19 research outputs found
Population ecology and conservation of red-billed choughs in Scotland. Final report on Knowledge Transfer Project
This report summarises the results of a Knowledge Transfer Research Project that was
undertaken by Dr Jane Reid (University of Aberdeen), Professor Pat Monaghan, (University
of Glasgow), Dr Eric and Mrs Sue Bignal (Scottish Chough Study Group) and Dr Davy
McCracken (Scottish Agricultural College). Dr Maria Bogdanova was employed as the postdoctoral
research assistant on the project. The work was carried out in partnership with
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Funding was provided by a Knowledge Transfer Grant from the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC, PIs P. Monaghan & J. Reid), with matching partnership funding
and in-kind support from SNH and RSPB.
The overall aims of the project were to develop the scientific understanding of the population
ecology of choughs on Islay, and to use this understanding to inform the development of
appropriate conservation strategies and policies. The project built on existing long-term
research on Islayâs choughs. It involved further analysis of long-term data, plus two years of
intensive fieldwork designed to answer specific questions. The work aimed primarily to
understand the ecology of choughs in their sub-adult years (ie, from fledging to breeding
age). Survival from fledging to breeding is a key factor in causing population change.
However, relatively little was previously known about the behaviour and ecology of choughs
during this time.
This report provides an overview of the results of the scientific study and focuses on
presenting the scientific evidence on which resulting recommendations for chough
conservation management on Islay are based. The report is written with the intention of
presenting the results of the data analyses, and the rationale underlying those analyses, in a
way that is accessible to non-specialists. Further details of analyses and technicalities are
provided in published, peer-reviewed papers and/or are available on request.
The report provides information that will be of use to policy makers and conservation
practitioners, and also highlights topics where further research is required before informed
management decisions can be taken
Estimating demographic contributions to effective population size in an age-structured wild population experiencing environmental and demographic stochasticity
We thank everyone who helped with fieldwork on Islay, in particular Sue Bignal and Pat Monaghan, as well as all land-owners and farmers who allowed access to nest sites. We thank Bernt-Erik SÓther, Steinar Engen and Henrik Jensen for their generous help and discussions. AET was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. JMR was supported by the European Research Council.Peer reviewedPostprin
Within-year and among-year variation in impacts of targeted conservation management on juvenile survival in a threatened population
Acknowledgements We thank all Islay landowners and farmers who allowed access to nest sites and supported supplementary feeding, especially Donald Jones and Robert and Tom Epps, and everyone who contributed to fieldwork and data collection. We thank NatureScot for funding supplementary feeding, led by Rae McKenzie, Jess Shaw and Des Thompson, and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for logistic support. This work was supported by a Natural Environment Research Council iCASE studentship (NE/P009719/1) with NatureScot, and the Scottish Governmentâs 2011-2016 and 2016-2021 Strategic Research Programmes. Open access via Wiley agreement.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Integrating advances in population and evolutionary ecology with conservation strategy through long-term studies of red-billed choughs
Acknowledgements The long-term study could not have been achieved without long-term support from numerous people, including Islay farmers and land-owners who facilitated access to nest sites and observation locations; all current and previous members of the Scottish Chough Forum; and NatureScot and RSPB (summarised in Appendix S2). We particularly thank Rae McKenzie of NatureScot, without whose enthusiasm and willingness to engage with apparently abstract ideas we would likely never have got beyond phase 1. Aspects of the work were funded by Natural Environment Research Council, NatureScot, University of Aberdeen, University of Glasgow, RSPB, Scottish Governmentâs Strategic Research Programme, Scotlandâs Rural College, Killam Trusts and the Royal Society (details in Appendix S2). We thank David Jardine for his valuable contributions, and Rae McKenzie, Jess Shaw and Morven Laurie (NatureScot), and Jen Smart, Gillian Gilbert, Jack Fleming and Paul Walton (RSPB) for commenting on a manuscript draft.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Bats in the anthropogenic matrix: Challenges and opportunities for the conservation of chiroptera and their ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes
Intensification in land-use and farming practices has had largely negative effects on bats, leading to population declines and concomitant losses of ecosystem services. Current trends in land-use change suggest that agricultural areas will further expand, while production systems may either experience further intensification
(particularly in developing nations) or become more environmentally friendly (especially in Europe). In this chapter, we review the existing literature on how agricultural management affects the bat assemblages and the behavior of individual bat species, as well as the literature on provision of ecosystem services by bats (pest insect suppression and pollination) in agricultural systems. Bats show highly variable responses to habitat conversion, with no significant change in species
richness or measures of activity or abundance. In contrast, intensification within agricultural systems (i.e., increased agrochemical inputs, reduction of natural structuring elements such as hedges, woods, and marshes) had more consistently negative
effects on abundance and species richness. Agroforestry systems appear to mitigate negative consequences of habitat conversion and intensification, often having higher abundances and activity levels than natural areas. Across biomes, bats play key roles in limiting populations of arthropods by consuming various agricultural pests. In tropical areas, bats are key pollinators of several commercial fruit species. However, these substantial benefits may go unrecognized by farmers, who sometimes associate bats with ecosystem disservices such as crop raiding. Given the importance of bats for global food production, future agricultural management should focus on âwildlife-friendlyâ farming practices that allow more bats to exploit and persist
in the anthropogenic matrix so as to enhance provision of ecosystem services. Pressing research topics include (1) a better understanding of how local-level versus
landscape-level management practices interact to structure bat assemblages,
(2) the effects of new pesticide classes and GM crops on bat populations, and (3) how increased documentation and valuation of the ecosystem services provided by bats could improve attitudes of producers toward their conservation
Theories of Programming: TopâDown and BottomâUp and Meeting in the Middle
1. Determining the precise timing and location of major demographic bottlenecks, such as periods of low survival, is key to identifying ecological causes of variation in population growth rate. Such understanding is key to designing efficient and effective mitigation.
2. In a protected population of red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax on Islay, Scotland, variation in population growth rate largely reflects among-year variation in first-year survival. First-year survival was unprecedentedly low during 2007â2010, threatening population viability.
3. We used colour-ring resightings to estimate monthly survival probabilities (Ίm) throughout the first year from fledging for eight chough cohorts (totalling 519 individuals) representing the full observed range of variation in first-year survival. We thereby identify the time and location of recent low survival.
4. On average across all cohorts, Ίm varied among months, being low during the first month after ringing (MayâJune, accounting for c. 24% of all first-year mortality) and high during the last 4 months of the first year (JanuaryâMay, accounting for c. 6% of all first-year mortality). Most mortality (c. 70%) occurred after fledglings dispersed from natal territories.
5. The 2007â2009 cohorts experienced low Ίm during JulyâDecember. This represents an additional low survival period compared to previous cohorts rather than decreased Ίm across all months or further decreases through periods when Ίm was low across all cohorts.
6. Synthesis and applications. These data have general relevance in showing that dramatically low annual survival, which needs to spark rapid management action, can reflect different and unanticipated periods of low survival rather than exaggeration of typical variation. With specific regard to conserving Islayâs chough population, our data show that sub-adult survival has recently been low during JulyâDecember, probably reflecting conditions on key grassland foraging areas. Managers aiming to increase population viability should increase invertebrate diversity, abundance and availability at these times and locations, thereby increasing foraging options available to choughs
Data for survival analysis
This file contains the encounter histories required for estimation of mean age-specific survival probabilities using capture-mark-recapture models in program
MARK (White & Burnhman 1999)
Data for LD genetic estimation of Ne
This file contains the raw microsatellite genotype data required for the estimation of effective population (Ne) of the Islay red-billed chough population, using
linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the program NeEstimator v2.01 (Waples & Do 2008)
Data for demographic estimation of Ne
This file contains data required for the estimation of effective population size (Ne) from population- and individual-level demographic data from a population of red-billed chough on Islay, Scotland, UK. Each row provides data
on sex-age-year specific breeding success and survival to the following year
Data for ONeSAMP genetic estimation of Ne
This file contains the raw microsatellite genotype data required for the estimation of effective population (Ne) of the Islay red-billed chough population, using
approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) in the program ONeSAMP (Tallmon et al. 2008)