Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Thomas A. A. Prowse, Patrick J. O'Connor, Stuart J. Collard, Kristian J. Peters, Hugh P. Possingham
Summary: Long-term biodiversity monitoring programs are important for understanding species trajectories and environmental change. However, optimizing monitoring designs is crucial to maximize efficiency and balance ecological and economic benefits. The study found that reducing monitoring effort may compromise trend detection for rare or difficult-to-observe species, highlighting the need to consider social and political sustainability of such programs in the future.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Arco J. van Strien, Jelle S. van Zweden, Laurens B. Sparrius, Baudewijn Ode
Summary: A volunteer-based recording scheme for tracking the changes in occupied grid cells of vascular plants in the Netherlands was evaluated. The approach used occupancy models to correct for observer effort and estimated the number of occupied cells per species. The detection probability was influenced by factors such as visit duration and day of year. The method showed promise in estimating trends for common species but had limited power for rare species.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ornithology
Elly C. Knight, Adam C. Smith, R. Mark Brigham, Erin M. Bayne
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of comprehensive and targeted monitoring programs on the population trend and predictive performance of the Common Nighthawk. The results showed that combining both datasets improved the probability of detecting population declines and targeted monitoring data was crucial for evaluating population trends and habitat relationships.
ORNITHOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Michael J. O. Pocock, Mark Logie, Nick J. B. Isaac, Richard Fox, Tom August
Summary: Opportunistic species sightings submitted by citizen science volunteers are important for biodiversity trend analysis. This study tested the effect of recorder behaviour on the analysis results and found that recorder potential has the greatest impact.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Vijay Ramesh, Pratik Rajan Gupte, Morgan W. Tingley, V. V. Robin, Ruth DeFries
Summary: Understanding the relationship between species occupancy and climate and land cover in tropical mountains is crucial for predicting future changes in species distribution. This study used a large dataset of citizen science observations to examine the association between climatic and landscape variables and bird species occurrence in the southern Western Ghats in India. The results showed that temperature seasonality, precipitation seasonality, and the proportion of evergreen forests were significantly associated with species-specific probabilities of occupancy. Forest birds were negatively associated with temperature seasonality, while the probability of occupancy for certain forest and generalist species was positively associated with precipitation seasonality. A smaller number of generalist species were positively associated with human-modified land cover types. This study demonstrates the importance of environmental factors and natural land cover types in sustaining montane bird species in tropical mountains.
Article
Ecology
Ron Eby, Susan Rosso, John Copriviza, Robert Scoles, Yohn Gideon, Joseph Mancino, Karl Mayer, Julie Yee, Kerstin Wasson
Summary: Volunteer monitoring data can complement professional surveys and provide higher resolution data in space and time for the conservation of imperiled wildlife species, as demonstrated in this study on the southern sea otter. The study found that volunteer-collected data allowed for robust detection of ecological patterns and revealed fine-scale differences in habitat use and behavior that can improve conservation strategies.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hugh J. Hanmer, Andrew A. Cunningham, Shinto K. John, Shaheed K. Magregor, Robert A. Robinson, Katharina Seilern-Moy, Gavin M. Siriwardena, Becki Lawson
Summary: The influence of supplementary feeding on disease transmission and its impacts on population dynamics are underestimated. Supplementary feeding has enabled the spread of Trichomonas gallinae from columbids to finches in Great Britain, leading to epidemic trichomonosis and population declines. The study showed that reduced adult survival caused by disease was the primary driver of declines in greenfinch and chaffinch populations, and the highest reductions occurred in habitats with supplementary food provision.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Caroline Moussy, Ian J. Burfield, P. J. Stephenson, Arabella F. E. Newton, Stuart H. M. Butchart, William J. Sutherland, Richard D. Gregory, Louise McRae, Philip Bubb, Ignacio Roesler, Cynthia Ursino, Yanqing Wu, Ernst F. Retief, Jihad S. Udin, Ruslan Urazaliyev, Lina M. Sanchez-Clavijo, Eric Lartey, Paul F. Donald
Summary: Species monitoring is crucial for conservation practice and policy. Since 2000, there has been a significant increase in new monitoring schemes in lower- and middle-income countries and in megadiverse countries. The total number of monitoring schemes in a country is strongly positively correlated with its per capita GDP, and monitoring schemes in high-income countries have been running for a longer average time.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Development Studies
Xoco A. Shinbrot, Kelly W. Jones, Greg Newman, Miriam Ramos-Escobedo
Summary: This study conducted an experimental research on a citizen science project about water flow in an understudied region in the Global South. The volunteers received different types of training to link them with decision-makers, aiming to influence their perceptions of project relevance and participation. The results showed that motivations such as learning and values were important factors for participation, while barriers like time constraints limited involvement. The study suggested that addressing challenges and focusing on motivations could improve participation, but further research is needed to explore the impact of decision maker involvement in citizen science.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Michael A. Crimmins, Ben McMahan, William F. Holmgren, Gary Woodard
Summary: The study reveals that extreme hydroclimatic variability in the southwestern United States can be tracked using volunteer citizen science precipitation data, filling in gaps where official monitoring networks fall short. However, challenges exist in utilizing volunteer data to capture the full complexity of precipitation patterns.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Benedikt R. Schmidt, Sam S. Cruickshank, Christoph Buhler, Ariel Bergamini
Summary: This study used data from two multi-species amphibian monitoring programs to explore the factors influencing detection probabilities in monitoring data. The results indicate that variation among surveyors is the most important factor, and ignoring it can lead to underestimation of occupancy rates. Therefore, it is crucial to account for detection heterogeneity and make efforts to quantify observer differences through training and data collection.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carl Salk, Elena Moltchanova, Linda See, Tobias Sturn, Ian McCallum, Steffen Fritz
Summary: Involving the public in image classification tasks is a way to complete tasks and promote citizen involvement in science. This paper develops a system to confidently classify images and remove them from tasks based on volunteer contributions and certainty thresholds.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Julie Rode, Claire Lambert, Lucile Marescot, Bastien Chaix, Julie Beesau, Suzanne Bastian, Joldoshbek Kyrbashev, Anne-Lise Cabanat
Summary: The study in Naryn State Nature Reserve in Kyrgyzstan using snow leopard camera trapping over four seasons revealed a minimal population of at least five adult snow leopards, with balanced reproduction and frequent interactions observed. It is recommended to extend stricter protection measures to the buffer and Ulan areas to prevent poaching on these apex predators and their prey.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Alison Johnston, Eleni Matechou, Emily B. Dennis
Summary: The increasing availability and use of citizen science data in biodiversity research and conservation has led to the development of analytical approaches to address the challenges posed by these datasets. This review highlights the outstanding challenges in analyzing citizen science data for biodiversity monitoring and proposes potential solutions, such as collecting additional data or metadata, combining different datasets, and refining statistical models. Further research and development in these areas can significantly enhance biodiversity monitoring and conservation efforts.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Development Studies
Johanna Amalia Robinson, David Kocman, Orestis Speyer, Evangelos Gerasopoulos
Summary: Citizen Science projects vary greatly in terms of goals, resources, and tools, with volunteer involvement often requiring information and communication technology. To enhance long-term participation and project sustainability, the use of tools with functional features that align with volunteer motivations is essential.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joao L. Guilherme, Victoria R. Jones, Ines Catry, Martin Beal, Maria P. Dias, Steffen Oppel, Juliet A. Vickery, Chris M. Hewson, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Ana S. L. Rodrigues
Summary: The conservation of long-distance migratory birds requires coordination between countries connected by their movements. Tracking studies have provided new information on these movements, but it is often inaccessible to conservation practitioners and policy makers. This study synthesized current knowledge on migratory connectivity between European breeding countries and sub-Saharan African nonbreeding countries. The number of available tracking studies has increased, but the coverage of data is incomplete and biased towards certain species and regions. Despite limitations, the results can inform policy discussions and help prioritize future tracking studies.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Martin Beal, Paulo Catry, Richard A. Phillips, Steffen Oppel, John P. Y. Arnould, Maria I. Bogdanova, Mark Bolton, Ana P. B. Carneiro, Corey Clatterbuck, Melinda Conners, Francis Daunt, Karine Delord, Kyle Elliott, Aymeric Fromant, Jose Pedro Granadeiro, Jonathan A. Green, Lewis Halsey, Keith C. Hamer, Motohiro Ito, Ruth Jeavons, Jeong-Hoon Kim, Nobuo Kokubun, Shiho Koyama, Jude V. Lane, Won Young Lee, Sakiko Matsumoto, Rachael A. Orben, Ellie Owen, Vitor H. Paiva, Allison Patterson, Christopher Pollock, Jaime A. Ramos, Paul Sagar, Katsufumi Sato, Scott A. Shaffer, Louise Soanes, Akinori Takahashi, David R. Thompson, Lesley Thorne, Leigh Torres, Yutaka Watanuki, Susan M. Waugh, Henri Weimerskirch, Shannon Whelan, Ken Yoda, Jose C. Xavier, Maria P. Dias
Summary: Animal tracking studies provide insights into space use patterns and inform conservation planning. This study used GPS-tracking data from 23 seabird species to assess the importance of multi-year sampling for identifying important conservation sites. The results showed a high degree of spatial overlap among distribution patterns from different years, suggesting that tracking animals in multiple years may not be necessary. However, it is crucial to track enough individuals to provide a representative estimate of the population distribution during the sampling period.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Correction
Biodiversity Conservation
Martin Beal, Paulo Catry, Richard A. Phillips, Steffen Oppel, John P. Y. Arnould, Maria I. Bogdanova, Mark Bolton, Ana P. B. Carneiro, Corey Clatterbuck, Melinda Conners, Francis Daunt, Karine Delord, Kyle Elliott, Aymeric Fromant, Jose Pedro Granadeiro, Jonathan A. Green, Lewis G. Halsey, Keith C. Hamer, Motohiro Ito, Ruth Jeavons, Jeong-Hoon Kim, Nobuo Kokubun, Shiho Koyama, Jude V. Lane, Won Young, Sakiko Matsumoto, Rachael A. Orben, Ellie Owen, Vitor H. Paiva, Allison Patterson, Christopher J. Pollock, Jaime A. Ramos, Paul Sagar, Katsufumi Sato, Scott A. Shaffer, Louise Soanes, Akinori Takahashi, David R. Thompson, Lesley Thorne, Leigh Torres, Yutaka Watanuki, Susan M. Waugh, Henri Weimerskirch, Shannon Whelan, Ken Yoda, Jose C. Xavier, Maria P. Dias
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Henning Heldbjerg, Claus Lunde Pedersen, Ole R. Therkildsen, Thomas Bregnballe, Henning Ettrup, Johnny Kahlert, Thomas Vikstrom, Anthony D. Fox
Summary: Rooks in Denmark are commonly found in urban and agricultural habitats. The number of rookeries has increased by 40% from 1991 to 2021, but the nest abundance only increased by 6% due to smaller rookeries associated with urban sites. The proportion of urban area around rookeries has increased while agricultural land cover has decreased, indicating a preference for smaller urban rookeries over agricultural landscapes.
Article
Ornithology
Martin Austad, Steffen Oppel, James Crymble, Hannah R. Greetham, Dilek Sahin, Paulo Lago, Benjamin J. Metzger, Petra Quillfeldt
Summary: Artificial light can have complex ecological effects, and ships, which are often brightly lit, can temporarily increase light levels in otherwise dark areas. In this study, we found that the presence of ships in front of coastal cliffs significantly reduced colony attendance of Yelkouan Shearwaters.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Anastasios Bounas, Victoria Saravia-Mullin, Maria Mendez, Volen Arkumarev, Lusine Aghajanyan, Korsh Ararat, Evan Buechley, Vladimir Dobrev, Dobromir Dobrev, Ron Efrat, Ivaylo Klisurov, Elzbieta Kret, Theodora Skartsi, Steffen Oppel, Rusko Petrov, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Anton Vaidl, Jose A. Donazar, Stoyan C. Nikolov, Konstantinos Sotiropoulos
Summary: This study provides genetic management recommendations for the conservation translocation program of the declining Egyptian Vulture population in the Balkans. The results show that the current population management scheme and source populations do not have a significant impact on genetic diversity. However, releasing individuals of different origin would be appropriate to prevent further population contraction and loss of adaptive alleles.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Henry Hakkinen, Nigel G. Taylor, Nathalie Pettorelli, William J. Sutherland, Jon Aldara, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Christophe Aulert, Rob S. A. van Bemmelen, Daisy Burnell, Bernard Cadiou, Letizia Campioni, Bethany L. Clark, Nina Dehnhard, Maria P. Dias, Leonie Enners, Robert W. Furness, Gunnar thorn or Hallgrimsson, Sjurour Hammer, Erpur Snaer Hansen, Martti Hario, Stephen Hurling, Mark Jessopp, Birgit Kleinschmidt, Meelis Leivits, Klaudyna Maniszewska, Steffen Oppel, Ana Payo-Payo, Daniel Piec, Jaime A. Ramos, Frederic Robin, Iben Hove Sorensen, Antra Stipniece, Danielle L. Thompson, Antonio Vulcano, Silviu Petrovan
Summary: Conservation guidance is an important tool to communicate evidence-based advice to conservation actors, especially in the face of rapidly increasing pressure from climate change. However, the process of developing guidance documents with input from stakeholders can be complicated and costly. There is currently little direct evidence and guidance specifically targeting climate change. This study introduces a process for co-developing guidance for species conservation in the context of a changing climate, using seabirds in the North-East Atlantic as a case study.
CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maelle Connan, Christopher W. Jones, Michelle M. Risi, Lucy K. Smyth, Steffen Oppel, Vonica Perold, Kim L. Stevens, Roelf Daling, Peter G. Ryan
Summary: Invasive mice pose a threat to native species, particularly seabirds, on sub-Antarctic Gough and Marion Islands. This study reports the first deaths of adult great albatrosses attributed to mouse attacks. The breeding adults of these long-lived species are critically impacted, highlighting the urgent need for eradication of mice on these islands.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christopher J. W. McClure, Igor Berkunsky, Evan R. Buechley, Leah Dunn, Jeff Johnson, Jennifer McCabe, Steffen Oppel, Brian W. Rolek, Luke J. Sutton, Rikki Gumbs
Summary: Amidst the ongoing sixth mass extinction, conservationists are faced with limited resources and the need to prioritize species and areas for conservation action. This study emphasizes the importance of evolutionary distinctiveness in determining the conservation priority of bird species. By combining evolutionary distinctiveness with a species' global endangered status, an EDGE (Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered) score is obtained. The researchers analyzed all bird species and bird conservation areas globally, with a focus on parrots, raptors, and seabirds due to their high threat levels and species richness. The results showed that these three groups had a significant median threatened evolutionary history, indicating their importance in preserving bird evolutionary history. The countries of Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar, New Zealand, and the Philippines were identified as particularly critical for bird conservation, as they had a high concentration of threatened evolutionary history for endemic birds and were important for the focal groups mentioned above. The study highlights the need for increased enforcement of international agreements to protect parrots, raptors, and seabirds, as they safeguard millions of years of threatened bird evolutionary history. Urgent action is required to conserve the evolutionary history of birds in the Anthropocene.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Per Alstroem, Zeinolabedin Mohammadi, Paul F. Donald, Marianne Nymark, Erik D. Enbody, Martin Irestedt, Emmanuel Barde Elisha, Henry K. Ndithia, B. Irene Tieleman, Derek Engelbrecht, Urban Olsson, Lois Rancilhac, Martin Stervander
Summary: Comprehensive taxonomic analysis of the rufous-naped lark complex in sub-Saharan Africa reveals the need for reclassification, proposing the recognition of nine species instead of five.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yann Rouxel, Holmfriour Arnardottir, Steffen Oppel
Summary: Bycatch of seabirds in gillnets is a significant conservation issue in the north Atlantic. This study tested the effectiveness of a floating device called 'looming-eyes buoy' (LEB) in reducing seabird bycatch in the Icelandic lumpfish fishery. The study found no direct effect of LEBs on target lumpfish catch and bycatch, but indicated that fishing depth-based restrictions could effectively eliminate seabird bycatch. The study estimated that limiting fishing to waters deeper than 50 meters could save between 5000 and 9300 seabirds annually, without significant impact on fish catch.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Rebecca K. Smith, William H. Morgan, Nida Al-Fulaij, Tatsuya Amano, Andrew E. Bowkett, Alec Christie, Harriet Downey, Winifred F. Frick, David O'Brien, Nancy Ockendon, Steffen Oppel, Silviu O. Petrovan, David Righton, Paul Tinsley-Marshall, Thomas A. Worthington, William J. Sutherland
Summary: Researchers collaborated with practitioners, policymakers, and academics to develop tools and resources for improving conservation practice. The Conservation Evidence Programme emphasized the importance of engagement, role consensus, and flexibility in achieving effective conservation practices.
ECOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS AND EVIDENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tejas Bhagwat, Tobias Kuemmerle, Mahmood Soofi, Paul F. Donald, Norbert Hoelzel, Albert Salemgareev, Ingrid Stirnemann, Ruslan Urazaliyev, Matthias Baumann, Johannes Kamp
Summary: The increase in fire disturbance in post-Soviet Eurasian steppe has resulted in significant declines in bird abundance and changes in community assembly. Restoring wild herbivore populations and traditional domestic ungulate grazing systems are crucial for controlling wildfires and preventing further biodiversity loss.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Araceli Samaniego, Kim L. L. Stevens, Vonica Perold, Steffen Oppel, Pete McClelland
Summary: This study utilized an actual mouse eradication operation to document the rapid decline in mouse activity after the application of rodent bait. The results showed that most mice consumed the bait as soon as it became available, which was faster than what laboratory trials suggest. These findings are important for improving eradication guidelines and future mouse eradication projects.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Julius Morkunas, Steffen Oppel, Modestas Bruzas, Yann Rouxel, Rasa Morkune, Daniel Mitchell
Summary: Bycatch, particularly in small-scale fisheries using gillnets, poses a significant threat to seabird populations worldwide. This study presents data on seabird bycatch in the small-scale coastal fishery in Lithuania during the 2015-2020 winter period, revealing deficiencies in the country's current reporting system.
AVIAN CONSERVATION AND ECOLOGY
(2022)
