Bird populations in a changing world : implications for North European conservation

The combined effects of climate and land-use change constitute a major threat to global biodiversity. Accurate tools to track changes in biodiversity have been largely called upon in order to address global conservation targets. In response to this, a range of ecological indicators have been developed to measure the state of biodiversity in a changing world. Because of their sensitivity to environmental changes, birds are increasingly used in the construction of multi-species indicators, which represent a powerful tool for decision-makers to assess conservation effectiveness. This work aims to further our understanding of the general state of bird populations in Finland and the underlying ecological processes behind corresponding trends, covering different environments and with a special focus on some of the most threatened ecosystems of northern Europe. Using data on common bird species, the effects of climate change and anthropogenic habitat degradation on bird populations are quantified for different habitat types and seasons of the year. Habitat-specific indicators are also produced to deepen knowledge about large-scale impacts taking place in the environment while allowing an evaluation of the conservation status of bird populations, thus helping target the most critical conservation issues. Although the effects of climate and land-use change on bird populations vary significantly with the habitat type and the life-history traits of the species (e.g. migration strategy), the conservation status of nearly all studied communities is considerably deteriorating in both Finland and its neighbouring Northern European countries. Peatlands and forests are of particular concern, given that intensive management actions are severely impacting the inhabiting bird communities.Ilmastonmuutoksen ja maankäytön tehostumisen yhteisvaikutus uhkaa luonnon monimuotoisuutta maailmanlaajuisesti. Kansainvälisesti sovittujen luonnonsuojelutavoitteiden onnistumisen arvioimista varten tarvitaan luotettavia seurantamenetelmiä. Niinpä monia ekologisia indikaattoreita on kehitetty mittaamaan luonnon monimuotoisuuden tilaa muuttuvassa maailmassa. Linnut reagoivat nopeasti ympäristönmuutoksiin, minkä takia niitä käytetään yleisesti monista lajeista koostuvissa yleisindikaattoreissa, jotka toimivat tehokkaina työkaluina päätöksentekijöille luonnonsuojelun toimivuuden mittaamisessa. Väitöskirjani tarkoituksena oli lisätä ymmärrystä lintukantojemme yleisestä tilasta Suomessa sekä ekologisista prosesseista, jotka selittävät kannanmuutoksia. Mallinsin ilmastonmuutoksen ja lajien elinympäristöjen laadun heikkenemisen vaikutuksia yleisten lintulajien kannanvaihteluihin eri elinympäristöissä ja vuodenaikoina. Laskin myös elinympäristökohtaisia indikaattoreita, joiden avulla voi sekä seurata suuren mittakaavan muutoksia luonnossa että arvioida eri elinympäristöjen lintulajien suojelun tarvetta. Ilmastonmuutoksen ja maankäytön muutosten vaikutukset lintupopulaatioihin vaihtelivat selvästi eri elinympäristöissä ja lajien ominaisuuksien (esim. muuttostrategia) välillä. Silti lähes kaikissa tutkimissani lintulajiyhteisöissä Suomessa ja läheisissä Pohjois-Euroopan maissa lajien uhanalaisuusluokitukset olivat huonontuneet. Erityisesti soiden ja metsien lintujen tilanne on huolestuttava, koska tehometsätalous, soiden ojitus ja turvetuotanto ovat vaikuttaneet negatiivisesti lintuyhteisöihin

Declining peatland bird numbers are not consistent with the increasing Common Crane population

The Common Crane (Grus grus) population has experienced an unprecedented increase across Europe during the last decades. Although cranes feed mostly on invertebrates, amphibians and berries during the breeding season, they can also eat eggs and young of other birds. Therefore, conservationists have raised concerns about the potential predatory effect of cranes on wetland avifauna, but the effects of crane predation on bird numbers have so far not been investigated. We here test the relationship between the crane and peatland bird population' abundances in Finland for five common wader and passerine species, and a set of seven less common waders, using line-transect data spanning from 1987 to 2014. We found that the population densities of two small passerines (Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis and Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava) and one wader species (Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola) were positively associated with crane numbers, probably related to a protective effect against nest predators. For the two other common species and the set of less common waders, we did not find any significant relationships with crane abundance. None of the species was influenced by the (lagged) effect of crane presence (i.e. years since crane was first observed). Peatland drainage was responsible for most species' negative densities, indicating the need to protect and restore peatlands to mitigate the loss of peatland bird diversity in Finland. In addition, openness, wetness and area size were important peatland characteristics positively influencing most of the studied bird populations. The development in crane and other mire bird numbers in Europe should be monitored regularly to reveal any possible future predatory effects contributing to the shaping of the peatland bird community.Peer reviewe

Benefits of the European Agri-Environment Schemes for Wintering Lapwings : A Case Study from Rice Fields in the Mediterranean Region

Mediterranean European rice fields provide important habitats for migrating waterbirds. In winter. one waterbird species that particularly benefits from rice fields is the Northern Lapwing (VaneIlus vanellas), a species threatened in Europe. To assess the effect of agii-environmental measures on rice field selection and use by wintering lapwings, bird counts were conducted in northeastern Spain during two consecutive winters (2005-2006 and 2006-2007). Information on two mandatory post-harvest management prescriptions of the agri-environment schemes was collected, namely winter flooding (percent ground surface covered by water) and whether fields were rolled or not. The number of lapwings in rolled fields was significantly higher compared to non-rolled fields. For instance. an average rolled field with 50% water cover (percentage at which lapwing abundance more or less peaked) would host an estimated 12.03 +/- 0.52 SE lapwings versus 0.18 +/- 0.58 in a non-rolled field. While the maximum abundance of lapwings in rolled fields was found at an intermediate percentage of water cover (about 25 to 75%), the number of lapwings increased steadily with water cover in non-rolled fields. Rice post-harvest practices derived from the agri-environment schemes are beneficial for biodiversity, promoting the conservation of suitable habitats for waterbirds.Peer reviewe

Nationally reported metrics can’t adequately guide transformative change in biodiversity policy

Peer reviewe

Principles for including conservation messaging in wildlife‐based tourism

1. There is growing evidence that wildlife-based tourism can be a valuable pathway to transform the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of tourists, if complemented by effective conservation messaging and proactive interpretive experiences. 2. Yet, such conservation messaging is not always a priority for many wildlife-based tourism operators, who often avoid exposing happy tourists to the daunting biodiversity crisis. In this paper, we argue that failing to encourage tourists to do more on behalf of wildlife represents a missed opportunity for conservation. 3. Based on a comprehensive review of the academic literature, we show that conservation messaging is virtually absent from many mainstream wildlife-based tourism operations, often failing to connect global audiences to conservation issues. 4. We found that the scholarly literature on the effectiveness of different techniques, approaches and contents of conservation messaging in wildlife-based tourism is meagre at best. Yet, alternative forms of communicating conservation-related messages are opening new avenues to broaden the conservation potential of wildlife-based tourism. 5. We suggest a set of principles for improving the implementation of conservation messaging in wildlife-based tourism operations in order to maximize their educational potential. We end by calling for further research efforts on the factors implicated in effective conservation messaging in wildlife-based tours in order to pave the way for a new era of conservation-oriented tourismPeer reviewe

A state-of-the-art review on birds as indicators of biodiversity : Advances, challenges, and future directions

The current loss of biodiversity has been broadly acknowledged as the main cause of ecosystem change. To halt this trend, several international agreements have been made, and various biodiversity metrics have been developed to evaluate whether the targets of these agreements are being met. The process of developing good indicators is not trivial. Indicators should be able to synthesize and communicate our current knowledge, but they also need to meet both scientific and practical criteria. Since it would not be practical to monitor all species, indicators are mainly built on the monitoring of some well-known taxa, such as birds. Here we systematically review the wide spectrum of bird biodiversity indicators (hereafter indicators) available to: i) evaluate recent methodological advances; ii) identify current knowledge gaps jeopardizing indicator interpretation and use in guiding decision-making; and iii) examine challenges in their applicability across different spatial and temporal contexts. We pay particular attention to indicator characteristics such as site and species selection, spatial, seasonal and habitat coverage, and statistical issues in developing indicators and tools to tackle them, to provide specific recommendations for the future construction of indicators. Several methodological advances have recently been made to enhance the process of indicator development, including multiple ways to select sites and species to increase their robustness. However, we found that there are strong spatial, seasonal and habitat biases among the selected indicators. Most of them are from Europe, using mainly census data from the breeding season and typically covering farmland and forest habitats. The major challenges that we detected in their applicability were related to the modelling of the statistical uncertainty associated to the indicator. We recommend the use of quantitative methods in site and species selection procedures whenever possible. Current indicators should be expanded to areas outside Europe and to less studied habitats and should not neglect monitoring work outside the breeding season. Time-series analyses studying temporal trends and using multi-species data should in general account for temporal autocorrelation as well as for phylogenetic correlation. Multi-species hierarchical models are a good alternative for analysing and constructing indicators, but they need to include annual random effects allowing for unexplained annual variation in the average status of the community, i.e. the indicator target. Despite methodological and context-specific differences in the indicators reviewed, most of them seem to highlight the urgent need of devising strategic climate and conservation policies to improve the status and trends of biodiversity.Peer reviewe

Principles for including conservation messaging in wildlife-based tourism

There is growing evidence that wildlife-based tourism can be a valuable pathway to transform the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of tourists, if complemented by effective conservation messaging and proactive interpretive experiences. Yet, such conservation messaging is not always a priority for many wildlife-based tourism operators, who often avoid exposing happy tourists to the daunting biodiversity crisis. In this paper, we argue that failing to encourage tourists to do more on behalf of wildlife represents a missed opportunity for conservation. Based on a comprehensive review of the academic literature, we show that conservation messaging is virtually absent from many mainstream wildlife-based tourism operations, often failing to connect global audiences to conservation issues. We found that the scholarly literature on the effectiveness of different techniques, approaches and contents of conservation messaging in wildlife-based tourism is meagre at best. Yet, alternative forms of communicating conservation-related messages are opening new avenues to broaden the conservation potential of wildlife-based tourism. We suggest a set of principles for improving the implementation of conservation messaging in wildlife-based tourism operations in order to maximize their educational potential. We end by calling for further research efforts on the factors implicated in effective conservation messaging in wildlife-based tours in order to pave the way for a new era of conservation-oriented tourism

Population trends of common breeding forest birds in southern Finland are consistent with trends in forest management and climate change

In Finland, modern forestry has caused the gross modification of native forest habitats and a loss of biological diversity due to intensive management regimes. Although less than 1% of the old-growth forest area remains in southern Finland, the effects of forestry on bird population long-term trends have not been comprehensively studied in this area. To fill this knowledge gap, we analysed 30 years of monitoring data of 32 common forest breeders in southern Finland. For each species, we fitted piecewise log-linear trends in two segments: 1984–1998 (period 1) and 1999–2013 (period 2). The estimated trends were analysed in relation to the species-specific habitat preferences, average tree height preference, migratory strategy, and latitudinal distribution. The trends turned on average more negative in period 2 compared to period 1, but the between-species variation in this change was not explained by any of the predictors. For the whole study period, species with a preference for late successional and nutrient-poor habitats (mostly found in northern latitudes) showed more negative population trends. In addition, trends changed on average –3%/ 500 km latitude.We further developed three summarizing multi-species indices, most of which should be useful for monitoring the general state of breeding forest bird communities in southern Finland. Our results suggest that bird communities are shaped by both a loss of mature forests and by climate warming. The decline of birds preferring native forests, reflected by the mature forest index, could undoubtedly change with an improvement of the conservation effectiveness in southern Finland

Declining peatland bird numbers are not consistent with the increasing Common Crane population

The Common Crane (Grus grus) population has experienced an unprecedented increase across Europe during the last decades. Although cranes feed mostly on invertebrates, amphibians and berries during the breeding season, they can also eat eggs and young of other birds. Therefore, conservationists have raised concerns about the potential predatory effect of cranes on wetland avifauna, but the effects of crane predation on bird numbers have so far not been investigated. We here test the relationship between the crane and peatland bird population’ abundances in Finland for five common wader and passerine species, and a set of seven less common waders, using line-transect data spanning from 1987 to 2014. We found that the population densities of two small passerines (Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis and Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava) and one wader species (Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola) were positively associated with crane numbers, probably related to a protective effect against nest predators. For the two other common species and the set of less common waders, we did not find any significant relationships with crane abundance. None of the species was influenced by the (lagged) effect of crane presence (i.e. years since crane was first observed). Peatland drainage was responsible for most species’ negative densities, indicating the need to protect and restore peatlands to mitigate the loss of peatland bird diversity in Finland. In addition, openness, wetness and area size were important peatland characteristics positively influencing most of the studied bird populations. The development in crane and other mire bird numbers in Europe should be monitored regularly to reveal any possible future predatory effects contributing to the shaping of the peatland bird community