Snowmobile noise alters bird vocalization patterns during winter and pre-breeding season

Noise pollution poses a significant threat to ecosystems worldwide, disrupting animal communication and causing cascading effects on biodiversity. In this study, we focus on the impact of snowmobile noise on avian vocalizations during the non-breeding winter season, a less-studied area in soundscape ecology. We developed a pipeline relying on deep learning methods to detect snowmobile noise and applied it to a large acoustic monitoring dataset collected in Yellowstone National Park. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the snowmobile detection model in identifying snowmobile noise and reveal an association between snowmobile passage and changes in avian vocalization patterns. Snowmobile noise led to a decrease in the frequency of bird vocalizations during mornings and evenings, potentially affecting winter and pre-breeding behaviours such as foraging, predator avoidance and successfully finding a mate. However, we observed a recovery in avian vocalizations after detection of snowmobiles during mornings and afternoons, indicating some resilience to sporadic noise events. Synthesis and applications: Our findings emphasize the need to consider noise impacts in the non-breeding season and provide valuable insights for natural resource managers to minimize disturbance and protect critical avian habitats. The deep learning approach presented in this study offers an efficient and accurate means of analysing large-scale acoustic monitoring data and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors on avian communities.Snowmobile noise alters bird vocalization patterns during winter and pre-breeding seasonpublishedVersio

Changes in wetland habitat use by waterbirds wintering in Czechia are related to diet and distribution changes

1. Understanding species habitat use and factors affecting changes in their distribu-tions are necessary to promote the conservation of any biological community. We evaluated the changes in wetland use of the non- breeding waterbird community. Based on long-term citizen-science data (1988–2020), we tested the hypotheses that wetland use is associated with species diet and potential range-shift drivers (the tendency to occupy the same sites in consecutive years—site affinity—and the species' average temperature across its wintering range—species temperature index).2. We analysed species-specific wetland use of 25 species of waterbirds wintering in Czechia over a period of 33 years. The analyses explained variability in trends in numbers of the studied waterbird species across four inland wetland types: reser-voirs; fishponds; industrial waters created by flooding of former mining sites; and running waters.3. Trends in waterbird abundance positively correlated with species’ diet on fish-ponds, industrial and running waters. Among the diet groups, invertivores showed the largest increase in abundances on industrial waters, closely followed by her-bivores. Herbivores showed the largest increase in abundances in fishponds, and piscivores did so in running waters. Regarding range-shift drivers, species with higher site affinity showed higher abundances on running waters, while species with low species temperature index (i.e. wintering on average in sites with lower temperature) were more abundant on reservoirs. The abundance of both warm- dwelling and species with low site affinity increased on fishponds and industrial waters.4. Our findings suggest that the increased importance of the wetland types consid-ered here for wintering waterbirds is likely to be linked to diet related changes in habitat use and changes in species distributions; and highlight that wintering waterbirds are expected to select sites with higher availability of food, higher en-ergy content, and lower foraging cost.5. Recent and rapid changes in species distributions may lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of national and international conservation efforts. When planning conservation measures, it should be kept in mind that climate change does not only imply large-scale north/north- eastwards shifts of entire waterbird distribu-tions, but can also modify the use of the habitats by waterbird species inside their traditional wintering range. artificial wetlands, long-term monitoring, range-shift drivers, waterbirds, wetland typ

Do birds respond to spiral markers on overhead wires of a high-voltage power line? Insights from a dedicated avian radar

Growing human population demands the expansion of the energy transmission grid. Power lines represent a major death hazard for many species, especially birds. Addressing such a human-wildlife conflict requires detailed knowledge of how species use the aerial space and how they react to mitigation measures, such as flight markers. Here, we use a dedicated avian radar to study birds’ flight behaviour at marked and unmarked sections of a power line in Norway. We investigate the effect of wire marking on the density of bird tracks, multidirectionality, perpendicularity and turning angle at increasing distance from a power line as well as the maximum turning angles and track height. In addition, the avian radar allowed us to compare flight behaviour between daytime and night-time. The density of bird tracks was lower during the daytime (when markers are visible) compared to night-time (markers are not visible). Furthermore, bird tracks (i) were more directional during daytime, especially at the marked section, (ii) were less perpendicular to the power line at the marked compared to the unmarked section, and (iii) performed more pronounced turning angles at the unmarked compared to the marked section. Moreover, tracks’ maximum turning angle was largest at the unmarked section and the average track height was greater at the marked section of the power line. Our findings provide new correlative evidence of changes in birds’ flight behaviour induced by flight markers on a power line’s earth wire. Furthermore, we highlight the adequacy of dedicated avian radars to assess the efficiency of conservation interventions mitigating the impacts of overhead energy infrastructure (power lines, wind turbines) on the use of the aerial space by animals.publishedVersio

A Spatial Modeling Framework for Monitoring Surveys with Different Sampling Protocols with a Case Study for Bird Abundance in Mid-Scandinavia

Quantifying the total number of individuals (abundance) of species is the basis for spatial ecology and biodiversity conservation. Abundance data are mostly collected through professional surveys as part of monitoring programs, often at a national level. These surveys rarely follow exactly the same sampling protocol in different countries, which represents a challenge for producing biogeographical abundance maps based on the transboundary information available covering more than one country. Moreover, not all species are properly covered by a single monitoring scheme, and countries typically collect abundance data for target species through different monitoring schemes. We present a new methodology to model total abundance by merging count data information from surveys with different sampling protocols. The proposed methods are used for data from national breeding bird monitoring programs in Norway and Sweden. Each census collects abundance data following two different sampling protocols in each country, i.e., these protocols provide data from four different sampling processes. The modeling framework assumes a common Gaussian Random Field shared by both the observed and true abundance with either a linear or a relaxed linear association between them. The models account for particularities of each sampling protocol by including terms that affect each observation process, i.e., accounting for differences in observation units and detectability. Bayesian inference is performed using the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) and the Stochastic Partial Differential Equation (SPDE) approach for spatial modeling. We also present the results of a simulation study based on the empirical census data from mid-Scandinavia to assess the performance of the models under model misspecification. Finally, maps of the expected abundance of birds in our study region in mid-Scandinavia are presented with uncertainty estimates. We found that the framework allows for consistent integration of data from surveys with different sampling protocols. Further, the simulation study showed that models with a relaxed linear specification are less sensitive to misspecification, compared to the model that assumes linear association between counts. Relaxed linear specifications of total bird abundance in mid-Scandinavia improved both goodness of fit and the predictive performance of the models. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear on-line. Data integration; Joint species distribution models; Bayesian statistics; Latent Gaussian Models; Gaussian Random FieldspublishedVersio

Do birds respond to spiral markers on overhead wires of a high-voltage power line? Insights from a dedicated avian radar

Growing human population demands the expansion of the energy transmission grid. Power lines represent a major death hazard for many species, especially birds. Addressing such a human-wildlife conflict requires detailed knowledge of how species use the aerial space and how they react to mitigation measures, such as flight markers. Here, we use a dedicated avian radar to study birds’ flight behaviour at marked and unmarked sections of a power line in Norway. We investigate the effect of wire marking on the density of bird tracks, multidirectionality, perpendicularity and turning angle at increasing distance from a power line as well as the maximum turning angles and track height. In addition, the avian radar allowed us to compare flight behaviour between daytime and night-time. The density of bird tracks was lower during the daytime (when markers are visible) compared to night-time (markers are not visible). Furthermore, bird tracks (i) were more directional during daytime, especially at the marked section, (ii) were less perpendicular to the power line at the marked compared to the unmarked section, and (iii) performed more pronounced turning angles at the unmarked compared to the marked section. Moreover, tracks’ maximum turning angle was largest at the unmarked section and the average track height was greater at the marked section of the power line. Our findings provide new correlative evidence of changes in birds’ flight behaviour induced by flight markers on a power line’s earth wire. Furthermore, we highlight the adequacy of dedicated avian radars to assess the efficiency of conservation interventions mitigating the impacts of overhead energy infrastructure (power lines, wind turbines) on the use of the aerial space by animals

Langtidseffekter av Smøla vindpark på den lokale bestanden av havørn (Haliaeetus albicilla)

Stokke, B.G., Dahl, E.L., Hamre, Ø., Kleven, O., May, R., Nygård, T., Pavòn-Jordàn, D., Roksvåg, L.M., Sandercock, B.K. & Åström, J. 2020. Langtidseffekter av Smøla vindpark på den lokale bestanden av havørn (Haliaeetus albicilla). Årsrapport 2020. NINA Rapport 1899. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. I perioden 2020-2022 gjennomføres det en inventering av havørnterritoriene på Smøla for å fremskaffe et oppdatert kunnskapsgrunnlag om bestandens tilstand. I den foreliggende rapp-orten oppsummeres prosjektets aktiviteter i 2020. Det ble påvist aktivitet i 45 havørnterritorier, og med 12 mulig aktive territorier i tillegg. Ungeproduksjon var på 0,69 unger per aktive territo-rium, noe som må betegnes som relativt normalt sammenlignet med tidligere år. Totalt ble det samlet inn fjærprøver fra 27 unger, samt fjær fra voksne i 50 ulike reir. Disse prøvene vil DNA-analyseres ved NINA sitt laboratorium i 2020 og 2021. Søk etter kollisjonsofre rundt alle turbi-nene i Smøla vindpark ble gjennomført fem ganger i løpet av året (april, mai, juni-juli, august-september og oktober). Totalt ble det funnet to døde havørner, som begge var ringmerket. Dette er det nest laveste antall som er funnet etter at vindkraftanlegget ble satt i drift. I tillegg resulterte søket i 2020 i én enkeltbekkasin, to ubestemte måker og fem liryper

Langtidseffekter av Smøla vindpark på den lokale bestanden av havørn (Haliaeetus albicilla)

Stokke, B.G., Dahl, E.L., Hamre, Ø., Kleven, O., May, R., Nygård, T., Pavòn-Jordàn, D., Roksvåg, L.M., Sandercock, B.K. & Åström, J. 2020. Langtidseffekter av Smøla vindpark på den lokale bestanden av havørn (Haliaeetus albicilla). Årsrapport 2020. NINA Rapport 1899. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. I perioden 2020-2022 gjennomføres det en inventering av havørnterritoriene på Smøla for å fremskaffe et oppdatert kunnskapsgrunnlag om bestandens tilstand. I den foreliggende rapp-orten oppsummeres prosjektets aktiviteter i 2020. Det ble påvist aktivitet i 45 havørnterritorier, og med 12 mulig aktive territorier i tillegg. Ungeproduksjon var på 0,69 unger per aktive territo-rium, noe som må betegnes som relativt normalt sammenlignet med tidligere år. Totalt ble det samlet inn fjærprøver fra 27 unger, samt fjær fra voksne i 50 ulike reir. Disse prøvene vil DNA-analyseres ved NINA sitt laboratorium i 2020 og 2021. Søk etter kollisjonsofre rundt alle turbi-nene i Smøla vindpark ble gjennomført fem ganger i løpet av året (april, mai, juni-juli, august-september og oktober). Totalt ble det funnet to døde havørner, som begge var ringmerket. Dette er det nest laveste antall som er funnet etter at vindkraftanlegget ble satt i drift. I tillegg resulterte søket i 2020 i én enkeltbekkasin, to ubestemte måker og fem liryper

Undersøkelser av trekkaktiviteten for fugl på Guleslettene 2018-2019. Observasjoner, radarkartlegging og lyttedata med supplerende materiale

Systad, G.H.R., Breistøl, A., Follestad, A., Gjershaug, J.O., Guidos, S., Hamre, Ø., May, R., Stokke, B., Østerås, T.R. & Åström, J. 2019. Undersøkelser av trekkaktiviteten for fugl på Guleslettene 2018-2019 - Observasjoner, radarkartlegging og lyttedata med supplerende materiale. NINA Rapport 1693. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Denne rapporten omhandler undersøkelser av trekkaktiviteten i ytre deler av Guleslettene vindpark. NINA har utført radarkartlegging i trekktidene høsten 2018 og våren 2019, samt samlet inn lyddata begge sesonger. Vi vært i felt og kartlagt trekket, samt verifisert radardataene. Observasjoner fra en tidligere undersøkelse er lagt til grunn, sammen med data fra artsobservasjoner.no. Rødlistede arter innenfor anlegget omfatter en rekke arter, men de trekkende artene omfatter sædgås (VU), stjertand (VU), storspove (VU) og fiskemåke (NT). I tillegg er det flere nært truede arter (NT) som både trekker gjennom området, og som sannsynligvis hekker der, deriblant bergirisk, blåstrupe og gjøk. Det finnes flere rødlistede arter i kategorien NT i de lavereliggende områdene mot sjøen som kan tenkes å trekke over Guleslettene. Av truede arter observert utenfor anlegget ellers er vipe (EN) og sanglerke (VU) potensielle konfliktarter. I forhold til trekkende arter vil omfanget være mer omfattende for større arter som sangsvane, grågås og hvitkinngås som ikke er rødlistet, sammen med sædgås, eventuelt kortnebbgås og tundragås, samt tallrike arter som heipiplerke og enkeltbekkasin. Stasjonære arter er ikke fokusert her. Grågjess ble observert trekkende flere ruter over Guleslettene, samt vest for dette. Sædgås ble registret i de ytre delene av Guleslettene våren 2019 ved hjelp av lydutstyr. Kortnebbgåsa trekker gjennom området. Sangsvanen overvintrer regelmessig i Bremanger og Flora. Trolig følger disse artene noenlunde samme trekkmønster som beskrevet for grågås. Hvitkinngjessene trekker i april/mai fra overvintringsområdene i Skottland til hekkeplassene på Svalbard langs Norskekysten i en 30 km bred korridor. Også hvitkinngås ble ved to anledninger registrert på lytteutstyret under vårtrekket, men observasjonene på Bremangerlandet samme periode tyder på at hovedtyngden av trekket gikk lenger ute. Ringgåsa trekker også langs ytre strøk av Vestlandskysten på veg mot hekkeområdene i Arktis. Radardataene fra Guleslettene viser at den ytre delen av vindparkområdet skiller seg mindre fra områdene lenger inne enn det vi forventet. Gjess trekker over Sagavatnet og over til Sørgulen eller Botnane i like stor grad som i de helt ytre delene av parken. Av rødlistede arter er sædgås, storspove og stjertand påvist å trekke gjennom området, alle klassifisert som sårbar (VU). Ellers er flere nært truede arter funnet i området, både utenfor og inne i vindparkområdet. Radardataene domineres av registreringer under 300 meter over bakkenivå begge sesonger. For høsten 2018 viser data fra høyderadarenen en fordeling høyere over bakken enn de kombinerte dataene. Denne forskjellen grunner først og fremst i at fuglene nok flyr lavere på høsten, men først registreres når de kommer over kanten av Gulefjellene og dermed blir høyden over bakken større. Det er lite trolig at konfliktnivået er lavere, eller for den sags skyld høyere i fokusområdet enn lenger inne i parken. Det viktigste er likevel den generelle trekkstrømmen, om den går hovedsakelig utenfor, i fokusområdet, eller bredt gjennom hele området. Våre observasjoner tyder på at mye av trekkstrømmen går utenfor, spesielt for vannfugl og sjøfugl, men mye går rett gjennom nokså spredt, både i fokusområdet og i det større området øst for posisjonen for turbin T39. Det er påvist en klar trekkrute over Sagavatn fra sør og over mot Sørgulen eller Botnane, samt en rute opp fra Årebrott, opp til Gulevatnet og videre over fjellet. Dette foregår nokså bredt over høydedragene. Fokusområdet ytterst i planområdet skiller seg ikke vesentlig fra planområdet ellers i forhold til trekkaktivitet.Systad, G.H.R., Breistøl, A., Follestad, A., Gjershaug, J.O., Guidos, S., Hamre, Ø., May, R., Stokke, B., Østerås, T.R. & Åström, J. 2019. Undersøkelser av trekkaktiviteten for fugl på Guleslettene 2018-2019 - Observasjoner, radarkartlegging og lyttedata med supplerende materiale. NINA Report 1693. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. This report studies the migration in the outer parts of the Guleslettene wind farm. NINA has done radar mapping during the fall 2018 and spring 2019, and collected audio data both seasons. We have been in the field and mapped the migration, as well as verified radar data. Observations from a previous study have been added, together with data from the artsobservasjoner database. Redlisted species within the farm include a number of species (Table 7), but the migratory species include Bean Goose (VU), Northern pintail (VU), Eurasian Curlew (VU) and Common Gull (NT). In addition, there are several near threatened species (NT) both migrating through the area and likely to nest there, including Twite, Bluethroat and Common cuckoo. Several species in the NT category observed in the lowland areas can possibly migrate over Guleslettene. Endangered species observed outside the plant which might be prone to conflict with the windmills are Northern Lapwing (EN) and Skylark (VU). The scope will be more extensive for migrating larger species such as Whooper Swan, Greylag goose and Barnacle goose that are not redlisted, together with Bean goose, possibly Pink-footed Goose and Greater White-fronted Goose, as well as numerous species such as Meadow pipit and Common Snipe. Stationary species are not focused here. Greylag geese were observed using several routes across Guleslettene, as well as west of the plateau. Bean goose was registered in the focused area during spring 2019 using audio recording equipment. The Pink-footed Goose migrates through the area. The Whooper Swan often winters in Bremanger and Flora. These species probably follow roughly the same flyways as described for Greylag Goose. The Barnacle Goose migrate from the wintering areas in Scotland to the breeding grounds on Svalbard in April-May, following the Norwegian coast in a 30 km wide corridor. Barnacle Goose were also recorded on the sound recorders during the spring migration on two occasions, but the observations on Bremangerlandet during the same period indicate that most birds passed further west. Brent Goose also migrates along the outer coast on its way to the nesting areas of the Arctic. The radar data from Guleslettene show that the outer part of the wind farm area differs less from the areas further east than we expected. Birds migrate across the Sagavatnet to Sørgulen or Botnane just as much as in the focused area further west. Bean Goose, Eurasian Curlew and Northern Pintail migrate through the area, all classified as vulnerable (VU) on the Norwegian redlist. Otherwise, several near threatened species (NT) have been found in the area, both out-side and inside the wind park area. Radar data is dominated by registrations below 300 meters above ground level both seasons. Data from the vertical radar show a distribution higher above the ground than combined vertical-horizontal data during the fall 2018. This difference is mainly due to the birds probably flying lower in the fall, but will only be registered when they pass over the edge of Guleslettene and thus the height above the ground becomes larger. The level of conflict is unlikely to differ between the focus area and further east in the park. The most important thing, however, is whether the general migration route passes mainly outside, in outer parts of the area, or broadly through the area. Our observations indicate that a larger amount of the birds, particularly waterbirds and seabirds, migrates outside Guleslettene, but many birds goes straight through fairly scattered, both in the outer part of the park and in the larger area east of the position of turbine T39. A migration route has been identified across Sagavatn from the south and across to Sørgulen or Botnane, as well as a route up from Årebrott to Gulevatnet and further over the mountain. The focus area in the western part of Guleslettene does not differ significantly from the park area otherwise in relation to migration activity

Decomposing the spatial and temporal effects of climate on bird populations in northern European mountains

The relationships between species abundance or occurrence versus spatial variation in climate are commonly used in species distribution models (SDMs) to forecast future distributions. Under “space-for-time-substitution”, the effects of climate variation on species are assumed to be equivalent in both space and time. Two unresolved issues of space-for-time-substitution are the time period for species’ responses and also the relative contributions of rapid- versus slow re actions i n shaping spatial and temporal responses to climate change. To test the assumption of equivalence, we used a new approach of climatedecomposition to separate variationin temperature and precipitation i n Fennoscandi a into spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal components over a 23-year period (1996-2018). We compiled information on land cover, topography and six components of climate for 1756 fixed routesurveys and we modelled annual counts of 39 bird species breeding in the mountai nsof Fennoscandia. Local abundance of breeding birds was associated with the spatial components of climate as expected, but the temporal and spatio-temporal climatic variation from the current and previous breeding seasons were also important. The directions of the effects of the three climate components differed within and among species, suggesting that species can respond both rapidly and slowly to climate variation and that the responses represent different ecological processes. Thus, t he assumption of equivalent species’ response to spatial and temporal variation in climate was seldom met in our study system. C onsequently, for the majority of our species, space-for-time substitution may only be applicable once the slow species’ responses to a changi ng climate have occurred. Whereas forecasts for the near future need to accommodate the temporal components of climate variation. However, appropriate forecast horizons for space-for-time substitution are rarely considered and may be difficult to reliably identify. Accurately predicti ng change is challenging because multiple ecological processes affect species distributions at different temporal scales. Anticipatory forecasts, climate decomposition, dynamic forecasts, forecast hori zon, space-for-time substitution, spatio-temporal forecasting, spatio-temporal pattern,species distribution models, static forecast

The future distribution of wetland birds breeding in Europe validated against observed changes in distribution

Wetland bird species have been declining in population size worldwide as climate warming and land-use change affect their suitable habitats. We used species distribution models (SDMs) to predict changes in range dynamics for 64 non-passerine wetland birds breeding in Europe, including range size, position of centroid, and margins. We fitted the SDMs with data collected for the first European Breeding Bird Atlas and climate and land-use data to predict distributional changes over a century (the 1970s–2070s). The predicted annual changes were then compared to observed annual changes in range size and range centroid over a time period of 30 years using data from the second European Breeding Bird Atlas. Our models successfully predicted ca. 75% of the 64 bird species to contract their breeding range in the future, while the remaining species (mostly southerly breeding species) were predicted to expand their breeding ranges northward. The northern margins of southerly species and southern margins of northerly species, both, predicted to shift northward. Predicted changes in range size and shifts in range centroids were broadly positively associated with the observed changes, although some species deviated markedly from the predictions. The predicted average shift in core distributions was ca. 5 km yr−1 towards the north (5% northeast, 45% north, and 40% northwest), compared to a slower observed average shift of ca. 3.9 km yr−1. Predicted changes in range centroids were generally larger than observed changes, which suggests that bird distribution changes may lag behind environmental changes leading to 'climate debt'. We suggest that predictions of SDMs should be viewed as qualitative rather than quantitative outcomes, indicating that care should be taken concerning single species. Still, our results highlight the urgent need for management actions such as wetland creation and restoration to improve wetland birds' resilience to the expected environmental changes in the future