The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

SummaryIllegal killing/taking of birds is a growing concern across the Mediterranean. However, there are few quantitative data on the species and countries involved. We assessed numbers of individual birds of each species killed/taken illegally in each Mediterranean country per year, using a diverse range of data sources and incorporating expert knowledge. We estimated that 11-36 million individuals per year may be killed/taken illegally in the region, many of them on migration. In each of Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, Lebanon and Syria, more than two million birds may be killed/taken on average each year. For species such as Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla , Common Quail Coturnix coturnix , Eurasian Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs , House Sparrow Passer domesticus and Song Thrush Turdus philomelos , more than one million individuals of each species are estimated to be killed/ taken illegally on average every year. Several species of global conservation concern are also reported to be killed/taken illegally in substantial numbers: Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata , Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca . Birds in the Mediterranean are illegally killed/taken primarily for food, sport and for use as cage-birds or decoys. At the 20 worst locations with the highest reported numbers, 7.9 million individuals may be illegally killed/ taken per year, representing 34% of the mean estimated annual regional total number of birds illegally killed/taken for all species combined. Our study highlighted the paucity of data on illegal killing/taking of birds. Monitoring schemes which use systematic sampling protocols are needed A-L. Brochet et al. 2 to generate increasingly robust data on trends in illegal killing/taking over time and help stakeholders prioritise conservation actions to address this international conservation problem. Large numbers of birds are also hunted legally in the region, but specific totals are generally unavailable. Such data, in combination with improved estimates for illegal killing/taking, are needed for robustly assessing the sustainability of exploitation of birds.

Bird exclusion experiments on kale (Brassica sp.) plants were undertaken to quantify the extent to which foraging birds contributed to reducing the densities and impact of invertebrate pests. During the dry season, significantly higher leaf-area loss, aphid and thrips abundance were recorded in bird-excluded compared with control plants, suggesting that birds could make an important contribution to pest control. On average, per week, during the dry season, exclusion of birds from kale plants led to both a marked increase (130%) in the number of leaves infested with aphids and an increase in leaf damage by pests (about three times greater than when birds had access to the kale plants). These results suggest that, in the dry season, foraging birds reduce the invertebrate pest load and hence the amount of leaf damage in kale, and that this may, in turn, have an impact of the market value of the crop. We recommend that measures to enhance avian insectivory should be explored and encouraged in order to better take advantage of birds in integrated pest management of kale and possibly other crops.

Biodiversity indicators are essential for monitoring the impacts of pressures on the state of nature, determining the effectiveness of policy responses, and tracking progress towards biodiversity targets and sustainable development goals. Indicators based on trends in the abundance of birds are widely used for these purposes in Europe and have been identified as priorities for development elsewhere. To facilitate this we established bird population monitoring schemes in three African countries, based on citizen science approaches used in Europe, aiming to monitor population trends in common and widespread species. We recorded > 500 bird species from c. 450 2-km transects in Botswana, > 750 species from c. 120 transects in Uganda, and > 630 species from c. 90 transects in Kenya. Provisional Wild Bird Indices indicate a strong increase in bird populations in Botswana and a small decrease in Uganda. We also provide comparisons between trends of habitat generalists and specialists, of birds within and outside protected areas, and between Afro-Palearctic migrants and resident birds. Challenges encountered included recruiting, training and retaining volunteer surveyors, and securing long-term funding. However, we show that with technical support and modest investment (c. USD 30,000 per scheme per year), meaningful biodiversity indicators can be generated and used in African countries. Sustained resourcing for the existing schemes, and replication elsewhere, would be a cost-effective way to improve our understanding of biodiversity trends globally, and measure progress towards environmental goals.

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1.0 Introduction and Background 2.0 Approach and Methodology 3.0 Results 3.1 Status and trends 3.1.1 Forest Quality and Health 3.1 .2 Area of different types of forest and degree of fragmentation... 3.1.2.1 Forest area 3.1.2.2 Fragmentation 3.1.3 Presence of endemic and globally threatened species, changes in species IUCN Red List category, changes in site status, and new species descriptions 3.1.3.1 Presence of endemic and globally threatened species 3.1.3.1.1 Amphibians 3.1.3.1.2 Birds 3.1.3.1.4 Mammals 3.1.3.1.5 Plants 3.1 .3.2 Changes in species IUCN Red List category 3.1 .3.3 Changes in site status 3.1 .3.4 New species descriptions 3.1.4 Percentage of area within protected areas 3.1.5 Carbon storage 3.2 Pressure 3.2.1 Impact scores for Kenyan IBAs 3.2.2 Change in extraction intensity of key species 3.2.3 Changes in human population density in wards, divisions in the EACF. 3.2.4 Presence and coverage of invasive species 3.2.5 Fire frequency. 3.3 Response Indicators TABLE OF CONTENTS 3.3.1 Response scores for Kenyan IBAs 40 3.3.2 Changes in forest management effectiveness 41 3.3.3 Actions and research targeting biodiversity 43 3.3.3.1 Amphibians 43 3.3.3.2 Birds 44 3.3.3.3 Mammals 44 3.3.3.4 Plants 45 3.3.4 Policy development (including site, species, and focused issues 45 3.3.5 Number of sites from which benefits accue to local communities... 48 4.0 Conclusions and Recommendations 50 References 53 Appendix 1 : List of a collapsed set of monitoring indicators and tools for aggregating information at the regional level as agreed by stakeholders in the EACF 62 Appendix 2: Habitat use of Long-billed Tailorbird Artisornis moreaui in the East Usambara mountains (Tanzania) 64 Appendix 3: Drifting into extinction: results from the long-term monitoring of Taita apalis Apalis fuscigularis 68 Appendix 4: Inventoried sites in EACF with IBA and KBA status and numbers of listed taxa in 20 1 2 and 20 1 3 ...

Figure 5 of the above paper (Donald et al., 2010) was printed in black and white rather than colour. The publishers apologise for this error, and have reprinted the image below correctly.

Few studies have explored how human land uses influence and support persistence of forest biodiversity in central Kenya. In the case of the Mount Kenya ecosystem, farmlands and plantation forests are significant land-use types. Using point counts, we assessed bird communities in natural forests, plantation forests, and farmlands in the Nanyuki Forest Block, Western Mount Kenya. Bird point counts were undertaken during two sampling periods (wet and dry season). Compared to farmlands and plantation forest, natural forest had the highest overall avian species richness and relative species richness of all except one forest-dependent foraging guild (granivores) and nonforest species, which occurred frequently only on farmlands. Plantation forest had the lowest relative richness of all avian habitat and foraging guilds. Conversely, specialist forest-dependent species mainly occurred in the structurally complex remnant natural forest. Our study underscores the importance of remnant natural forests for the persistence and conservation of forest biodiversity and risks posed by replacing them with plantation forests and farmlands.