Assessing the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in preserving wintering waterbirds in the Mediterranean

lthough biological conservation is based on international agreements, its effectiveness depends on how countries implement such recommendations as effective conservation tools. The Ramsar Convention is the oldest international treaty for wetland and waterbird conservation, establishing the world's largest network of protected areas. However, since it does not constitute any binding measure, its effectiveness in protecting wintering waterbird populations at an international scale has been questioned. Here, we use long-term (1991–2012) count data to assess the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in the Mediterranean Basin. We compared abundance and temporal trends of 114 waterbird species between 251 Ramsar wetlands and 3486 non-Ramsar wetlands. We found that the Ramsar network is critical for wintering waterbirds, concentrating nearly half of all waterbirds counted in the Mediterranean Basin in only 7% of monitored wetlands. Waterbird trends followed a northwestsoutheast gradient, with a population decrease in the East. A significant and positive Ramsar effect on population trends was only found for the species of higher conservation concern in the Maghreb, particularly when a management plan was implemented. The Ramsar Convention was previously used on very important wetlands for waterbirds in Southern Europe, but is now an underused conservation tool. Our study suggests weaknesses in the use of Ramsar as an effective conservation tool in most of the Mediterranean Basin. However, the Ramsar Convention effectiveness to enhance waterbird populations in the Maghreb should encourage strengthening the Ramsar Convention. It should be done particularly in countries with limited environmental agreements and by systematic implementation of management plans. Conservation measures International conventions Protected areas Protection status Monitoring WetlandsacceptedVersio

Grit selection in waterfowl and how it determines exposure to ingested lead shot in Mediterranean wetlands

Waterfowl ingest lead shot because they confuse it with grit, but there has been limited study of differences among species and locations. The spatial and interspecific variation in the quantity and size composition of ingested grit and in the ingestion of lead shot by eight waterfowl species in the three main wintering areas in the western Mediterranean (Do˜nana, Ebro Delta and Camargue) was investigated. Variation in the mass of grit in the gizzard was related to bird species, whereas size composition of ingested grit was more closely related to locality and less to species. Birds with a large proportion of vegetation in their diets had more grit in the gizzard. Grit size composition was related to prevalence of lead shot ingestion. Thus, the quantity of grit in the gizzard is an attribute of species, and grit size composition (which largely determines the risk of ingestion of lead shot) is more affected by local conditions. This conclusion is supported by a meta-analysis of previous studies of the incidence of lead shot ingestion in 51 locations and 27 waterfowl species in North America and Europe. The prevalence of lead shot ingestion in a given waterbird species was highly variable between localities, and was not consistently different between dabbling, grazing and diving species.Peer reviewe

Assessing the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in preserving wintering waterbirds in the Mediterranean

lthough biological conservation is based on international agreements, its effectiveness depends on how countries implement such recommendations as effective conservation tools. The Ramsar Convention is the oldest international treaty for wetland and waterbird conservation, establishing the world's largest network of protected areas. However, since it does not constitute any binding measure, its effectiveness in protecting wintering waterbird populations at an international scale has been questioned. Here, we use long-term (1991–2012) count data to assess the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in the Mediterranean Basin. We compared abundance and temporal trends of 114 waterbird species between 251 Ramsar wetlands and 3486 non-Ramsar wetlands. We found that the Ramsar network is critical for wintering waterbirds, concentrating nearly half of all waterbirds counted in the Mediterranean Basin in only 7% of monitored wetlands. Waterbird trends followed a northwestsoutheast gradient, with a population decrease in the East. A significant and positive Ramsar effect on population trends was only found for the species of higher conservation concern in the Maghreb, particularly when a management plan was implemented. The Ramsar Convention was previously used on very important wetlands for waterbirds in Southern Europe, but is now an underused conservation tool. Our study suggests weaknesses in the use of Ramsar as an effective conservation tool in most of the Mediterranean Basin. However, the Ramsar Convention effectiveness to enhance waterbird populations in the Maghreb should encourage strengthening the Ramsar Convention. It should be done particularly in countries with limited environmental agreements and by systematic implementation of management plans. Conservation measures International conventions Protected areas Protection status Monitoring Wetland

Understanding the ecological drivers of avian influenza virus infection in wildfowl: a continental-scale study across Africa

Despite considerable effort for surveillance of wild birds for avian influenza viruses (AIVs), empirical investigations of ecological drivers of AIV prevalence in wild birds are still scarce. Here we used a continental-scale dataset, collected in tropical wetlands of 15 African countries, to test the relative roles of a range of ecological factors on patterns of AIV prevalence in wildfowl. Seasonal and geographical variations in prevalence were positively related to the local density of the wildfowl community and to the wintering period of Eurasian migratory birds in Africa. The predominant influence of wildfowl density with no influence of climatic conditions suggests, in contrast to temperate regions, a predominant role for inter-individual transmission rather than transmission via long-lived virus persisting in the environment. Higher prevalences were found in Anas species than in non-Anas species even when we account for differences in their foraging behaviour (primarily dabbling or not) or their geographical origin (Eurasian or Afro-tropical), suggesting the existence of intrinsic differences between wildfowl taxonomic groups in receptivity to infection. Birds were found infected as often in oropharyngeal as in cloacal samples, but rarely for both types of sample concurrently, indicating that both respiratory and digestive tracts may be important for AIV replication