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Bird Observatories of the British Isles
A comprehensive survey of the valuable work undertaken by Britain's network of bird observatories, with summaries and tables of noteworthy events and much historical background.
eBook
The history of British birds
\"The History of British Birds reviews our knowledge of avifaunal history over the last 15,000 years, setting it in its wider historical and European context. The authors, one an ornithologist the other an archaeologist, integrate a wealth of archaeological data to illuminate and enliven the story, indicating the extent to which climatic, agricultural, and social changes have affected the avifauna. They discuss its present balance, as well as predicting possible future changes.\" \"It is a popular misconception that bird bones are rarely preserved (compared with mammals), and cannot be reliably identified when they are found. The book explores both of these contentions, armed with a database of 9,000 records of birds that have been identified on archaeological sites. Most are in England, but sites elsewhere in Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Isles are included.\" \"This authoritative reference work will be of particular relevance to students and researchers in the fields of archaeology and avian biology, as well as a broader audience of general ornithologists and natural historians.\"--Jacket.
Book
Epidemiology of protozoan and helminthic parasites in wild passerine birds of Britain and Ireland
Avian endoparasites play important roles in conservation, biodiversity and host evolution. Currently, little is known about the epidemiology of intestinal helminths and protozoans infecting wild birds of Britain and Ireland. This study aimed to determine the rates of parasite prevalence, abundance and infection intensity in wild passerines. Fecal samples (n = 755) from 18 bird families were collected from 13 sites across England, Wales and Ireland from March 2020 to June 2021. A conventional sodium nitrate flotation method allowed morphological identification and abundance estimation of eggs/oocysts. Associations with host family and age were examined alongside spatiotemporal and ecological factors using Bayesian phylogenetically controlled models. Parasites were detected in 20.0% of samples, with corvids and finches having the highest prevalences and intensities, respectively. Syngamus (33%) and Isospora (32%) were the most prevalent genera observed. Parasite prevalence and abundance differed amongst avian families and seasons, while infection intensity varied between families and regions. Prevalence was affected by diet diversity, while abundance differed by host age and habitat diversity. Infection intensity was higher in birds using a wider range of habitats, and doubled in areas with feeders present. The elucidation of these patterns will increase the understanding of parasite fauna in British and Irish birds.
Journal Article
Changes in the Abundance of Farmland Birds in Relation to the Timing of Agricultural Intensification in England and Wales
1. Over the past three decades changes in agricultural management have resulted in increased crop and grass production. This intensification has been accompanied by population declines among farmland bird species and a decline in farmland biodiversity. We have analysed trends in agricultural management in order to quantify the degree of intensification, and have considered how they match change in the farmland bird community. 2. Changes in agriculture through time (1962-95) were examined quantitatively for 31 variables representing crop areas, livestock numbers, fertilizer application, grass production and pesticide use. The majority were highly intercorrelated because factors facilitating intensification simultaneously affected many management activities. 3. Change in agriculture was measured using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). The period 1970-88 saw most intensification, characterized by increases in the area of oilseed rape, autumn-sown cereals, and the use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers. Spring-sown cereals, bare fallow and root crops declined. 4. Indices of relative population change between 1962 and 1996 were determined for 29 bird species using data from Common Birds Census (CBC) plots on farmland in England and Wales. Principal components analysis (PCA) described a gradient from species that had declined most to those that had increased. 5. The ordinations of agricultural change and bird population change were broadly matching but with a time lag in the response of birds. The most accurately measured agricultural variables for the period 1974-91 matched the changes in farmland birds more closely. 6. We conclude that large shifts in agricultural management are a plausible explanation for the declines in farmland bird populations. We propose a threshold model relating to critical amounts of high-quality habitat or food resources that may be relevant in explaining the lag in response of birds, and propose it should be taken into account in predicting the effects of future agri-environment schemes. Identifying individual factors responsible for bird declines is not possible without detailed experimental work because many components of intensification are interdependent. Birds may be responding to a suite of interacting factors rather individual aspects of farm management. Holistic conservation strategy that encourages general extensification of farming practices will be most likely to benefit farmland bird communities.
Journal Article
The climate niche of the invasive tick species Hyalomma marginatum and Hyalomma rufipes (Ixodidae) with recommendations for modeling exercises
The finding of immature stages of some Hyalomma spp. feeding on migratory birds in Europe is unexceptional. The reports of adults of Hyalomma in Europe (incl. the British Isles) after successful molting from immatures have increased in recent years. It has been claimed that the warming of the target territory could favor the populations of these invasive ticks. Although evaluations of the impact on health or measures of adaptation are on their way, the climate niches of these species remain undefined, preventing preventive policies. This study delineates such niches for both Hyalomma marginatum (2,729 collection points) and Hyalomma rufipes (2,573 collections) in their distribution area, together with 11,669 points in Europe where Hyalomma spp. are believed to be absent in field surveys. Niche is defined from daily data of temperature, evapotranspiration, soil humidity and air saturation deficit (years 1970–2006). A set of eight variables (annual/seasonal accumulated temperature and vapor deficit) has the maximum discriminatory power separating the niches of both Hyalomma and a negative dataset, with an accuracy near 100%. The sites supporting H. marginatum or H. rufipes seem to be controlled by the joint action of the amount of water in the air (accounting for mortality) and the accumulated temperature (regulating development). The use of accumulated annual temperature as the only variable for predictive purposes of colonization of Hyalomma spp. looks unreliable, as far as values of water in air are excluded.
Journal Article
Migratory connectivity and effects of winter temperatures on migratory behaviour of the European robin Erithacus rubecula: a continent‐wide analysis
Many partially migratory species show phenotypically divergent populations in terms of migratory behaviour, with climate hypothesized to be a major driver of such variability through its differential effects on sedentary and migratory individuals. Based on long‐term (1947–2011) bird ringing data, we analysed phenotypic differentiation of migratory behaviour among populations of the European robin Erithacus rubecula across Europe. We showed that clusters of populations sharing breeding and wintering ranges varied from partial (British Isles and Western Europe, NW cluster) to completely migratory (Scandinavia and north‐eastern Europe, NE cluster). Distance migrated by birds of the NE (but not of the NW) cluster decreased through time because of a north‐eastwards shift in the wintering grounds. Moreover, when winter temperatures in the breeding areas were cold, individuals from the NE cluster also migrated longer distances, while those of the NW cluster moved over shorter distances. Climatic conditions may therefore affect migratory behaviour of robins, although large geographical variation in response to climate seems to exist.
Journal Article
Man and Bird in the Palaeolithic of Western Europe
Man and Bird in the Palaeolithic of Western Europe
considers the nature of the interaction between birds and
hunter-gatherers. It examines aspects of avian behaviour and the
qualities that could be (and were) targeted at different periods by
hunter-gatherers, who recognised the utility of the diversity of
avian groups in various applications of daily life and thought. It
is clear from the records of excavated sites in western Europe that
during the evolution of both the Neanderthal period and the
subsequent occupations of Homo sapiens, avian demographics
fluctuated with the climate along with other aspects of both flora
and fauna. Each was required to adapt to these changes. The present
study considers these changes through the interactions of man and
bird as evidenced in the remains attached to Middle and Upper
Palaeolithic occupation sites in western Europe and touches on a
variety of prey/predator relationships across other groups of plant
and animal species. The book describes a range of procurement
strategies that are known from the literature and artistic record
of later cultures to have been used in the trapping, enticement and
hunting of birds for consumption and the manufacture of weapons,
domestic items, clothing, ceremony and cultural activities. It also
explores how bird images and depictions engraved or painted on the
walls of caves or on the objects of daily use during the Upper
Palaeolithic may be perceived as communications of a more profound
significance for the temporal, seasonal or social life of the
members of the group than the simple concept of animal. Certain
bird species have at different times held a special significance in
the everyday consciousness of particular peoples and a group of
Late Glacial, Magdalenian settlements in Aquitaine, France, appear
to be an example of such specialised culling. A case study of the
treatment of snowy owl at Arancou in the Atlantic Pyrenees seems to
illustrate such a specialisation. Discussion of the problems of
reconciling dating and research methods, of the last two hundred
years of Palaeolithic research, and of possible directions for
future research offer an open conclusion to the work.
eBook
The buffer effect and large-scale population regulation in migratory birds
Buffer effects occur when sites vary in quality and fluctuations in population size are mirrored by large changes in animal numbers in poor-quality sites but only small changes in good-quality sites. Hence, the poor sites ‘buffer’ the good sites
1
,
2
, a mechanism that can potentially drive population regulation if there are demographic costs of inhabiting poor sites. Here we show that for a migratory bird this process can apply on a country-wide scale with consequences for both survival and timing of arrival on the breeding grounds (an indicator of reproductive success
3
,
4
). The Icelandic population of the black-tailed godwit,
Limosa limosa islandica
, wintering in Britain has increased fourfold since the 1970s (ref.
5
) but rates of change within individual estuaries have varied from zero to sixfold increases. In accordance with the buffer effect, rates of increase are greater on estuaries with low initial numbers, and godwits on these sites have lower prey-intake rates, lower survival rates and arrive later in Iceland than godwits on sites with stable populations. The buffer effect can therefore be a major process influencing large-scale population regulation of migratory species.
Journal Article
Beyond climate envelopes: bio-climate modelling accords with observed 25-year changes in seabird populations of the British Isles
Aim Climate envelope models (CEMs) are used to assess species' vulnerability to predicted changes in climate, based on their distributions. Extinction risk, however, also depends on demographic parameters. Accordingly, we use CEMs for 18 seabird species to test three hypotheses: (i) population sizes are larger in areas where CEMs fitted using distribution data predict more suitable climate; (ii) the presence of this relationship (Hypothesis i) is related to a species' foraging ecology; and (iii) species whose distributions and population sizes conformed most closely to indices of climatic suitability in the mid-1980s experienced the largest population changes following climatic change between 1986 and 2010. Location Europe. Methods Climate envelope models fitted at a 50-km resolution using European climatic and distribution data were applied using local climatic data to calculate local climatic suitability indices (CSIs) for 18 species within the British Isles. We then investigated the relationship between CSI and population size at a 10-km resolution and related both the presence of this relationship and goodness-of-fit metrics from the European models to changes in population size (1986–2010). Results Local population sizes were significantly positively related to local CSI in 50% of species, providing support for Hypothesis (i), and these 50% of species were independently considered to be most vulnerable to changes in food availability at sea in support of Hypothesis (ii). Those species whose distributions and populations most closely conformed to indices of climatic suitability showed the least favourable subsequent changes in population size, over a period in which mean climatic suitability decreased for all species, in support of Hypothesis (iii). Main conclusions Climate influences the population sizes of multiple seabird species in the British Isles. We highlight the potential for outputs of CEMs fitted with coarse resolution occupancy data to provide information on both local abundance and sensitivity to future climate changes.
Journal Article