Understanding space and habitat use of the Near Threatened Eurasian Curlew to inform the value of habitat restoration schemes for the species' conservation

Intertidal habitats and terrestrial habitats connected to estuaries are subject to multiple anthropogenic pressures including the indirect effect of climate change (i.e., sea-level rise). To build sustainable coastal defences and create intertidal habitats in estuaries, managed realignment (MR) sites are created. These habitats are of potential value for wintering waders yet we know little about their long-term development and utilisation by waders (Charadriiformes; also referred to as shorebirds), for example, Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata). The species is categorised as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and uses both estuarine and non-estuarine habitats in winter. Understanding small-scale spatial patterns in the use of estuaries and of created intertidal habitats is essential in predicting the impact of habitat loss and designing effective compensatory sites for waders. In ecological models, e.g., individual-based models (IBMs), assumptions about animal movements are often made using a priori information on space use and habitat use. The first chapter of the thesis (Chapter 1) aims to provide background to the project and to review the use of modern telemetry and predictive modelling in assessing the success of estuarine habitat creation for waders. This thesis then examines the long-term suitability of managed realignment sites for waders in response to physical changes (i.e., in the elevation of created intertidal areas) (Chapter 2), and uses high-resolution tracking data to examine individual, sexual and temporal variation in the winter home range (Chapter 3) and habitat selection (Chapter 4) of Eurasian curlew. Furthermore, movement data – derived from GPS-tracked curlew – were incorporated to define parameters of an individual-based model, developed to predict the impact of managed realignment and other environmental changes. Using data on behaviour and fine-scale habitat use from the GPS-tracked Eurasian curlew, I also validated the model's predictions (Chapter 5). I found the foraging numbers of the four key waterbird species that colonised the MR site to decline above a certain elevation, and thus over time with accretion of the site, with this effect being most pronounced for the Eurasian curlew (Chapter 2). Using a sample of 21 GPS-tagged birds, I found Eurasian curlew to be faithful to foraging and roosting areas on their coastal wintering grounds, including a habitat creation site. Home range of Eurasian curlew was small (555.5 ha +/-SD 557.9 ha) and varied slightly in size through the non-breeding season (September to March). Home range sizes were greater at night than in the day, and showed high inter-individual variability which was not related to sex and thus potential differences in resource use (Chapter 3). I also found that Eurasian curlew’s core ranges were restricted to one to two distinct patches on intertidal flats with some overlap. Eurasian curlew preferentially selected saltmarsh and the MR site at night, presumably for roosting (Chapter 4). Finally, I successfully parameterised an individual-based model (Chapter 5). The model was able to successfully predict the impact of habitat creation on the abundance of waders supported by a discrete area of the Humber Estuary. Our overall results provide a collective understanding of the responses of waders to the creation of the managed realignment site and of the space and habitat use of Eurasian curlew. The results have been crucial in informing and validating simulations from the individual-based model

Ecoengineering with Ecohydrology: Successes and failures in estuarine restoration

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Ecological Engineering (or Ecoengineering) is increasingly used in estuaries to re-create and restore ecosystems degraded by human activities, including reduced water flow or land poldered for agricultural use. Here we focus on ecosystem recolonization by the biota and their functioning and we separate Type A Ecoengineering where the physico-chemical structure is modified on the basis that ecological structure and functioning will then follow, and Type B Ecoengineering where the biota are engineered directly such as through restocking or replanting. Modifying the physical system to create and restore natural processes and habitats relies on successfully applying Ecohydrology, where suitable physical conditions, especially hydrography and sedimentology, are created to recover estuarine ecology by natural or human-mediated colonisation of primary producers and consumers, or habitat creation. This successional process then allows wading birds and fish to reoccupy the rehabilitated areas, thus restoring the natural food web and recreating nursery areas for aquatic biota. We describe Ecohydrology principles applied during Ecoengineering restoration projects in Europe, Australia, Asia, South Africa and North America. These show some successful and sustainable approaches but also others that were less than successful and not sustainable despite the best of intentions (and which may even have harmed the ecology). Some schemes may be 'good for the ecologists', as conservationists consider it successful that at least some habitat was created, albeit in the short-term, but arguably did little for the overall ecology of the area in space or time. We indicate the trade-offs between the short- and long-term value of restored and created ecosystems, the success at developing natural structure and functioning in disturbed estuaries, the role of this in estuarine and wetland management, and the costs and benefits of Ecoengineering to the socio-ecological system. These global case studies provide important lessons for both the science and management of estuaries, including that successful estuarine restoration is a complex and often difficult process, and that Ecoengineering with Ecohydrology aims to control and/or simulate natural ecosystem processes

The matrix revisited: a bird's-eye view of marine ecosystem service provision

The marine environment provides a range of ecosystem services and benefits for society. A previous study in Marine Policy (Potts et al., 2014) advocated a matrix approach to demonstrate the relative degree of ecosystem service provision from habitats and species within UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but excluded seabird species in its assessment. Despite the number of existing UK MPAs designated specifically for individual seabird species and/or seabird assemblages, and the fact that seabird species have long been used as policy-relevant indicators for the monitoring and management of the marine environment, as yet little research has focussed on the direct role of seabird species in the provision of ecosystem services and how these are captured for marine spatial planning purposes in the context of MPAs. Building on the matrix approach, this paper develops and populates a matrix to illustrate the relationship between key UK breeding seabird species and their relative contribution to the delivery of intermediate ecosystem services and goods/benefits. The original matrix approach has been strengthened to include the development and testing of a set of rules for combining multiple matrices. Confidence scores relating to the underlying evidence base are built into the matrix to provide an illustration of the current understanding and to identify current gaps in evidence. Following a sense check by external seabird experts the matrix is applied in the context of four existing UK MPA case study sites. Further developments and applications of the seabird matrix are discussed within the context of wider marine management

Individual, sexual and temporal variation in the winter home range sizes of GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata

Capsule: Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata were faithful to foraging and roosting areas on their coastal wintering grounds, including a habitat creation site. Home range sizes were greater at night than during the day, and showed high inter-individual variability which was not related to sex. Aims: To examine factors affecting variation in the winter home range size of the largest European wader species: the near-threatened Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata. Methods: We examined individual, sexual and temporal (day/night, seasonal and annual) variation in the size of the home ranges of 18 GPS tagged Curlews captured at two sites on the Humber Estuary, UK. Results: Home ranges were small (mean ± SD = 555.5 ± 557.9 ha) and varied slightly in size through the non-breeding season (September–March). We found some annual differences in home range size, and there was some evidence that home range size was greater at night compared to daytime. There was strong inter-individual variation in home range size, which was not related to the species’ sexual size dimorphism and thus potential differences in resource use. Conclusions: Our results highlight that wintering Curlews on the Humber Estuary maintain small home ranges which vary strongly between individuals. Knowledge of the home range size of wintering waders is vital to inform management responses to the potential impacts of environmental changes such as sea-level rise and improving the efficacy of compensatory habitats

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

The value of wader foraging behaviour study to assess the success of restored intertidal areas

The loss of intertidal habitat in estuaries has resulted in the need to create new habitats in order to protect waterbird populations. In order to examine the waterbird colonisation of restored intertidal areas created in 2003 through the realignment of the flood defence in the Humber Estuary (UK), the feeding behaviour of Redshank ( Tringa totanus) was observed in April 2008. Numbers of pecks, probes and paces (numbers of steps) and the prey intake events were compared between Redshank foraging on the restored mudflat and on the adjacent established mudflat. Redshank prey intake and success rate (prey intake divided by the total numbers of pecks and probes) were significantly lower on the restored mudflat compared to the adjacent established mudflat. Conversely, the number of steps taken while foraging and the number of paces per successful feeding event were significantly greater on the restored mudflat. This shows that focal behaviour in restored intertidal areas can be directly compared with that in natural established mudflat in order to examine differences in foraging behaviour. The findings emphasise that a study of foraging behaviour should be incorporated into the assessment of restoration success of intertidal areas as an indication of habitat quality. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Long-Term Changes in the Abundance of Benthic Foraging Birds in a Restored Wetland

Estuaries have historically been subject to considerable habitat loss, and continue to be subjected to such in areas where the natural landward migration of intertidal habitats is constrained by hard coastal defences. Thus, in estuaries where direct (e.g., port development) or indirect (e.g., sea level rise) processes are predicted to threaten intertidal habitats and associated waterbird species, there is a regulatory requirement to produce compensatory intertidal habitats. Managed realignment (MR) is a shoreline management practise that is undertaken to build sustainable coastal defences and create intertidal habitats in estuaries. This nature-based solution brings multiple benefits in the form of carbon storage, increased resilience to flooding, and, potentially, the formation of new habitats, which is the topic of this study. A 75-ha site at the Paull Holme Strays (Humber Estuary, United Kingdom) was monitored over a 10-year period following MR to examine the change in the abundance of waterbirds in the chosen site in response to the physical processes occurring there. Using digital terrain models (DTMs) collected via light detection and ranging (LiDAR), we examined how four compensatory target species responded to changes in elevation after the creation of the site. It was shown that the very rapid accretion of estuarine sediment occurred in the first decade of the new re-created intertidal, which, over time, led to changes in the numbers of benthic foraging birds supported. Furthermore, elevation change was also driven by this sediment accretion, the rate of which depended on the initial bed elevation of the sectors within the site. Ten years after the recreation of the habitat, the spatial heterogeneity in the bed elevation remained high; however, the sectors with the lowest elevations accreted the most over the 10-year period. The foraging number of the four waterbird species that colonised the MR site significantly declined above a certain elevation, with this effect being most pronounced for the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata). The number of common shelducks (Tadorna tadorna), dunlins (Calidris alpina), and common redshanks (Tringa totanus) declined significantly after initial peaks 5–7 years after the creation of the site, reflecting the ongoing elevation changes. Thus, this study highlighted the need for long-term studies to understand how species respond to large-scale habitat construction. It can also aid in predicting the suitability of an MR site for waterbirds in the medium and long term