Living on the Edge

Zwarts, Le; Bijlsma, Rob G.; Kamp, Jan van der; Wymenga, Eddy

doi:10.1163/9789004278134

Cited by 36 publications

(75 citation statements)

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“…Sahel rainfall, only considered for trans-Saharan migrants with dependence on the Sahel region, shows a marginal positive effect, indicating that species affected by this variable on average appear to profit from wetter conditions in the Sahel region, which corresponds to various other studies (e.g. Szep 1995, Boano et al 2004, Zwarts et al 2012).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

“…After calculation of this index variable, the correlation with grassland was lower than the threshold of 0.5 (r = 0.43) and variance inflation factors < 3 in the fitted models assured that multicollinearity between predictors was successfully reduced (Zuur et al 2010). The variable SahelRainfall was only included in models for species classified as long distance migrants with confirmed high dependence on the Sahel region according to Zwarts et al (2012). Accordingly, this variable was used for Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava, Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis, Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris and Whinchat Saxicola rubetra, but not for Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drivers of population change in common farmland birds in Germany

Busch¹,

Katzenberger²,

Trautmann³

et al. 2020

Bird Conservation International

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Summary Farmland bird populations in Germany are declining at a higher speed than species inhabiting other habitats. We studied potential causes for bird population changes based on data from standardised German breeding bird monitoring schemes. We related population trends to covariates describing the changes in the agricultural landscape in Germany, weather conditions during the breeding season and for some migratory species, conditions at stopover and wintering sites. Linear mixed effect models were used to analyse effect strength at species level and conclusions are drawn for the overall group of farmland bird species. The area of grassland and fallow land was shown to have the strongest positive effects and the area of maize and rapeseed the strongest negative effects on farmland bird population trends. The results obtained also indicate that despite the consistent influence of weather conditions during the breeding season, land-use changes had a stronger impact on bird populations than weather. Conditions at Sahel wintering sites did not show a consistent effect on population trends. Based on these findings the study quantitatively underpins and ranks key factors shaping farmland bird populations in Germany.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of population change in common farmland birds in Germany

Busch¹,

Katzenberger²,

Trautmann³

et al. 2020

Bird Conservation International

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“…Second, Iberian chiffchaffs showed more pointed wings, and shorter tails than common chiffchaffs, which is evidence of adaptation to longer migrations in the former despite their breeding in the Mediterranean area (Seebohm , Salomon et al , Pérez‐Tris et al ). And third, there were several sightings and ringing captures of Iberian‐like chiffchaffs in the Sahel region, although for most of these records, if not all, the species identity of those individuals was not validated genetically (Svensson , Zwarts et al ). By making predictions on how δ 2 H c values would vary in bird claws according to the predicted differences in Hydrogen isotope ratios between tropical Africa and the Mediterranean basin (Morganti et al ), our results show that Iberian chiffchaffs are trans‐Saharan migrants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wintering grounds, population size and evolutionary history of a cryptic passerine species from isotopic and genetic data

Hera

Gómez

Dillane

et al. 2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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Cryptic species pose a particular challenge to biologists in the context of life history investigations because of the difficulty in their field discrimination. Additionally, there is normally a lag in their widespread acceptance by the scientific community once they are formally recognised. These two factors might constrain our ability to properly assess the conservation status of the different species conforming a cryptic complex. In this study, we analysed isotopic and genetic data to shed light into the still unclear wintering grounds, population size and evolutionary history of the Iberian chiffchaff Phylloscopus ibericus, a species included within the common chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita until two decades ago due to their phenotypic similarity. We used molecular methods to identify spring-migrating Phylloscopus species captured in northern Iberia, and by comparing the Hydrogen isotopic ratios of their claw tips (δ 2 H c ; which would reflect the signatures of their wintering grounds), we detected that δ 2 H c values of Iberian chiffchaffs were similar to willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus; a renowned trans-Saharan migrant), and higher than common chiffchaffs (mostly a pre-Saharan migrant). These results strongly support the idea that Iberian chiffchaffs winter in tropical Africa. We additionally reconstructed the phylogeny and evolutionary history of the Iberian chiffchaff's clade using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Our results revealed relatively high values of nucleotide diversity (and, hence, high N e) for the species that were greater than the values of the common/Iberian most recent common ancestor. This suggests that the Iberian chiffchaff did not experience strong bottlenecks after diverging from the common chiffchaff approximately one million years ago. Ultimately, our study provides another illustrative example of how isotopic and genetic analysis tools can help to enhance our understanding of avian ecology and evolution.

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“…In the past 50 years, climate and land use change in West Africa have interacted to create serious social and ecological challenges for conservation (CILSS, 2016; Walther, 2016; Zwarts et al, 2009). Annual rainfall has generally decreased since the mid‐twentieth century, and the land area of agriculture in the region more than doubled between 1975 and 2013 due to increased mechanisation and rapid human population growth, which has also resulted in urban expansion (CILSS, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decline of the marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) in West Africa and the need for immediate conservation action

Gula

Barlow²

2022

Afr J Ecol

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The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is widespread and generally abundant in East and Southern Africa, but recent research has found range loss indicative of a population decline in West Africa in recent decades. In the absence of population data, we conducted an in‐depth review of the status of the marabou in the region using a plethora of sources together comprising the largest database on the occurrence of the species. Despite caveats and coarseness of the assessment, we estimate the range loss at 52% in West Africa, including extirpation of approximately 64% of known nesting colonies since 2000. The resulting fragmentation has left a metapopulation of likely no more than 100 breeding pairs in The Gambia and Benin and an unknown number of breeders in Cameroon. Knowledge gaps about marabou population ecology in West Africa are significant and prevent an empirical assessment of regional extinction probability. Therefore, we recommend immediate field surveys, especially for breeding colonies, and research into threats and population dynamics. We also recommend the West African metapopulation be listed as regionally critically endangered and that a working group be formed comprising stakeholders from across the region to aid in assessing threats and implementing research and conservation action.

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Living on the Edge

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Drivers of population change in common farmland birds in Germany

Drivers of population change in common farmland birds in Germany

Wintering grounds, population size and evolutionary history of a cryptic passerine species from isotopic and genetic data

Decline of the marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) in West Africa and the need for immediate conservation action

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