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.

Vegetation response to restoration management of a blanket bog damaged by drainage and afforestation

Abstract: Questions Does restoration management of a formerly afforested blanket bog lead to the vegetation, and the environmental conditions it indicates, becoming similar to intact bog? Location A 147-ha blanket bog in Scotland's Flow Country, afforested in the 1980s but undergoing restoration since 1998. Methods Vegetation in the restoration area was surveyed in nine, 1.6–6.4-ha plots, in 1998, 2003 and 2011. Each plot was matched to nearby plots that were either intact bog or remained afforested. Principal Response Curves were used to highlight the main axes of vegetation variation and test whether plant community trajectories in the restoration area differed from intact bog. The following restoration outcomes were assessed: floristic similarity to bog vegetation; and moisture, fertility and acidity, as inferred from vegetation using Ellenberg indicator values. Results In the 6 years after restoration began, vegetation developed towards bog-like conditions. In the subsequent 8 years, overall vegetation change stalled, and spatial variability increased, reflecting diverging trajectories in wetter and drier parts of the site. Ellenberg's F-values implied significant re-wetting in the restoration area, reaching moisture levels similar to intact bog. Other restoration outcomes progressed in wetter microsites and areas (furrows and flat ground), but stalled in drier locations (plough-ridges and steeper slopes). Conclusions Overall moisture conditions, as indicated by plants, have recovered. However, restoration progress has stalled in drier areas, where additional management may be needed. Long-term vegetation monitoring has helped clarify barriers to recovery and the management needed to overcome them. The value of such monitoring schemes in guiding restoration should be reflected in their wider implementation, within an adaptive management framework.

A metric for spatially explicit contributions to science-based species targets.

Abstract: The Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will probably include a goal to stabilize and restore the status of species Its delivery would be facilitated by making the actions required to halt and reverse species loss spatially explicit Here, we develop a species threat abatement and restoration (STAR) metric that is scalable across species, threats and geographies STAR quantifies the contributions that abating threats and restoring habitats in specific places offer towards reducing extinction risk While every nation can contribute towards halting biodiversity loss, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Madagascar and Brazil combined have stewardship over 31% of total STAR values for terrestrial amphibians, birds and mammals Among actions, sustainable crop production and forestry dominate, contributing 41% of total STAR values for these taxonomic groups Key Biodiversity Areas cover 9% of the terrestrial surface but capture 47% of STAR values STAR could support governmental and non-state actors in quantifying their contributions to meeting science-based species targets within the framework

Predation of Lapwing Vanellus vanellus nests on lowland wet grassland in England and Wales: effects of nest density, habitat and predator abundance

Abstract: There is concern that predation of Lapwing Vanellus vanellus nests may create additional pressure on declining populations of this species in Europe. At seven sites in England and Wales, daily nest predation rates on 1,390 nests were related to variables using Generalised Linear Mixed Models. The strongest predictor was Lapwing nest density (number of nests within 100 m): predation rates declined as nest density increased. Since nocturnal species, probably mammals, have been identified as the major predators of Lapwing nests at these sites, these results suggest that Lapwings are able to deter mammalian predators or may settle to nest at high densities in areas with low predation pressure. At the site level, there was no relationship between Lapwing nesting density and fox density, and a positive relationship with Carrion Crow Corvus corone nesting density. There was a weaker effect of distance to field boundary: nests closer to boundaries were more likely to be predated. Weak interactive effects between crow density and both nest visibility and distance to vantage point were identified in models using a reduced subset of nests. These were counter-intuitive, did not persist in the larger data set, and do not have obvious explanations. If Lapwings nesting at high density are able to deter predators, there are implications for land management. Smaller areas could be managed within potential breeding habitat to encourage Lapwings to nest in dense colonies. Selection of larger fields for such management, where nests could be located far from the field boundary should improve the value of such measures.

Applications of large-scale studies of demographic rates to bird conservation

Abstract: Methods for diagnosing causes of bird population declines are described, paying special attention to methods that rely on comparisons among geographical regions and/or time periods with different population trends. Comparisons of breeding productivity and survival among regions or periods provide a valuable check on the diagnosis of external causes of a decline indicated by correlation with population trend. Ringing or tagging programmes can give information on population levels and are the main source of information on survival. Age ratios from counts or catches of juveniles and adults in standardized trapping programmes can provide data on breeding productivity. Nest recording schemes yield estimates of productivity if females make one breeding attempt per year or if the number of attempts per female can be estimated from supplementary data. Population models should be used to explore hypotheses about the external causes and demographic mechanisms of population declines. Models are described which have ...