Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

About: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is a nonprofit organization based out in Sandy, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Biodiversity. The organization has 670 authors who have published 1425 publications receiving 88006 citations. The organization is also known as: RSPB & Plumage League.

The Role of Environmental NGOs in Fisheries Governance

Abstract: This chapter explores the evolving role played by environmental NGOs (ENGOs) in UK fisheries governance in recent years. This role has grown exponentially, as the environmental dimension of fisheries activity has become increasingly understood and accepted by regulators and even by fishermen. There are three sections in the chapter: the first section explains how ENGOs have moved on from ‘problem identification’ to embrace ‘problem solving’; the second section provides five illustrations of ENGO engagement in problem solving; and the third section addresses the challenges of the future, focusing on ENGO participation in the new European Regional Advisory Councils (RACs), and discussing ways in which ENGOs can fulfil their vastly increased workload in relation to fisheries governance.

Current dynamics and predicted vulnerability to sea‐level rise of a threatened Bittern Botaurus stellaris population

Abstract: The decline of the Bittern Botaurus stellaris has long been symbolic of wetland habitat loss and fragmentation across western Europe. Wetland restoration and creation activity, targeted at Bittern, has been ongoing in the UK for more than 10 years and the overall numbers of occupied sites has increased five-fold in that time. The strong recovery, whilst cause for celebration, disguises the continued precariousness of the population. This recovery has predominantly been fuelled by chick productivity from three sites in coastal Suffolk and there is increasing awareness that these sites are in immediate danger from rising sea levels. A key question is whether any loss of these key sites to coastal flooding matters to the UK Bittern population. A cautious approach to mathematical modelling of the sensitivity of the UK Bittern population to sea-level rise events suggests that we should be concerned about the long-term future. Our models demonstrate the sensitivity of the UK population to changes in chick survival and suggest that the growth of the UK Bittern population would be negatively affected by the loss of even a proportion of nests from these three key sites. These findings prompt the need for a multi-layered conservation strategy to meet this dynamic challenge. A potential way forward is discussed.

Marine hotspots of activity inform protection of a threatened community of pelagic species in a large oceanic jurisdiction

Abstract: Supporting information: Figure S1. A three‐dimensional model of the bathymetry in Tristan da Cunha EEZ highlighting the seamounts. Figure S2. Plot of the raw tracking data of all 10 species considered in our analysis of marine hotspots within the Tristan da Cunha EEZ (indicated by the solid black line). Table S1. Plot of the raw tracking data of all 10 species considered in our analysis of marine hotspots within the Tristan da Cunha EEZ (indicated by the solid black line). Table S2. Phenology of the seabird species breeding in the Territory of Tristan da Cunha. Tristan Table S3. Proportion of the time‐at‐sea spent by different species inside and outside the Tristan EEZ based on tracking data of pelagic megafauna activity in the Tristan da Cunha Exclusive Economic Zone. Figure S3. The tracks of three Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) tagged during the National Geographic’s Pristine Seas expedition to Tristan da Cunha (January to February 2017), using MiniPAT tags (Wildlife Computers).

Sexual dimorphism in size, moult and movements of Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti

Abstract: Sex ratios are comparable among autumn juveniles though in adulthood females predominate, resulting in widespread polygyny. When and how does this imbalance occur?

Introduction: A Historical Perspective on Trends in Some Gulls in Eastern North America, with Reference to Other Regions

Abstract: This Special Publication of Waterbirds is the result of a symposium on the decline of some North Atlantic gull populations held in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, in October 2013 as part of the 37th Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society. Here, we focus on the rise and subsequent decline in the 20th century of Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and Great Black-backed Gull (L. marinus) populations in eastern North America with reference to other regions. In addition to survey reports, the Special Publication includes several papers on closely related species (Lesser Black-backed Gull, L. fuscus; Ring-billed Gull, L. delawarensis; and Kelp Gull, L. dominicanus) with contrasting population trends, and papers related to breeding biology, diet and predation, movement, demographics and contaminants.