New publication on illegal and accidental hunting!

Pérez‐García, J. M., Sebastián‐González, E., Rodríguez‐Caro, R., Sanz‐Aguilar, A., Botella, F. (2023). Blind shots: non‐natural mortality counteracts conservation efforts of a threatened waterbird”. Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12906

In a shell: The study found that 60% of recorded mortalities of the marbled teal was due to non-natural causes, including illegal shooting. Hunters might kill marbled teals accidentally while shooting other game species. The study highlights the need to reduce illegal shootings to establish a viable population of marbled teal.

Abstract: Waterbirds are particularly affected by the high hunting pressure they face in many regions, which in some cases is compromising conservation actions for threatened species. The marbled teal Marmaronetta angustirostris is one of the most endangered waterbirds in Europe. In order to restore its population, several conservation actions have recently been undertaken, including a population reinforcement programme in Spain using captive-bred birds. With the aim of assessing the success of the reinforcement programme to establish a long-term self-sustaining population, we identified mortality causes of marbled teal, evaluated the survival of individual birds of the reinforcement programme and estimated the viability of the population under different management scenarios. 

Pohto: Wikipedia.com

We used data from wild and captive-bred individuals tracked by GPS since 2018 (n = 42) and from a mark–recapture programme initiated in 2015 (n = 297). We recovered 15 dead birds or transmitters: 20% died of natural causes, 60% of non-natural causes (including all anthropic causes) and 20% of unknown causes. Furthermore, the GPS tags of 24 birds unexpectedly stopped transmitting without any indication of malfunction, and for 66.7% of these disappeared birds, the cessation was suspected to be caused by illegal shooting. Survival during the hunting season was higher for males (31.3%) than for females (12.5%), and for the wild (50%) than for the captive-bred birds (9.4%), probably due to differences in migration patterns to North Africa. Population viability models revealed that maintaining the breeding population at the current mortality rates is only possible with a permanent release programme of captive-bred individuals, and that in order to establish a self-sustaining population, non-natural mortality would have to be reduced by at least 40%. We recommend management measures to reduce marbled teal mortality, such as limiting legal hunting to hours with clear visibility, prosecuting illegal shootings, controlling exotic predators and improving water management to reduce disease outbreaks. Some improvements can be implemented in captive-breeding programmes, such as earlier release times and incorporating anti-predator training.

A press note (in Spanish) here

New publication on the effect of protected areas!

Santangeli, A., Weigel, B., Antão, L.H. et al. Mixed effects of a national protected area network on terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity. Nat Commun 14, 5426 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41073-4

In a shell: Only a small fraction of species benefits of protected areas and it is not linked to species traits or conservation status. This indicates that additional measures like expanding coverage, enhancing connectivity, and better management are essential to address the broader biodiversity crisis effectively.

Abstract: Protected areas are considered fundamental to counter biodiversity loss. However, evidence for their effectiveness in averting local extinctions remains scarce and taxonomically biased. We employ a robust counterfactual multi-taxon approach to compare occupancy patterns of 638 species, including birds (150), mammals (23), plants (39) and phytoplankton (426) between protected and unprotected sites across four decades in Finland. We find mixed impacts of protected areas, with only a small proportion of species explicitly benefiting from protection—mainly through slower rates of decline inside protected areas. The benefits of protection are enhanced for larger protected areas and are traceable to when the sites were protected, but are mostly unrelated to species conservation status or traits (size, climatic niche and threat status). Our results suggest that the current protected area network can partly contribute to slow down declines in occupancy rates, but alone will not suffice to halt the biodiversity crisis. Efforts aimed at improving coverage, connectivity and management will be key to enhance the effectiveness of protected areas towards bending the curve of biodiversity loss.

New Ph.D. at GEDA!

Nerea Prieto Landeta is beginnig her Ph.D. in "Biodiversity, Functioning and management of Ecosystems" at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) working on the management of the Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola in Northern Spain. Nerea will conduct her work on a part-time basis under the supervision of Dr. J. Arizaga and Dr G. Tavecchia. Welcome Nerea!