Article
Environmental Sciences
Elin A. Thomas, Aoife Molloy, Nova B. Hanson, Monika Boehm, Mary Seddon, Julia D. Sigwart
Summary: The study shows that 62% of molluscs endemic to hydrothermal vents are under threat, with some species fully protected while others facing threats from deep-sea mining. The relative threat index highlights greater risks at vent fields in the Indian Ocean, while vent sites within established marine protected areas have a higher proportion of species assessed as Least Concern.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gregory M. Mueller, Kelmer Martins Cunha, Tom W. May, Jessica L. Allen, James R. S. Westrip, Catia Canteiro, Diogo Henrique Costa-Rezende, Elisandro Ricardo Drechsler-Santos, Aida M. Vasco-Palacios, Antony Martyn Ainsworth, Genivaldo Alves-Silva, Frank Bungartz, Amanda Chandler, Susana C. Goncalves, Irmgard Krisai-Greilhuber, Reda Irsenaite, John Bjarne Jordal, Thiago Kosmann, James Lendemer, Richard Troy McMullin, Armin Mesic, Viviana Motato-Vasquez, Yoshihito Ohmura, Rikke Reese Naesborg, Claudia FerMi, Irja Saar, Diego Simijaca, Rebecca Yahr, Anders Dahlberg
Summary: Fungal species are also vulnerable to the threats faced by animals and plants, and recent efforts have led to an increase in the number of published fungal assessments. The 597 assessed fungal species in the 2022-1 IUCN Red List update provide the first global review of the extinction risk and threats faced by fungi. Nearly 50% of the assessed species are threatened, with habitat loss/degradation, climate change, invasive species, and pollution identified as the primary threats.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Richard Fox, Emily B. Dennis, Andrew F. Brown, Jon Curson
Summary: Regular reassessment of extinction risk is important for prioritizing conservation action. This study provides an updated assessment of extinction risk in Great Britain by using population monitoring data and citizen-science records of butterflies. The findings show that the status of butterflies in Great Britain has deteriorated and a significant number of species are threatened.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Liping Li, Haining Qin, Eimear Nic Lughadha, Yaomin Zheng, Huawei Wan, Jack Plummer, Melanie-Jayne R. Howes, Huiyuan Liu, Yangming Jiang, Tuo Wang, Huihui Zhao, Zhanfeng Shen, Huiping Huang
Summary: Based on the assessments in 2013 and 2020, a total of 4,088 (10.39%) species of Chinese higher plants are threatened in 2020, with 2,875 (7.31%) considered Near Threatened and 27,593 (70.16%) categorized as Least Concern. The Red List Index showed different patterns in the two years, indicating effective protection for threatened plant species in China. Attention should be given to non-threatened species in the future for conservation purposes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DIGITAL EARTH
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Victor Cazalis, Luca Santini, Pablo M. Lucas, Manuela Gonzalez-Suarez, Michael Hoffmann, Ana Benitez-Lopez, Michela Pacifici, Aafke M. Schipper, Monika Boehm, Alexander Zizka, Viola Clausnitzer, Carsten Meyer, Martin Jung, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Pedro Cardoso, Giordano Mancini, H. Resit Akcakaya, Bruce E. Young, Guillaume Patoine, Moreno Di Marco
Summary: The usefulness of the IUCN Red List is hindered by the lack of data on 14% of species. This study proposes a reproducible method to help prioritize the reassessment of data-deficient species and provides a list of species likely to have sufficient data, thereby improving the comprehensiveness of the IUCN Red List.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oceanography
Edwin S. Uribe, Andrea Luna-Acosta, Andres Etter
Summary: The study conducted in the Colombian Caribbean for the first time using the Red List of Ecosystems methodology to assess collapse risk for coral ecosystems found that all ecosystem units at the three scales were assessed from vulnerable to critically endangered, proposing practical management recommendations.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Victor Cazalis, Moreno Di Marco, Stuart H. M. Butchart, H. Resit Akcakaya, Manuela Gonzalez-Suarez, Carsten Meyer, Viola Clausnitzer, Monika Bohm, Alexander Zizka, Pedro Cardoso, Aafke M. Schipper, Steven P. Bachman, Bruce E. Young, Michael Hoffmann, Ana Benitez-Lopez, Pablo M. Lucas, Nathalie Pettorelli, Guillaume Patoine, Michela Pacific, Theresa Jorger-Hickfang, Thomas M. Brooks, Carlo Rondinini, Samantha L. L. Hill, Piero Visconti, Luca Santini
Summary: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species plays a central role in biodiversity conservation, but insufficient resources hinder its long-term growth. While models and automated calculations have been proposed, their integration into assessment practice is limited, showing a critical research-implementation gap. Bridging this gap can be achieved by fostering communication between academic researchers and Red List practitioners and developing user-friendly platforms for automated application of these methods. The development of methods that better encompass Red List criteria, systems, and drivers is the next priority for supporting the Red List.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Katarina Misikova, Katarina Godovicova, Pavel Sirka, Rudolf Soltes
Summary: The assessment of liverworts and hornworts in Slovakia reveals that 22.9% of the species are threatened, with the main factors being anthropogenic changes in natural conditions and degradation of ecosystems. Among them, 128 species were assessed as having no immediate threat.
Article
Plant Sciences
Kamal Shaltout, Heba Bedair
Summary: The present study aims to compile a checklist of perennial shrubs in Egypt, determine alien species, identify endemic or near-endemic species, and analyze the checklist in terms of taxonomic diversity, geographical distribution, abundance, rarity forms, goods and services, threats, and physical defense. The study recorded 171 taxa belonging to 99 genera and 37 families inhabiting ten natural and four anthropogenic habitats. The most represented rarity form was SNN, Sinai had the highest shrub diversity, and the North African-Indian Desert was the chorotype with the highest occurrence of shrubs. Medicinal plants were the most offered goods, while sand accumulation was the most represented service. Over-collecting and over-cutting were the most important threats, and several taxa were evaluated as extinct or threatened with extinction. In addition, efforts are being made to conserve many species through in situ and ex situ conservation actions.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tobias Andermann, Soren Faurby, Robert Cooke, Daniele Silvestro, Alexandre Antonelli
Summary: This study presents a new approach for simulating future extinctions based on IUCN conservation status information, which incorporates generation length information and future changes in conservation status for each species. By estimating extinction rates using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm, the study demonstrates the utility of applying species-specific information to extinction rate estimation. The results show variations in extinction risk among taxa of the same conservation status, highlighting the importance of considering species-specific factors in predicting future extinctions.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Aaron C. Greenville, Thomas M. Newsome, Glenda M. Wardle, Chris R. Dickman, William J. Ripple, Brad R. Murray
Summary: The research found that species facing more threats do not necessarily have a higher risk of extinction, and different combinations of threats do not predict extinction risk in the same way across different spatial scales. The only exception is cartilaginous fishes, which face higher extinction risk with increasing numbers of threats.
CONSERVATION LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Monika Bohm, David L. Waldien, Gregory P. Setliff, Kristine O. Abenis, Luis F. Aguirre, Perpetra Akite, Marnelli S. Alviola, Phillip A. Alviola, Jose Luis Aramayo Bejarano, Jade Aster T. Badon, Aimee Lynn A. Barrion-Dupo, Gilianne Brodie, Analyn Cabras, Catia Canteiro, James A. Danoff-Burg, Emmanuel Ryan C. De Chavez, Mariano Roy M. Duya, Orlando L. Eusebio, Norashikin Fauzi, Zachary J. Glass, Noelle E. Grabowski, Juan Fernando Guerra Serrudo, Sergio S. Henriques, Brent M. Horton, Vijaya Kumaran Jayaraj, Beth A. Kaplin, Shannon M. Keller, Maria Julieta Ledezma Arias, Ireneo L. Lit, Cristian C. Lucanas, Milton Norman D. Medina, Michael D. Meyer, Jenna Miladin, Ahmim Mourad, Gregory M. Mueller, Shiloh S. Narayan, Jeremy C. B. Naredo, Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, Joseph B. Rasalan, Bindiya Rashni, Simon Musila, Appalasamy Suganthi, Nunia Thomas-Moko, Chrestine B. Torrejos, John R. Wallace, Hilda Waqa-Sakiti, Sheryl Yap
Summary: Global biodiversity decline continues, and it is crucial to bring in new and diverse contributors to fill data gaps. Linking academia with assessment processes can enhance species assessments. Professors can integrate Red List learning into teaching, helping students develop professional networks and research skills.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Timothy D. Meehan, Michael S. Crossley
Summary: Assessing invertebrate species for the IUCN Red List involves fitting statistical models to abundance data and calculating TYC estimates. The monarch butterfly assessment used models assuming constant change rates, but our analysis showed that change rates were variable. The recommended approach for evaluating monarch conservation status is to use models with variable change rates.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Rafael Miranda, Imanol Miqueleiz, William Darwall, Catherine Sayer, Nicholas K. Dulvy, Kent E. Carpenter, Beth Polidoro, Nadia Dewhurst-Richman, Caroline Pollock, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Robin Freeman, Ben Collen, Monika Boehm
Summary: Global biodiversity targets require monitoring of species at risk and quantifying biodiversity trends. This study uses the Red List Index (RLI) to analyze the conservation status of world fishes in 2010. The results show that 15.1% of sampled species are threatened with extinction, with fishing being the main threat for marine species and pollution from agriculture and forestry effluents for freshwater fishes.
REVIEWS IN FISH BIOLOGY AND FISHERIES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
M. Tim Tinker, Kelly M. Zilliacus, Diana Ruiz, Bernie R. Tershy, Donald A. Croll
Summary: The seabird meta-population viability model (mPVA) projects abundance and quasi-extinction risk for 102 seabird species under various conservation scenarios by tracking abundance of multiple populations linked by dispersal and estimating survival rates using a competing hazards formulation. The model provides a tool for resource managers to assess potential benefits of alternative management actions for multiple species.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Molly K. Grace, H. Resit Akcakaya, Elizabeth L. Bennett, Thomas M. Brooks, Anna Heath, Simon Hedges, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Michael Hoffmann, Axel Hochkirch, Richard Jenkins, David A. Keith, Barney Long, David P. Mallon, Erik Meijaard, E. J. Milner-Gulland, Jon Paul Rodriguez, P. J. Stephenson, Simon N. Stuart, Richard P. Young, Pablo Acebes, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Raphali Rodlis Andriantsimanarilafy, Marina Arbetman, Claudio Azat, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Ruchi Badola, Luis M. D. Barcelos, Joao Pedro Barreiros, Sayanti Basak, Danielle J. Berger, Sabuj Bhattacharyya, Gilad Bino, Paulo A. Borges, Raoul K. Boughton, H. Jane Brockmann, Hannah L. Buckley, Ian J. Burfield, James Burton, Teresa Camacho-Badani, Luis Santiago Cano-Alonso, Ruth H. Carmichael, Christina Carrero, John P Carroll, Giorgos Catsadorakis, David G. Chapple, Guillaume Chapron, Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury, Louw Claassens, Donatella Cogoni, Rochelle Constantine, Christie Anne Craig, Andrew A. Cunningham, Nishma Dahal, Jennifer C. Daltry, Goura Chandra Das, Niladri Dasgupta, Alexandra Davey, Katharine Davies, Pedro Develey, Vanitha Elangovan, David Fairclough, Mirko Di Febbraro, Giuseppe Fenu, Fernando Moreira Fernandes, Eduardo Pinheiro Fernandez, Brittany Finucci, Rita Foldesi, Catherine M. Foley, Matthew Ford, Michael R. J. Forstner, Nestor Garcia, Ricardo Garcia-Sandoval, Penny C. Gardner, Roberto Garibay-Orijel, Marites Gatan-Balbas, Irene Gauto, Mirza Ghazanfar Ullah Ghazi, Stephanie S. Godfrey, Matthew Gollock, Benito A. Gonzalez, Tandora D. Grant, Thomas Gray, Andrew J. Gregory, Roy H. A. van Grunsven, Marieka Gryzenhout, Noelle C. Guernsey, Garima Gupta, Christina Hagen, Christian A. Hagen, Madison B. Hall, Eric Hallerman, Kelly Hare, Tom Hart, Ruston Hartdegen, Yvette Harvey-Brown, Richard Hatfield, Tahneal Hawke, Claudia Hermes, Rod Hitchmough, Pablo Melo Hoffmann, Charlie Howarth, Michael A. Hudson, Syed Ainul Hussain, Charlie Huveneers, Helene Jacques, Dennis Jorgensen, Suyash Katdare, Lydia K. D. Katsis, Rahul Kaul, Boaz Kaunda-Arara, Lucy Keith-Diagne, Daniel T. Kraus, Thales Moreira de Lima, Ken Lindeman, Jean Linsky, Edward Louis, Anna Loy, Eimear Nic Lughadha, Jeffrey C. Mangel, Paul E. Marinari, Gabriel M. Martin, Gustavo Martinelli, Philip J. K. McGowan, Alistair McInnes, Eduardo Teles Barbosa Mendes, Michael J. Millard, Claire Mirande, Daniel Money, Joanne M. Monks, Carolina Laura Morales, Nazia Naoreen Mumu, Raquel Negrao, Anh Ha Nguyen, Md Nazmul Hasan Niloy, Grant Leslie Norbury, Cale Nordmeyer, Darren Norris, Mark O'Brien, Gabriela Akemi Oda, Simone Orsenigo, Mark Evan Outerbridge, Stesha Pasachnik, Juan Carlos Perez-Jimenez, Charlotte Pike, Fred Pilkington, Glenn Plumb, Rita de Cassia Quitete Portela, Ana Prohaska, Manuel G. Quintana, Eddie Fanantenana Rakotondrasoa, Dustin H. Ranglack, Hassan Rankou, Ajay Prakash Rawat, James Thomas Reardon, Marcelo Lopes Rheingantz, Stephen C. Richter, Malin C. Rivers, Luke Rollie Rogers, Patricia da Rosa, Paul Rose, Emily Royer, Catherine Ryan, Yvonne J. Sadovy de Mitcheson, Lily Salmon, Carlos Henrique Salvador, Michael J. Samways, Tatiana Sanjuan, Amanda Souza Dos Santos, Hiroshi Sasaki, Emmanuel Schutz, Heather Ann Scott, Robert Michael Scott, Fabrizio Serena, Surya P. Sharma, John A. Shuey, Carlos Julio Polo Silva, John P. Simaika, David R. Smith, Julia L. Y. Spaet, Shanjida Sultana, Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Vikash Tatayah, Philip Thomas, Angela Tringali, Hoang Trinh-Dinh, Chongpi Tuboi, Aftab Alam Usmani, Aida M. Vasco-Palacios, Jean-Christophe Vie, Jo Virens, Alan Walker, Bryan Wallace, Lauren J. Waller, Hongfeng Wang, Oliver R. Wearn, Merlijn van Weerd, Simon Weigmann, Daniel Willcox, John Woinarski, Jean W. H. Yong, Stuart Young
Summary: In response to the need for evaluating species recovery and conservation impact, IUCN proposed the development of a Green List of Species in 2012, which was later refined into the IUCN Green Status of Species. A draft Green Status framework published in 2018 introduced standardized methods for assessing species recovery progress, resulting in proposed species recovery categories and the observation that 59% of tested species were largely or critically depleted. While there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, there was considerable variation, with some lower risk species further from recovery than higher risk species.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Amanda Kuepfer, Richard B. Sherley, Paul Brickle, Alexander Arkhipkin, Stephen C. Votier
Summary: Incidental mortality in trawl fisheries poses a serious threat to seabird sustainability. Strategic batch discarding is an effective mitigation measure to limit discard discharge, but supporting studies are rare. This study validates the efficacy of batch discarding as a mitigation measure in the Falkland Islands trawl fleet and highlights the importance of complete waste storage.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
William J. Sydeman, George L. Hunt, Ellen K. Pikitch, Julia K. Parrish, John F. Piatt, P. Dee Boersma, Les Kaufman, Daniel W. Anderson, Sarah Ann Thompson, Richard B. Sherley
Summary: South Africa implemented a decade-long field experiment to understand the impact of fisheries on African penguins, showing that fisheries closures within the birds' primary foraging range increased breeding productivity. Recommendations include maintaining fisheries closures and establishing closed areas during the non-breeding season to increase penguin food supplies.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Correction
Biology
Richard B. Sherley, Barbara J. Barham, Peter J. Barham, Kate J. Campbell, Robert J. M. Crawford, Jennifer Grigg, Cat Horswill, Alistair McInnes, Taryn L. Morris, Lorien Pichegru, Antje Steinfurth, Florian Weller, Henning Winker, Stephen C. Votier
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Roland Proud, Camille Le Guen, Richard B. Sherley, Akiko Kato, Yan Ropert-Coudert, Norman Ratcliffe, Simon Jarman, Adam Wyness, John P. Y. Arnould, Ryan A. Saunders, Paul G. Fernandes, Lars Boehme, Andrew S. Brierley
Summary: Research on king penguins off South Georgia in 2017 revealed that they primarily forage near shallow and dense fish schools associated with deep scattering layers, consisting mainly of lanternfish, icefish, and painted noties. The diving behavior of penguins overlaps at fine scale with the depth distribution of fish schools, and neural network models were used to predict their habitat preferences.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Fisheries
Amanda Kuepfer, Stephen C. Votier, Richard B. Sherley, Francesco Ventura, Rafael Matias, Orea Anderson, Paul Brickle, Alexander Arkhipkin, Paulo Catry
Summary: Fishery discards can be beneficial for black-browed albatross populations, but may also have negative impacts by increasing bycatch risk or providing junk-food. This study found that black-browed albatrosses in the Falkland Islands switch to consuming discards when natural feeding opportunities are unfavorable, but discards do not compensate for poor natural foraging conditions in the long term.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Fisheries
W. J. Sydeman, G. L. Hunt, E. K. Pikitch, J. K. Parrish, J. F. Piatt, P. D. Boersma, L. Kaufman, D. W. Anderson, S. A. Thompson, R. B. Sherley
Summary: This paper responds to Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie's comment on the impact of forage fish fisheries on the endangered African penguin and management options. The study demonstrates that their criticism of pseudo-replication is weak and emphasizes the negative effects of forage fisheries on penguin population health. Considering the depletion of sardines and the conservation crisis facing the African penguin, the paper advocates for continuing precautionary closures to facilitate population growth.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tegan Carpenter-Kling, Andrew de Blocq, Christina Hagen, Craig Harding, Taryn Morris, Lorien Pichegru, Jennifer Roberts, Peter G. Ryan, Ross M. Wanless, Alistair McInnes
Summary: The population of Endangered African penguins has declined significantly in the last 20 years due to reduced availability of their main prey. Research has shown that these penguins have larger foraging ranges during the non-breeding season, but they still heavily rely on waters within 20 and 50 km of their breeding colonies.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Peter Carr, Alice M. Trevail, Heather J. Koldewey, Richard B. Sherley, Tim Wilkinson, Hannah Wood, Stephen C. Votier
Summary: Seabirds are facing global decline and require protection on both land and sea. The Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean has proposed marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (mIBAs) in addition to terrestrial sites. This study uses updated seabird information and GPS tracking to identify a single mIBA that falls entirely within the Chagos Archipelago Marine Protected Area. This research emphasizes the importance of large-scale marine protected areas for the conservation of marine predators and provides a foundation for future studies on marine biodiversity hotspots in the central Indian Ocean.
BIRD CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Freddie W. Leith, Jennifer L. Grigg, Barbara J. Barham, Peter J. Barham, Katrin Ludynia, Cuan McGeorge, Andile Mdluli, Nola J. Parsons, Lauren J. Waller, Richard B. Sherley
Summary: Reproductive skipping is a common strategy observed in long-lived species, and it can be an adaptive decision or driven by individual-specific constraints. This study investigates the survival and breeding probabilities of African penguins at two colonies and identifies inter-colony differences linked to food availability. The study also reveals reproductive skipping behavior in both colonies, with lower future breeding probability for individuals that skipped reproduction. The lower survival and breeding propensity at Robben Island highlight the need for conservation efforts in this colony.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Molly M. Kressler, Sasha R. X. Dall, Richard B. Sherley
Summary: Historic limitations in marine ecological studies have led to the neglect of well-established concepts from behavioural ecology, mainly due to the inadequacy of available methods in addressing the large-scale ecological processes and sampling resolution in the marine environment. However, with advancements in technology, data management, and statistical modelling, researchers are now able to fully embrace behavioural ecology concepts and study marine ecological interactions from a holistic perspective. This article proposes a novel perspective and workflow called Seascape of Ecological Energy (SEE-scapes), which integrates accumulated knowledge from marine biology and behavioural ecology research, providing guidance for marine scientists interested in grounding their research in behavioural ecology's first principles. SEE-scapes focuses on relevant considerations for contemporary seascapes, taking into account the relationships between individuals and their conspecifics, competitors, predators, and the abiotic environment in the marine ecosystem.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Amanda Kuepfer, Paulo Catry, Stuart Bearhop, Richard B. Sherley, Olivia Bell, Jason Newton, Paul Brickle, Alexander Arkhipkin, Stephen C. Votier
Summary: Effective marine ecosystem monitoring is critical for sustainable management. Monitoring seabird diets can provide important information on ecosystem health and seabird-fishery interactions. This study combines stomach content analysis (SCA) and stable isotope analysis (SIA) to examine the diet of black-browed albatross chicks, with a focus on fishery discard consumption.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ralph E. T. Vanstreels, Nola J. Parsons, Richard B. Sherley, Nicky Stander, Venessa Strauss, Jessica Kemper, Lauren Waller, Barbara J. Barham, Katrin Ludynia
Summary: The coastal waters of Namibia and South Africa have a long history of oil spills, with 71 recorded up to 2021. These spills have had significant impacts on seabirds, particularly African penguins (91.0%) and Cape gannets (8.5%). The main sources of these spills include unknown origins, bulk/cargo carriers, tankers, and ship-to-ship transfers. Monitoring the breeding population size within a specific range has shown to predict the number of oiled penguins, while the admission day of oiled birds is indicative of their rehabilitation success.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrea Soriano-Redondo, Richard Inger, Richard B. Sherley, Eileen C. Rees, Fitsum Abadi, Graham McElwaine, Kendrew Colhoun, Olafur Einarsson, Sverrir Thorstensen, Julia Newth, Kane Brides, David J. Hodgson, Stuart Bearhop
Summary: Recent studies indicate that protected areas often fail to effectively safeguard target species. This study focuses on the value of nature reserves in conserving migratory waterbirds, specifically Whooper swans. The research findings show that while breeding probability is lower among swans wintering inside nature reserves, their survival rates are higher, resulting in a 30-fold increase in annual growth rate within the reserves. Furthermore, there is a net movement of individuals from nature reserves to non-reserves. The population projection models predict that by 2030, nature reserves could double the number of swans wintering in the United Kingdom.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kelly Atkins, Stuart Bearhop, Thomas W. W. Bodey, W. James Grecian, Keith Hamer, Jorge M. M. Pereira, Hannah Meinertzhagen, Chris Mitchell, Greg Morgan, Lisa Morgan, Jason Newton, Richard B. B. Sherley, Stephen C. C. Votier
Summary: Combining precision satellite-tracking with blood sampling, this study explores the potential of using seabird geolocators and feather sampling to validate large-scale isotopic patterns. By matching winter-grown feathers with the non-breeding location of tracked birds, the study reveals latitudinal gradients in carbon and nitrogen isotopes in neritic waters. Furthermore, the isotopic patterns are best explained by sea surface temperature, and similar gradients are found in fish muscle samples collected from local ports.
RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY
(2023)
