保护干预没有积极作用。我们的方法利用监测数据产生了可靠的反事实对照, 是一种可用于大规模评估保护影响的广适性方法。【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】
Article impact statement: Post hoc quasi‐experimental analysis shows that wet grassland conservation has positively affected targeted breeding bird populations.
Planting forests is a commonly suggested measure to mitigate climate change. The resulting changes in habitat structure can greatly influence the diversity and abundance of pre‐existing wildlife. ...Understanding these consequences is key for avoiding unintended impacts of afforestation on habitats and populations of conservation concern.
Afforestation in lowland Iceland has been gaining momentum in recent years and further increases are planned. Iceland supports internationally important breeding populations of several ground‐nesting, migratory bird species that mostly breed in open habitats. If afforestation impacts the distribution and abundance of these species, the consequences may be apparent throughout their non‐breeding ranges across Europe and Africa.
To quantify the effects of plantation forests on the abundance and distribution of ground‐nesting birds (in particular waders, Charadriiformes), surveys were conducted on 161 transects (surrounding 118 plantations) perpendicular to forest edges throughout Iceland. The resulting variation in density with distance from plantation was used to estimate the likely changes in bird numbers resulting from future afforestation plans, and to explore the potential effects of different planting configuration (size and number of forest patches) scenarios.
Of seven wader species, densities of five (golden plover Pluvialis apricaria, whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, dunlin Calidris alpina and black‐tailed godwit Limosa limosa) in the 200 m surrounding plantations were just under half of those further away (up to 700 m). Redshank Tringa totanus densities were lowest ≤150 m from the plantation edge while snipe Gallinago gallinago densities were 50% higher close to plantations (0–50 m) than further away (51–700 m), and no consistent effects of plantation height, diameter, density or type were identified. Plantations are typically small and widespread, and simulated scenarios indicated that total declines in bird abundance resulting from planting trees in one large block (1,000 ha) could result in only ~11% of the declines predicted from planting multiple small blocks (1 ha) in similar habitats.
Synthesis and application. Planting forests in open landscapes can have severe impacts on populations of ground‐nesting birds, which emphasizes the need for strategic planning of tree‐planting schemes. Given Iceland's statutory commitments to species protection and the huge contribution of Iceland to global migratory bird flyways, these are challenges that must be addressed quickly, before population‐level impacts are observed across migratory ranges.
Útdráttur
Skógrækt er mikilvæg í baráttunni við hnattræna hlýnun en umfangsmiklar breytingar í gróðurfari geta haft mikil áhrif á fjölbreytileika og þéttleika dýra. Mikilvægt er að greina slík áhrif til að komast hjá því að valda óafturkræfum breytingum á dýrastofnum sem hafa hátt verndargildi.
Skógrækt á Íslandi hefur aukist til muna síðustu ár og stefnt er að því að auka hana enn frekar. Á Íslandi eru stórir hlutar heimsstofna ýmissa farfugla sem verpa á jörðu niðri í opnum búsvæðum. Ef aukin skógrækt hefur áhrif á dreifingu og stofnstærðir þessara tegunda, getur áhrifanna gætt á vetrarstöðvum þeirra í Evrópu og Afríku.
Áhrif skóga á þéttleika og dreifingu fugla sem verpa á jörðu niðri (einkum vaðfugla Charadriiformes), voru metin með talningum á 161 sniðum (umhverfis 118 skógarreiti) út frá skógarjöðrum á Íslandi. Tengsl fuglafjölda við fjarlægð frá skógarjöðrum voru notuð til að meta hvernig fjöldi fugla getur breyst með áframhaldandi skógrækt á láglendi Íslands og hvernig þær breytingar eru háðar skipulagi skóga (stærð og fjölda bletta).
Af sjö vaðfuglum var þéttleiki fimm þeirra, heiðlóu Pluvialis apricaria, spóa Numenius phaeopus, tjalds Haematopus ostralegus, lóuþræls Calidris alpina og jaðrakans Limosa limosa, meira en helmingi lægri næstu 200 m við skógarjaðar samanborið við svæði lengra frá skóginum (upp að 700 m). Stelkur Tringa totanus var í lægstum þéttleika næstu 150 m umhverfis skóginn en hrossagaukur Gallinago gallinago fannst hins vegar í hærri þéttleika nálægt skógarjaðrinum (0–50 m) en lengra frá (51–700 m). Engin áhrif fundust af hæð trjáa, stærð og þéttleika skógarreita, eða hvort um barr‐ eða laufskóga var að ræða. Skógarreitir á Íslandi eru almennt litlir og dreifðir, en útreikningar benda til þess að fækkun fugla vegna skógræktar yrði nánast tífalt minni ef 1000 ha skógi yrði plantað í einu lagi miðað við að honum væri plantað í 1 ha reitum.
Samantekt og notagildi. Skógrækt í opnum búsvæðum getur haft mikil áhrif á stofna fugla sem verpa á jörðu niðri og mikilvægt er að hafa það í huga þegar skógrækt er skipulögð. Mikill fjöldi farfugla verpir hér á landi og Ísland hefur skrifað undir alþjóðlega samninga og skuldbundið sig til að vernda þessa fuglastofna. Það er því mikilvægt að huga að áhrifum skógræktar á þessar tegundir og bregðast við þeim áður en áhrifin koma fram á farleiðum íslenskra fugla í Evrópu og Afríku.
Planting forests in open landscapes can have severe impacts on populations of ground‐nesting birds, which emphasizes the need for strategic planning of tree‐planting schemes. Given Iceland's statutory commitments to species protection and the huge contribution of Iceland to global migratory bird flyways, these are challenges that must be addressed quickly, before population‐level impacts are observed across migratory ranges.
1. There has been a rapid increase in the development of renewable energy because of the need to combat climate change. One of the most widely used technologies has been onshore wind farms.These have ...the potential to affect birds through disturbance or collision, but the extent to which such developments cause general population declines, and therefore are of wider conservation concern, remains largely untested. 2. Monitoring data from wind farms located on unenclosed upland habitats in the UK were collated to test whether breeding densities of upland birds were reduced as a result of wind farm construction or during wind farm operation. 3. Data were available for ten species although none were raptors. Red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus, snipe Gallinago gallinago and curlew Numenius arquata densities all declined on wind farms during construction. Red grouse densities recovered after construction, but snipe and curlew densities did not. Post-construction curlew densities on wind farms were also significantly lower than reference sites. Conversely, densities of skylark A lauda arvensis and stonechat Saxícola torquata increased on wind farms during construction. 4. There was little evidence for consistent post-construction population declines in any species, suggesting for the first time that wind farm construction can have greater impacts upon birds than wind farm operation. 5. The impacts of wind farms were largely unaffected by technical specifications (turbine height, number or total generating power) and therefore are widely applicable. 6.Synthesis and applications.This study confirms that regulatory authorities and developers should particularly consider the likely impacts of wind farms on large waders. Greater weight should be given to the effects of construction on wildlife in impact assessments than at present. Mitigation measures during construction, including restricting construction activity to non-breeding periods, should be considered and tested as a means to reduce these negative effects.
Yearly electricity production has increased steadily worlwide in recent decades and the associated overhead power lines are widespread and occur across urban and natural habitats, and often in remote ...areas where there is little other anthropogenic influence. Here we assessed the effects of overhead power lines on the density of ground‐nesting birds in the Icelandic lowlands, which host several populations of international importance. The combined breeding density of the eight study species increased significantly from ~ 112 birds/km2 close (< 50 m) to the power lines to ~ 177 birds/km2 away (450–500 m) from the power lines, with two of these species (Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus and Common Redshank Tringa totanus) increasing significantly with distance from power lines and six species (European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, Black‐tailed Godwit Limosa limosa, Dunlin Calidris alpina and Redwing Turdus iliacus) showing no changes. These findings suggest that power lines can influence the breeding density of ground‐nesting bird species in their vicinity and that accounting for such effects when planning future infrastructure will be imperative.
Breeding populations of many wading birds have declined globally, primarily caused by habitat degradation and loss. In the UK, population declines have been particularly notable on lowland wet ...grasslands. In response, some areas of lowland wet grassland have been restored and are under ongoing management to improve the breeding conditions of target species. Here, we assess the efficacy of management measures using a Bayesian framework and controlling for confounding factors. We focus on four wader species, Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago and Common Redshank Tringa totanus, that breed in numbers on wet grassland reserve sites in the UK. We collated annual site‐specific climate variables, management information (e.g. the creation of wet features and predator control measures) and bird counts between 1994 and 2018. We found the effects of conservation actions varied between intervention types and species. For Lapwing and Redshank, excluding predators by predator‐exclusion fencing, especially in combination with fox control, was generally associated with higher breeding counts. For all study species, sites with longer histories of management were associated with higher breeding numbers, with the effect of site age being particularly notable for management on former arable land. Our findings support the effectiveness of targeted conservation actions to achieve high numbers of breeding waders on lowland wet grassland reserves, and also highlight the value of consistent and reliable monitoring data.
1. An 8-year-field experiment on moorland in northern England manipulated the abundance of legally controllable predators whilst maintaining consistent habitat conditions. Subsequent changes in both ...the breeding success and abundance of five ground-nesting bird species were monitored: lapwing Vanellus vanellus, golden plover Pluvialis apricaria, curlew Numenius arquata, red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus and meadow pipit Anthus pratensis and the abundance only of snipe Gallinago gallinago and skylark A lauda arvensis. 2. Control of fox Vulpes vulpes, carrion crow Corvus corone, stoat Mustela ermina and weasel Mustela nivalis reduced the abundance of fox (-43%) and crow (-78%); no changes were detected in already low stoat or weasel abundances. 3. Reductions in foxes and crows led to an average threefold increase in breeding success of lapwing, golden plover, curlew, red grouse and meadow pipit. 4. P00redator control led to subsequent increases in breeding numbers (> 14% per annum) of lapwing, curlew, golden plover and red grouse, all of which declined in the absence of predator control (> 17% per annum). 5. Synthesis and applications. Controlling predators is a potentially important management tool for conserving a range of threatened species. Considerable sums of public monies are currently spent on habitat improvement for conservation and some of these public funds should be used to underpin habitat works with predator removal.
Despite much discussion about the utility of remote sensing for effective conservation, the inclusion of these technologies in species recovery plans remains largely anecdotal. We developed a ...modeling approach for the integration of local, spatially measured ecosystem functional dynamics into a species distribution modeling (SDM) framework in which other ecologically relevant factors are modeled separately at broad scales. To illustrate the approach, we incorporated intraseasonal water‐vegetation dynamics into a cross‐scale SDM for the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), which is highly dependent on water and vegetation dynamics. The Common Snipe is an Iberian grassland waterbird characteristic of European agricultural meadows and a member of one of the most threatened bird guilds. The intraseasonal dynamics of water content of vegetation were measured using the standard deviation of the normalized difference water index time series computed from bimonthly images of the Sentinel‐2 satellite. The recovery plan for the Common Snipe in Galicia (northwestern Iberian Peninsula) provided an opportunity to apply our modeling framework. Model accuracy in predicting the species’ distribution at a regional scale (resulting from integration of downscaled climate projections with regional habitat–topographic suitability models) was very high (area under the curve AUC of 0.981 and Boyce's index of 0.971). Local water‐vegetation dynamic models, based exclusively on Sentinel‐2 imagery, were good predictors (AUC of 0.849 and Boyce's index of 0.976). The predictive power improved (AUC of 0.92 and Boyce's index of 0.98) when local model predictions were restricted to areas identified by the continental and regional models as priorities for conservation. Our models also performed well (AUC of 0.90 and Boyce's index of 0.93) when projected to updated water‐vegetation conditions. Our modeling framework enabled incorporation of key ecosystem processes closely related to water and carbon cycles while accounting for other factors ecologically relevant to endangered grassland waterbirds across different scales, allowed identification of priority areas for conservation, and provided an opportunity for cost‐effective recovery planning by monitoring management effectiveness from space.
Integración de las Dinámicas Intraestacionales de los Pastizales al Modelado de la Distribución a través de Diversas Escalas para Respaldar los Planes de Recuperación de Aves Acuáticas
Resumen
A pesar A pesar del potencial de la teledetección para la conservación, la inclusión de estas tecnologías en los planes de recuperación de especies es muy poco habitual. En este trabajo, desarrollamos una estrategia de modelado para la integración de dinámicas ecosistémicas funcionales locales medidas espacialmente dentro de un marco de trabajo del modelado de distribución de especies (MDE), en el cual otros factores ecológicamente relevantes se modelan por separado y a escalas más generales. Para ilustrar la estrategia incorporamos las dinámicas Intraestacionales de la vegetación acuática en un MDE multiescala escalas para la agachadiza común (Gallinago gallinago), la cual es sumamente dependiente de las dinámicas del agua y la vegetación. La agachadiza común es un ave acuática de los pastizales ibéricos, característica de las praderas agrícolas de Europa y miembro de uno de los grupos de aves más amenazados. Medimos las dinámicas intraestacionales del contenido de agua de la vegetación con la desviación estándar de la serie temporal del índice de diferencia normalizada de agua a partir de las imágenes bimensuales del satélite Sentinel‐2. El plan de recuperación para la agachadiza común en Galicia (noroeste de la península ibérica) proporcionó una oportunidad para aplicar nuestro marco de trabajo. La capacidad del modelo para predecir la distribución de la especie a una escala regional (resultante de la integración de proyecciones climáticas a escala reducida con modelos regionales de idoneidad hábitat‐topografía) fue muy alta (área bajo la curva AUC de 0.981 e índice de Boyce de 0.971). El poder de predicción aumentó (AUC de 0.92 e índice de Boyce de 0.98) cuando las predicciones de los modelos locales estuvieron restringidos a áreas identificadas por los modelos continentales y regionales como prioritarias para la conservación. Nuestros modelos también tuvieron un buen desempeño (AUC de 0.90 e índice de Boyce de 0.93) cuando los proyectamos hacia las condiciones actualizadas de vegetación acuática. Nuestro marco de trabajo permitió la incorporación de procesos ecosistémicos clave intimamente relacionados con los ciclos del agua y del carbono a la vez que representaba otros factores ecológicamente relevantes para las aves acuáticas amenazadas de pastizal, a través de diferentes escalas. También permitió la identificación de áreas prioritarias para la conservación y proporcionó oportunidades para la planificación rentable de la recuperación al monitorear la efectividad del manejo desde el espacio.
摘要
虽然目前有许多关于遥感在有效保护的应用方面的讨论, 但真正将这些技术纳入物种恢复计划很大程度上还没有实现。我们开发了一种建模方法, 将空间测定的局部生态系统功能动态纳入物种分布模型的框架中, 其中其它生态学相关因素可以在大尺度上分别建模。作为示例, 我们在高度依赖水和植被动态变化的物种——扇尾沙锥 (Gallinago gallinago) 的跨尺度物种分布模型中纳入了季节内水‐植被动态变化。扇尾沙锥是一种伊比利亚草原水鸟, 是欧洲草地农业生境中的典型物种, 也是最受胁迫的鸟类类群之一。我们利用哨兵‐2 卫星两个月一次的图像, 计算了归一化水体指数时间序列的标准差, 来衡量植被中水体含量的季节内动态。加利西亚 (伊比利亚半岛西北部) 扇尾沙锥的恢复计划为应用我们的模型框架提供了机会。结合小尺度气候预测与区域生境地形适宜性模型, 我们的模型预测区域尺度物种分布的准确度非常高, 曲线下面积达到 0.981, 博伊斯指数为 0.971。完全基于哨兵‐2 图像的局部水‐植被动态模型也是很好的预测因子, 曲线下面积为 0.849, 博伊斯指数为 0.976。将局部模型预测限制在大陆和区域模型确定的优先保护区域时, 预测能力会有所提高 (曲线下面积为 0.92, 博伊斯指数为 0.98) 。我们的模型在新的水‐植被条件下也表现得很好 (曲线下面积为 0.90, 博伊斯指数为 0.93) 。这个模型框架可以整合与水和碳循环紧密联系的关键生态系统过程, 同时考虑其它不同尺度上与濒危草地水鸟相关的生态学因素, 有助于确定优先保护区域, 并通过空间监测管理有效性为经济有效的恢复计划创造条件。【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】
Article Impact Statement: Incorporating remotely sensed ecosystem functioning variables, related to water and carbon cycles, informs recovery planning.
The common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a wader that breeds in subarctic regions from Iceland to Russia, and for which global populations are in decline. We studied snipe breeding in western ...Iceland between 1998 and 2020, locating nests and ringing birds annually. In 2019 and 2020, we deployed geolocators on nesting adults to estimate the timing of their annual migration and the location of overwintering areas. Birds moved principally between breeding locations in Iceland to wintering areas in Ireland, although some birds may winter farther north. We also found that apparent annual adult survival averaged 66%, but was higher in years with warmer, wetter winters. Given the similarity of our survival estimates to those from snipe elsewhere, we suggest that adult survival is unlikely a major contributor to declining populations, and other factors like habitat loss may be of more concern.
Habitat composition plays a key role in determining the winter diet of the Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus, which varies across the winter season and between years.
To determine the winter diet of the Hen ...Harrier and examine temporal and spatial variations in diet composition.
A total of 1117 Hen Harrier pellets were collected from 11 winter roosts between 2017 and 2021 in Ireland.
Hen Harrier winter diet was dominated by avian prey (95.9% of pellets), with mammalian prey found in 12.0% of pellets. The occurrence of small birds and small mammals in the diet was positively associated with the proportion of arable, wild bird cover, and low-intensity agriculture around the roost sites. The frequency of medium-sized birds (primarily Redwing Turdus iliacus and Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago) in the diet was positively associated with the proportion of bog and young conifer forests surrounding roost sites. Diet varied across regions, with pellets from roosts in lowland coastal areas having a greater prevalence of small birds and small mammals, and pellets from roosts in upland areas having a greater prevalence of medium-sized birds. The proportion of medium-sized birds in the diet changed across months, with that of small birds and small mammals remaining stable. There was also variation between winters in the proportion of small- and medium-sized birds in the diet.
Habitat, along with region and time, are important drivers of variation in Hen Harrier diet. Our findings highlight the opportunity for the enhancement of Hen Harrier habitat through land management, and can be used to inform effective conservation strategies for wintering Hen Harriers at a landscape scale.
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