Species are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about t... more Species are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about the effectiveness of existing networks of protected areas. As a contribution to this debate, we assess whether regional winter abundances and distribution of the Smew Mergellus albellus, a migratory waterbird species listed on Annex I (EU Birds Directive) that overwinters exclusively in European wetlands, changed during 1990–2011, the role of global warming in driving distributional changes and the effectiveness of the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs, EU Birds Directive) in the context of climate change.
We used site-specific counts (6,883 sites) from 16 countries covering the entire flyway to estimate annual abundance indices and trends at country, region (north-eastern, central and south-western) and flyway scales, inside and outside SPAs. We fitted autoregressive models to assess the effect of winter temperature on the annual abundance indices whilst accounting for autocorrelation.
The Smew wintering distribution shifted north-eastwards in Europe in accordance with the predictions of global warming, with increasing numbers in the north-eastern region and declines in the central region. Trends in wintering numbers were more positive in SPAs on the north-eastern and south-western part of the flyway. However, a large proportion of the wintering population remains unprotected in north-eastern areas outside of the existing SPA network.
SPAs accommodated climate-driven abundance changes in the north-eastern region of the wintering distribution by supporting increasing numbers of Smew in traditional and newly colonized areas. However, we highlight gaps in the current network, suggesting that urgent policy responses are needed. Given rapid changes in species distributions, we urge regular national and international assessments of the adequacy of the EU Natura 2000 network to ensure coherence in site-safeguard networks for this and other species.
Norwegian Northern Gannet Morus bassanus populations exhibit contrasted trends at a regional scal... more Norwegian Northern Gannet Morus bassanus populations exhibit contrasted trends at a regional scale and several colony extinctions occurred in recent decades. In an attempt to understand the ecological drivers of such variability, we tested whether resource availability is a factor limiting the current development of gannetries in the Lofoten/Vesterålen area. Between 2007 and 2010, we recorded arrival and departure times of breeding gannets from two colonies from regions showing contrasting population growth rates during the past two previous decades. We also recorded the duration of joint attendances by gannet parents at the nest, performed opportunistic diet sampling and counted numbers of occupied nests. Finally, we compiled ring recoveries over a 30-year period to assess inter-colony movements. Norwegian gannet parents spent more time attending their chick together, with shorter foraging trips than those in growing British and French colonies of similar size, and their foraging effort was relatively low, despite some annual variations. Diet samples mainly constituted fish of high energetic value, such as large herring Clupea harengus and mackerel Scomber scombrus, and saithe Pollachius virens, prey that are relatively abundant within the study area. Ring data revealed, however, a northward movement of adults ringed as breeding birds and chicks from extinct Lofoten colonies, that established in a growing colony close to the North Cape. Recorded foraging features (trip duration, joint attendance and prey quality) during our study does not design food availability as a limiting factor explaining successive extinctions and re-colonisations of breeding sites in Lofoten/Vesterålen. White-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla are known to predate opportunistically on Northern Gannet adult or chicks and their populations are growing in the Lofoten area. Their potential impact on the Norwegian Northern Gannet population dynamics should be further investigated.
... Since the kittiwake is studied at many sites in the Atlantic (Frederiksen et al., 2005), it w... more ... Since the kittiwake is studied at many sites in the Atlantic (Frederiksen et al., 2005), it was possible to design a large-scale study involving colonies well dispersed throughout the breed-ing ... For coastal and shelf regions, we used large marine ecosystems (LMEs) (Sherman, 2006 ...
Page 1. lBlS 137: 345-351 Incubation and brooding performance of the Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica... more Page 1. lBlS 137: 345-351 Incubation and brooding performance of the Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica at Svarthamaren, Dronning Maud Land SVEIN-HAKON LORENTSEN & NILS R 0 V Norwegian Institute for Nature ...
Despite global occurrence of several perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) the potential ecological eff... more Despite global occurrence of several perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) the potential ecological effects of such substances on natural populations are not known. In endangered lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus fuscus) on the Norwegian Coast, the blood concentrations of PFCs were as high as legacy organochlorines (OCs), and here we examined whether PFCs show associations similar to those of OCs to factors potentially affecting population growth, by evaluating relationships between contaminant concentrations and demographic parameters (reproductive performance and the probability of adults returning between breeding seasons). PFCs were not adversely associated with demographic parameters, while the most persistent OCs; notably PCB and p,p'-DDE, were adversely associated with early chick survival, and adult return rate. This study thus suggests that when the concentrations of PFCs and OCs are of similar magnitude in a gull population, OCs are more likely to cause adverse ecological effects.
Species are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about t... more Species are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about the effectiveness of existing networks of protected areas. As a contribution to this debate, we assess whether regional winter abundances and distribution of the Smew Mergellus albellus, a migratory waterbird species listed on Annex I (EU Birds Directive) that overwinters exclusively in European wetlands, changed during 1990–2011, the role of global warming in driving distributional changes and the effectiveness of the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs, EU Birds Directive) in the context of climate change.
We used site-specific counts (6,883 sites) from 16 countries covering the entire flyway to estimate annual abundance indices and trends at country, region (north-eastern, central and south-western) and flyway scales, inside and outside SPAs. We fitted autoregressive models to assess the effect of winter temperature on the annual abundance indices whilst accounting for autocorrelation.
The Smew wintering distribution shifted north-eastwards in Europe in accordance with the predictions of global warming, with increasing numbers in the north-eastern region and declines in the central region. Trends in wintering numbers were more positive in SPAs on the north-eastern and south-western part of the flyway. However, a large proportion of the wintering population remains unprotected in north-eastern areas outside of the existing SPA network.
SPAs accommodated climate-driven abundance changes in the north-eastern region of the wintering distribution by supporting increasing numbers of Smew in traditional and newly colonized areas. However, we highlight gaps in the current network, suggesting that urgent policy responses are needed. Given rapid changes in species distributions, we urge regular national and international assessments of the adequacy of the EU Natura 2000 network to ensure coherence in site-safeguard networks for this and other species.
Norwegian Northern Gannet Morus bassanus populations exhibit contrasted trends at a regional scal... more Norwegian Northern Gannet Morus bassanus populations exhibit contrasted trends at a regional scale and several colony extinctions occurred in recent decades. In an attempt to understand the ecological drivers of such variability, we tested whether resource availability is a factor limiting the current development of gannetries in the Lofoten/Vesterålen area. Between 2007 and 2010, we recorded arrival and departure times of breeding gannets from two colonies from regions showing contrasting population growth rates during the past two previous decades. We also recorded the duration of joint attendances by gannet parents at the nest, performed opportunistic diet sampling and counted numbers of occupied nests. Finally, we compiled ring recoveries over a 30-year period to assess inter-colony movements. Norwegian gannet parents spent more time attending their chick together, with shorter foraging trips than those in growing British and French colonies of similar size, and their foraging effort was relatively low, despite some annual variations. Diet samples mainly constituted fish of high energetic value, such as large herring Clupea harengus and mackerel Scomber scombrus, and saithe Pollachius virens, prey that are relatively abundant within the study area. Ring data revealed, however, a northward movement of adults ringed as breeding birds and chicks from extinct Lofoten colonies, that established in a growing colony close to the North Cape. Recorded foraging features (trip duration, joint attendance and prey quality) during our study does not design food availability as a limiting factor explaining successive extinctions and re-colonisations of breeding sites in Lofoten/Vesterålen. White-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla are known to predate opportunistically on Northern Gannet adult or chicks and their populations are growing in the Lofoten area. Their potential impact on the Norwegian Northern Gannet population dynamics should be further investigated.
... Since the kittiwake is studied at many sites in the Atlantic (Frederiksen et al., 2005), it w... more ... Since the kittiwake is studied at many sites in the Atlantic (Frederiksen et al., 2005), it was possible to design a large-scale study involving colonies well dispersed throughout the breed-ing ... For coastal and shelf regions, we used large marine ecosystems (LMEs) (Sherman, 2006 ...
Page 1. lBlS 137: 345-351 Incubation and brooding performance of the Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica... more Page 1. lBlS 137: 345-351 Incubation and brooding performance of the Antarctic Petrel Thalassoica antarctica at Svarthamaren, Dronning Maud Land SVEIN-HAKON LORENTSEN & NILS R 0 V Norwegian Institute for Nature ...
Despite global occurrence of several perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) the potential ecological eff... more Despite global occurrence of several perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) the potential ecological effects of such substances on natural populations are not known. In endangered lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus fuscus) on the Norwegian Coast, the blood concentrations of PFCs were as high as legacy organochlorines (OCs), and here we examined whether PFCs show associations similar to those of OCs to factors potentially affecting population growth, by evaluating relationships between contaminant concentrations and demographic parameters (reproductive performance and the probability of adults returning between breeding seasons). PFCs were not adversely associated with demographic parameters, while the most persistent OCs; notably PCB and p,p'-DDE, were adversely associated with early chick survival, and adult return rate. This study thus suggests that when the concentrations of PFCs and OCs are of similar magnitude in a gull population, OCs are more likely to cause adverse ecological effects.
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We used site-specific counts (6,883 sites) from 16 countries covering the entire flyway to estimate annual abundance indices and trends at country, region (north-eastern, central and south-western) and flyway scales, inside and outside SPAs. We fitted autoregressive models to assess the effect of winter temperature on the annual abundance indices whilst accounting for autocorrelation.
The Smew wintering distribution shifted north-eastwards in Europe in accordance with the predictions of global warming, with increasing numbers in the north-eastern region and declines in the central region. Trends in wintering numbers were more positive in SPAs on the north-eastern and south-western part of the flyway. However, a large proportion of the wintering population remains unprotected in north-eastern areas outside of the existing SPA network.
SPAs accommodated climate-driven abundance changes in the north-eastern region of the wintering distribution by supporting increasing numbers of Smew in traditional and newly colonized areas. However, we highlight gaps in the current network, suggesting that urgent policy responses are needed. Given rapid changes in species distributions, we urge regular national and international assessments of the adequacy of the EU Natura 2000 network to ensure coherence in site-safeguard networks for this and other species.
We used site-specific counts (6,883 sites) from 16 countries covering the entire flyway to estimate annual abundance indices and trends at country, region (north-eastern, central and south-western) and flyway scales, inside and outside SPAs. We fitted autoregressive models to assess the effect of winter temperature on the annual abundance indices whilst accounting for autocorrelation.
The Smew wintering distribution shifted north-eastwards in Europe in accordance with the predictions of global warming, with increasing numbers in the north-eastern region and declines in the central region. Trends in wintering numbers were more positive in SPAs on the north-eastern and south-western part of the flyway. However, a large proportion of the wintering population remains unprotected in north-eastern areas outside of the existing SPA network.
SPAs accommodated climate-driven abundance changes in the north-eastern region of the wintering distribution by supporting increasing numbers of Smew in traditional and newly colonized areas. However, we highlight gaps in the current network, suggesting that urgent policy responses are needed. Given rapid changes in species distributions, we urge regular national and international assessments of the adequacy of the EU Natura 2000 network to ensure coherence in site-safeguard networks for this and other species.