Identifying the effectiveness and constraints of conservation interventions: A case study of the endangered lesser kestrel

Mixed Effects of Long‐Term Conservation Investment in Natura 2000 Farmland

“…Results might also reflect unusual idiosyncrasies of the study areas, such as poor SPA management, or the emergence of conservation-oriented farming in the control. This is also unlikely, because the SPA was comparable to other Iberian cereal steppes and the most threatened species showed largely favorable trends (Pinto et al 2005;Catry et al 2009;Moreira et al 2012; this study), while the control was a typical irrigated area undergoing agricultural intensification (Stoate et al 2000). Also, building of a highway in the middle of the study period might have influenced bird trends (López-Jamar et al 2011), but this is unlikely because it affected both the SPA and the control, and there were no measurable effects on very sensitive species such as Otis tarda.…”

“…For instance, although protection regulations in association with long-term funding should yield positive conservation outcomes in N2000, confirmative quantitative data is generally lacking (Hochkirch et al 2013). LIFE seems to be one of the most effective EU conservation investments (EC 2010), but only a few long-term studies have demonstrated positive population trends of the targeted species (Pinto et al 2005;Catry et al 2009;Bretagnolle et al 2011). Furthermore, these studies have focused on single species, and so it is uncertain whether there were wider benefits on N2000 biodiversity (Devictor et al 2007).…”

“…Specifically, we compared breeding bird assemblage trends in the SPA and in a nearby control area, using data collected in 1995-1997 and 2010-2012. We expected that trends would be most favorable (i.e., more positive or less negative) inside the SPA for: (1) overall species richness and abundance (Batáry et al 2011); (2) richness and abundance of farmland species (Guerrero et al 2011), particularly of ground-nesting (Bas et al 2009) and steppe (Stoate et al 2000) specialists; (3) richness and abundance of groups of species associated with each element of the traditional farmland mosaic (i.e., fallow, cereal, and ploughed fields); and (4) richness and abundance of Species of European Conservation Concern (SPEC), and of flagship species that were the main targets of conservation investment (Catry et al 2009;Bretagnolle et al 2011). Finally, we expected that (5) farmland bird assemblage composition would be increasingly dominated by the steppe specialists.…”

Evidence of increasing Lesser KestrelFalco naumannipopulations in Morocco (North Africa): a confirmation of ‘Least Concern’ conservation status

“…Likewise, the availability of man-made nest-site structures (e.g. roof tiles, dwellings and barns) may also be behind the preference of urban areas as reported by González and Merino (1990) and Catry et al (2007Catry et al ( , 2009 Our best model showed that the increase in the number of Lesser Kestrel breeding pairs has varied between the Azrou and Ifrane colonies, with the latter having a greater increase. We speculate that this is because Azrou is an urban area with permanent human residents whereas Ifrane is a tourist city with a seasonal activity pattern, peaking during the kestrel's nonbreeding season.…”

Biodiversity management strategies for mountains: active or passive management practice?

“…of steppe birds in southern Portugal; Alonso et al 2003). Changing socio-economic conditions mean that the maintenance of these habitats now typically requires intensive habitat management to mimic what was achieved with traditional human occupation (Catry et al 2009). On the other hand, true wilderness areas -areas still maintaining relatively complex ecological assemblages, including predators -are extremely rare (Morrison et al 2007) and under great threat.…”