Benefits of protected area networks for breeding bird populations and communities

The European Union’s Natura 2000 network is the largest continent-wide effort to conserve biodiversity through a protected area network. The Natura 2000 sites are designated across the EU under either the Birds Directive or the Habitats Directive, based on objective assessment of a site’s importance for species (Special Protection Areas – SPAs) or habitats (Special Areas of Conservation Concern – SACs). Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, these sites are now covered under domestic legislation. They enable the UK to meet its international obligations for biodiversity conservation through protected area coverage. But how effective are these sites, and are they more effective than other forms of site protection?

Acute impacts from Teflon harnesses used to fit bio-logging devices to Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla

BTO research underlines the importance of assessing the impact of tagging on a species by species basis, and suggests that the tag-attachment methods successfully used on other seabird species might not be suitable for Red-listed Kittiwakes.

A global biological conservation horizon scan of issues for 2023

Individual, sexual and temporal variation in the winter home range sizes of GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata

Widespread declines in breeding performance have caused the IUCN to classify the Curlew as near-threatened. The UK hosts an internationally significant overwintering population, but conservationists fear that impending habitat loss due to sea-level rise will put even greater pressure on this struggling species. Building new intertidal habitat to compensate for these losses is one viable counteraction, but in order to make effective management decisions, we must first understand how Curlew use their winter home range. 

Evidence that rural wintering populations supplement suburban breeding populations

Urban areas can and do hold significant populations of birds, but we know surprisingly little about how these populations are connected with those present within the wider countryside. It has been suggested that the populations using these different habitats may be linked through seasonal movements, with individuals breeding in rural areas moving into urban sites during the winter months to exploit the supplementary food provided at garden feeding stations. However, little work has been done to test this hypothesis.

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