Showing papers by "The Lodge published in 2019"

Age and connection to nature: when is engagement critical?

Abstract: Conservation organizations are increasingly aware of the need to motivate pro‐environmental behavior by connecting people with nature. However, to maximize the effectiveness of the limited resources available, there needs to be a better understanding of the variability in people's connection to nature shown at different ages. We examined connection to nature among people aged 5–75 years, using two popular measures, in a cross‐sectional UK sample, based on the hypothesis that there would be clear, age‐related patterns in people's connection to nature, with specific “breakpoints” associated with differences in feelings of connection. Data were collected across a variety of locations. Analysis of generalized additive models revealed similar age‐related patterns for both measures, with connection declining from childhood to an overall low in the mid‐teens, followed by a rise to the early 20s and reaching a plateau that lasts to the end of the lifetime. Both measures also showed that females generally had higher connection scores than males. These findings have implications for conservation action.

Annual estimates of occupancy for bryophytes, lichens and invertebrates in the UK, 1970–2015

Abstract: Here, we determine annual estimates of occupancy and species trends for 5,293 UK bryophytes, lichens, and invertebrates, providing national scale information on UK biodiversity change for 31 taxonomic groups for the time period 1970 to 2015. The dataset was produced through the application of a Bayesian occupancy modelling framework to species occurrence records supplied by 29 national recording schemes or societies (n = 24,118,549 records). In the UK, annual measures of species status from fine scale data (e.g. 1 × 1 km) had previously been limited to a few taxa for which structured monitoring data are available, mainly birds, butterflies, bats and a subset of moth species. By using an occupancy modelling framework designed for use with relatively low recording intensity data, we have been able to estimate species trends and generate annual estimates of occupancy for taxa where annual trend estimates and status were previously limited or unknown at this scale. These data broaden our knowledge of UK biodiversity and can be used to investigate variation in and drivers of biodiversity change. Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9977426

Bird conservation and the land sharing-sparing continuum in farmland-dominated landscapes of lowland England.

Abstract: Empirical evidence from many regions suggests that most species would be least negatively affected if human food demand were met through high-yield agricultural production and conservation of nonfarm ecosystems (land sparing), rather than through wildlife-friendly farming over a larger area (land sharing). However, repeated glaciation and a long history of agriculture may lead to different results in regions such as western Europe. We compared the consequences of land sparing and land sharing on breeding bird species in 2 lowland regions of England, The Fens, with 101 species, and Salisbury Plain, with 83. We derived density-yield responses for each species and then estimated regional population size under regional food production strategies, including land sharing and land sparing, a range of intermediate strategies, and a novel mixed strategy. In both regions, more species achieved maximum regional population size under land sparing than land sharing. In The Fens, the majority of birds were loser species (estimated to have smaller populations under all food production strategies than in the preagricultural baseline scenario), whereas in Salisbury Plain the majority were winners (smaller populations in the preagricultural baseline scenario). Loser species overwhelmingly achieved maximum regional population size under land sparing, whereas winner species achieved maximum regional population size under either land sharing or an intermediate strategy, highlighting the importance of defining which groups of species are the target of conservation. A novel 3-compartment strategy (combining high-yield farming, natural habitat, and low-yield farming) often performed better than either land sharing or land sparing. Our results support intermediate or 3-compartment land-sparing strategies to maximize bird populations across lowland agricultural landscapes. To deliver conservation outcomes, any shift toward land sparing must, however, ensure yield increases are sustainable in the long term, do not entail increased negative effects on surrounding areas, and are linked to allocation of land for nature.

The environmental predictors of spatio-temporal variation in the breeding phenology of a passerine bird.

Abstract: Establishing the cues or constraints that influence avian timing of breeding is the key to accurate prediction of future phenology. This study aims to identify the aspects of the environment that predict the timing of two measures of breeding phenology (nest initiation and egg laying date) in an insectivorous woodland passerine, the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). We analyse data collected from a 220 km, 40-site transect over 3 years and consider spring temperatures, tree leafing phenology, invertebrate availability and photoperiod as predictors of breeding phenology. We find that mean night-time temperature in early spring is the strongest predictor of both nest initiation and lay date and suggest this finding is most consistent with temperature acting as a constraint on breeding activity. Birch budburst phenology significantly predicts lay date additionally to temperature, either as a direct cue or indirectly via a correlated variable. We use cross-validation to show that our model accurately predicts lay date in two further years and find that similar variables predict lay date well across the UK national nest record scheme. This work refines our understanding of the principal factors influencing the timing of tit reproductive phenology and suggests that temperature may have both a direct and indirect effect.

Desert crossing strategies of migrant songbirds vary between and within species

Abstract: Each year, billions of songbirds cross large ecological barriers during their migration. Understanding how they perform this incredible task is crucial to predict how global change may threaten the safety of such journeys. Earlier studies based on radar suggested that most songbirds cross deserts in intermittent flights at high altitude, stopping in the desert during the day, while recent tracking with light loggers suggested diurnal prolongation of nocturnal flights and common non-stop flights for some species. We analyzed light intensity and temperature data obtained from geolocation loggers deployed on 130 individuals of ten migratory songbird species, and show that a large variety of strategies for crossing deserts exists between, but also sometimes within species. Diurnal stopover in the desert is a common strategy in autumn, while most species prolonged some nocturnal flights into the day. Non-stop flights over the desert occurred more frequently in spring than in autumn, and more frequently in foliage gleaners. Temperature recordings suggest that songbirds crossed deserts with flight bouts performed at various altitudes according to species and season, along a gradient ranging from low above ground in autumn to probably >2000 m above ground level, and possibly at higher altitude in spring. High-altitude flights are therefore not the general rule for crossing deserts in migrant songbirds. We conclude that a diversity of migration strategies exists for desert crossing among songbirds, with variations between but also within species.

Population responses of bird populations to climate change on two continents vary with species’ ecological traits but not with direction of change in climate suitability

Abstract: Climate change is a major global threat to biodiversity with widespread impacts on ecological communities. Evidence for beneficial impacts on populations is perceived to be stronger and more plentiful than that for negative impacts, but few studies have investigated this apparent disparity, or how ecological factors affect population responses to climatic change. We examined the strength of the relationship between species-specific regional population changes and climate suitability trends (CST), using 30-year datasets of population change for 525 breeding bird species in Europe and the USA. These data indicate a consistent positive relationship between population trend and CST across the two continents. Importantly, we found no evidence that this positive relationship differs between species expected to be negatively and positively impacted across the entire taxonomic group, suggesting that climate change is causing equally strong, quantifiable population increases and declines. Species’ responses to changing climatic suitability varied with ecological traits, however, particularly breeding habitat preference and body mass. Species associated with inland wetlands responded most strongly and consistently to recent climatic change. In Europe, smaller species also appeared to respond more strongly, whilst the relationship with body mass was less clear-cut for North American birds. Overall, our results identify the role of certain traits in modulating responses to climate change and emphasise the importance of long-term data on abundance for detecting large-scale species’ responses to environmental changes.

A Spatial Perspective on the Phenological Distribution of the Spring Woodland Caterpillar Peak

Abstract: A classic system for studying trophic mismatch focuses on the timing of the spring caterpillar peak in relation to the breeding time and productivity of woodland passerine birds. Most work has been conducted in single-site oak woodlands, and little is known about how insights generalize to other woodland types or across space. Here we present the results of a 3-year study on the species composition and temporal distribution of the spring caterpillar peak on different tree taxa across 40 woodland sites spanning 2° of latitude in Scotland. We used molecular barcoding to identify 62 caterpillar species, with winter moth (Operophtera brumata) being the most abundant, comprising one-third of the sample. Oak (Quercus sp.) and willow (Salix sp.) hosted significantly higher caterpillar abundances than other tree taxa, with winter moth exhibiting similar trends and invariantly proportionate across tree taxa. Caterpillar peak phenology was broadly similar between tree taxa. While latitude had little effect, increasing elevation increased the height of the caterpillar peak and retarded timing by 3.7 days per 100 m. These findings extend our understanding of how mismatch may play out spatially, with caterpillar peak date varying with elevation and tree taxa varying in the caterpillar resource that they host.

Consequences matter: Compassion in conservation means caring for individuals, populations and species

Abstract: Human activity affecting the welfare of wild vertebrates, widely accepted to be sentient, and therefore deserving of moral concern, is widespread. A variety of motives lead to the killing of individual wild animals. These include to provide food, to protect stock and other human interests, and also for sport. The acceptability of such killing is widely believed to vary with the motive and method. Individual vertebrates are also killed by conservationists. Whether securing conservation goals is an adequate reason for such killing has recently been challenged. Conventional conservation practice has tended to prioritise ecological collectives, such as populations and species, when their interests conflict with those of individuals. Supporters of the ‘Compassionate Conservation’ movement argue both that conservationists have neglected animal welfare when such conflicts arise and that no killing for conservation is justified. We counter that conservationists increasingly seek to adhere to high standards of welfare, and that the extreme position advocated by some supporters of ‘Compassionate Conservation’, rooted in virtue ethics, would, if widely accepted, lead to considerable negative effects for conservation. Conservation practice cannot afford to neglect consequences. Moreover, the do-no-harm maxim does not always lead to better outcomes for animal welfare.

Spring migration strategies of Whinchat Saxicola rubetra when successfully crossing potential barriers of the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract: The flexibility for migrant land birds to be able to travel long distances rapidly without stopovers, and thus to cross wide inhospitable areas such as deserts and oceans, is likely to be a major determinant of their survival during migration. We measured variation in flight distance, speed and duration of major stopovers (more than 2 days), using geolocator tracks of 35 Whinchats Saxicola rubetra that migrated successfully from central Nigeria to Eastern Europe in spring, and examined how these measures changed, or depended on age, when crossing the barriers of the Sahara or the Mediterranean Sea. In all, 31% of Whinchats crossed at least the Sahara and the Mediterranean before a major stopover and 17% travelled over 4751 km on average without any major stopovers. Flight distance and speed during, and duration of major stopovers after, crossing the Mediterranean Sea were indistinguishable from migration over Continental Europe. Speed during a migration leg was lowest crossing Continental Europe and fastest, with longer duration major stopovers afterwards, when crossing the Sahara, but there was much individual variation, and start date of migration was also a good predictor of stopover duration. As the distance travelled during a leg increased, so major stopover duration afterwards increased (1 day for every 1000 km), but the speed of travel during the leg had no effect. There were no differences in any migration characteristics with age, other than an earlier start date for adult birds. The results suggest that adaptive shortening or even dropping of daily stopovers may occur often, allowing rapid, long‐distance migration at the cost of major stopovers afterwards, but such behaviour is not restricted to or always found when crossing barriers, even for birds on their first spring migration. The results may highlight the importance of stopover sites rather than barrier width as the likely key component to successful migration. Individual variation in spring migration may indicate that small passerine migrants like Whinchats may be resilient to future changes in the extent of barriers they encounter, although this may not be true of first autumn migrations or if stopover sites are lost.

Opposing indirect effects of domestic herbivores on saltmarsh erosion

Abstract: Herbivores can sometimes influence the geomorphology of landscapes, particularly in systems dominated by hydrology. Salt marshes deliver globally valuable benefits, including coastal protection, yet they sometimes rapidly erode. Triggers for erosion are often unknown, but livestock grazing is a suspected cause in many regions of the world where agricultural use of saltmarshes is pervasive. To understand the influence of grazing on saltmarsh erosion, we sampled the plant community, soil chemistry and soil mechanical properties along 2–5 creeks in grazed and ungrazed marshes. Erosion was quantified as: (1) the rates of erosion of extracted soil–plant cores in a hydrological flume and (2) the number of erosional break-offs (‘slump blocks’) per creek. We found that domestic herbivores influenced saltmarsh geomorphology via two indirect and opposing pathways: one involving soil mechanical properties and the other mediated by plant traits and bare soil cover, all within a soil physico-chemical environment. The net effect of grazing results in a reduction in saltmarsh lateral erodibility and thus an increase in marsh resilience. Our results highlight the role of herbivores not only as controllers of the flow of energy and materials through the trophic web, but also as modifiers of the abiotic environment. Managers and scientists must remain vigilant to both the obvious direct and the more nuanced indirect pathways, which can influence grazed ecosystems. This study calls for a closer look to the biological side of the equation when assessing biogeomorphic feedbacks and plant–soil–animal interactions.

The biodiversity intactness index may underestimate losses.

Abstract: To the Editor — The biodiversity intactness index (BII) is a high-profile metric of an area’s average abundance of wild species relative to that in pre-modern times1 or in primary vegetation under current climatic conditions2. It has been endorsed by the Group on Earth Observations of the Biodiversity Observation Network, adopted by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services as a ‘core’ indicator of progress toward the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Targets 12 and 14. We strongly support development of spatially explicit indicators such as the BII, which can be used to prioritise areas for conservation interventions. However, it is important that the metric is as robust as possible, and we have noticed several unusual features of the BII that concern us. Newbold et al.2 mapped the BII globally by modelling thousands of field-derived estimates of the abundance of individual species as a function of human-induced pressures and then extrapolating their model using remote-sensed land-use data. The resulting layer gives an estimate, for those species that would occur in an area’s primary vegetation, of their current average abundance as a proportion of that expected in the absence of human activities; hence, a value of 50% would indicate that the species originally present are on average only half as common in an area now as compared with pristine conditions. However, in some regions, BII values seem surprising. For example, the BII exceeds 90% in much of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Central America and eastern Madagascar — where widespread habitat loss is linked with a high proportion of threatened species. For example, in Madagascar, the populations of 34 (out of 98) lemur species have declined by at least 30% in in the last four decades alone3. In a finer-scale analysis of the United Kingdom4, the BII exceeds 50% even in the centres of large cities, and it

Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour.

Abstract: Environmental heterogeneity shapes the uneven distribution of resources available to foragers, and is ubiquitous in nature. Optimal foraging theory predicts that an animal's ability to exploit reso...

Experimental evidence that ground‐disturbance benefits Woodlark Lullula arborea

Abstract: To determine whether ground-disturbance increased Woodlark Lullula arborea abundance, we examined responses over 3 years to four treatments varying in establishment method (shallow- or deep-cultivated) and complexity (homogeneous or ‘complex-mosaics’ comprising fallow and recently cultivated subplots), plus controls, replicated across the largest lowland grass-heath in the UK. Abundance increased through the study and was higher on plots closer to woodland and across all treatments. Within complex-mosaics, Woodlark preferentially used recently cultivated subplots over 1- or 2-year-old fallows. Regardless of treatment detail, providing suitable foraging habitat within c. 45 m of woodland, through annual ground-disturbance, can increase Woodlark abundance within lowland grass-heaths characterized by closed swards.

Behavioural thermoregulation and climatic range restriction in the globally threatened Ethiopian Bush‐crow Zavattariornis stresemanni

Abstract: ANDREW J. BLADON,* PAUL F. DONALD, SAMUEL E.I. JONES, NIGEL J. COLLAR, JARSO DENG, GALGALO DADACHA, YILMA D. ABEBE & RHYS E. GREEN Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK BirdLife International, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot, Surrey SL5 7PY, UK School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK Borana National Park Authority, Yabello, Borana Zone, PO Box 34, Oromiya, Ethiopia Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society, PO Box 13303, Bole Sub City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Are agri‐environment schemes successful in delivering conservation grazing management on saltmarsh?

Abstract: 1.Grasslands occur around the globe and, in temperate regions, their natural management by fire, drought and wild herbivores has largely been replaced by grazing with domestic livestock. Successful management for agriculture is not always suitable for conservation and can have a detrimental effect on biodiversity. Conservation grazing of saltmarshes, delivered through agri‐environment schemes, may provide a solution to counteract biodiversity loss by providing farmers with financial incentives to graze these internationally important coastal wetlands more sensitively. 2.To assess whether conservation grazing is being achieved, and whether agri‐environment schemes are effective in delivering this management, we conducted a national survey on English saltmarshes, scoring the management on each site as optimal, suboptimal or detrimental in terms of suitability for achieving conservation aims for five aspects of grazing: presence, stock type, intensity, timing and habitat impact. 3.Although most saltmarshes suitable for grazing in England were grazed, conservation grazing was not being achieved. Sites under agri‐environment management for longer did score higher and approached optimal levels in terms of grazing intensity in one region, but sites with agri‐environment agreements were no more likely to be grazed at optimal conservation levels than sites without them overall, indicating that agri‐environment schemes, in their current form, are an ineffective delivery mechanism for conservation grazing on saltmarsh. 4.The low specificity of agri‐environment prescription wording may contribute to this failure, with prescriptions either being vague or specifying suboptimal or detrimental management objectives, particularly for grazing intensity, timing and stock type. These objectives are often set too high or too low, during unsuitable periods, or using stock types inappropriate for achieving conservation aims. 5.Synthesis and applications. Our national survey indicates that agri‐environment schemes are not currently delivering conservation grazing on English saltmarshes. Agri‐environment schemes are the only mechanism through which such grazing can be implemented on a national scale, so improving their effectiveness is a priority. Policymakers, researchers and managers need to work together to ensure better translation of conservation guidelines into schemes, increasing the specificity of management prescriptions and improving understanding of the need for management measures. A more detailed and reliable system of auditing to ensure that management activities are taking place would be beneficial, or alternatively moving to a results‐based scheme where payments are made on desirable outcomes rather than on evidence of management.

A new framework of spatial targeting for single-species conservation planning

Abstract: Organisations acting to conserve and protect species across large spatial scales prioritise to optimise use of resources. Spatial conservation prioritization tools typically focus on identifying areas containing species groups of interest, with few tools used to identify the best areas for single-species conservation, in particular, to conserve currently widespread but declining species. A single-species prioritization framework, based on temporal and spatial patterns of occupancy and abundance, was developed to spatially prioritize conservation action for widespread species by identifying smaller areas to work within to achieve predefined conservation objectives. We demonstrate our approach for 29 widespread bird species in the UK, using breeding bird atlas data from two periods to define distribution, relative abundance and change in relative abundance. We selected occupied 10-km squares with abundance trends that matched species conservation objectives relating to maintaining or increasing population size or range, and then identified spatial clusters of squares for each objective using a Getis-Ord-Gi* or near neighbour analysis. For each species, the framework identified clusters of 20-km squares that enabled us to identify small areas in which species recovery action could be prioritized. Our approach identified a proportion of species’ ranges to prioritize for species recovery. This approach is a relatively quick process that can be used to inform single-species conservation for any taxa if sufficiently fine-scale occupancy and abundance information is available for two or more time periods. This is a relatively simple first step for planning single-species focussed conservation to help optimise resource use.

The Corrosion of Cast Duplex Stainless Steels in Seawater and Sour Brines

Abstract: Modern duplex stainless steels have been in use since the early 1970s and cast versions of the wrought alloys were soon in demand for pumps and valves. Since that time a range of cast duplex stainl...

Insights from two decades of the Student Conference on Conservation Science

Abstract: Conservation science is a crisis-oriented discipline focused on delivering robust answers to reducing human impacts on nature. To explore how the field might have changed during the past two decades, we analyzed 3,245 applications for oral presentations submitted to the Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) in Cambridge, UK. SCCS has been running every year since 2000, aims for global representation by providing bursaries to early-career conservationists from lower-income countries, and has never had a thematic focus, beyond conservation in the broadest sense. We found that the majority of submissions to SCCS were based on primary biological data collection from local scale field studies in the tropics, contrary to established literature which highlights gaps in tropical research. Our results showed a small increase over time in submissions framed around how nature benefits people as well as a small increase in submissions integrating social science. Our findings also suggest that students and early-career conservationists could provide pathways to increased availability of data from the tropics and for addressing well-known biases in the published literature towards wealthier countries. We hope this research will motivate efforts to support student projects, ensuring data and results are published and made publicly available.

Light stalks increase the precision and accuracy of non-breeding locations calculated from geolocator tags: a field test from a long-distance migrant

Abstract: Capsule: There is a substantial gain in precision and accuracy of geolocator locations when using a light stalk.Aims: Light stalks or tubes increase the accuracy of geolocators when tracking migran...